Shooting for the Moon: Actor Justin Chon is going to be busy for a while, co-starring in the next two Twilight sequels, new Moon and Eclipse. But don’t think he’s got his head in the clouds. He’s plowing ahead, keeping his head down with a backup plan or two.
ISSUE: Fall 2009
DEPT: Audrey Man
STORY: Lan N. Nguyen
Justin Chon almost passed on Twilight. First, he had no way to anticipate what a mega hit the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s young adult bestseller would be. Second, the 28-year-old Korean American actor had just wound down his role as Tony Lee on Nickelodeon’s teen show Just Jordan. He was on the hunt for something meatier than a role in a high school vampire love story.
But he changed his mind when he heard that Catherine Hardwicke was directing. “I loved Lords of Dogtown and Thirteen,” he says. “And a few days later, I found out that Kristen Stewart was attached. I loved Into the Wild.”
The rest, as they say, is movie history. Twilight has raked in more than $382 million worldwide since its 2008 release. Justin recently finished reprising his role as loveable geek Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second film in the series. And in August, he headed back to Vancouver to once again attend Forks High School for the third film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Much has changed for students of Forks High in New Moon. Eric has given up trying to impress Bella, says Justin. “I am 100 percent committed to Angela,” he says of Bella’s best friend. Fans can also expect a more action-packed sequel. “The guys who play the wolf pack are going to bring more raw brawniness to the movie,” he says. “And they have Native American blood in them. So it’s cool, as an Asian American actor, to see minorities will be a major factor in something so mainstream.”
Born in 1981 in Irvine, Calif., Justin and his younger sister, Jamie, grew up in an artistic household. Before his mom, Kyung, became a homemaker, she was a pianist. And his father, Sang, was an actor in South Korea. (He went into the shoe business after immigrating to the U.S.)
“My sister and I found out [about my dad] when I was about 6 or 7,” Justin recalls. “We had found this old VHS tape and our dad was acting. We took it to our mom and she explained. It was amazing. When you think of your dad, you don’t think of him as an actor, especially being Asian American.”
Not surprisingly, when Justin enrolled at the University of Southern California, he decided to try his hand at acting. He did a two-year stint at The Joanne Baron/DW Brown Studio, an acting school in Santa Monica. And when he graduated from USC in 2004 with a bachelor’s in business, he told his parents to give him two years to give acting a chance.
“My parents were really worried,” says Justin. “You don’t normally see Asian people on TV. We grew up in an artistic household so they were not opposed to acting. They were just worried about if I could make a living. Once I showed them I could, they were more at ease.”
Work in commercials soon developed into work on TV, most notably in Just Jordan. He was also trying to carve out a movie career. His most challenging role to date has been playing a first-generation Korean immigrant in 2009’s Crossing Over, which also starred Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd.
“I was the lead in my own story line,” he says. “I had a love story and a sex scene and some intense stuff, with the dynamics between my family, friends and girlfriend. On top of that, I was playing a Korean immigrant kid so I had an accent. I had to have the demeanor and mentality of not having a place anywhere. It took a lot of work. With acting you don’t see the work behind it. You just see the finished product.”
Then there is Twilight. When Justin landed the role of Eric Yorkie, he only had a brief description to work with: Eric was 6-foot, 3-inches tall and had black, greasy hair, was the chess club type, and had bad skin. Still, Justin rose to the challenge and created a character that could be found in any real high school.
“I played upon the chess club type and being valedictorian,” he says. “From that, I derived that he kind of doesn’t fit in, but he does have a group of friends who are sort of awkward and don’t fit into any category themselves. So they’ve found each other. And each one brings a very unique thing to the group.”
Justin is “a perfectionist,” says pal Michael Welch, who plays Eric’s best friend Mike Newton. “He’s a really interesting guy. He’s a total Southern California guy. At the same time, he is very serious and a sensitive artist and actor. Actually, he has an easier time on the set when he has something meaty to do because he’s a very serious guy when it comes to his work.”
Despite being in the biggest movie of 2008 and what will likely be the biggest movie of 2009, Justin recognizes that he is unlikely to achieve superstar status himself. “At the end of the day, I am still a minority actor,” he explains. “Asian people have not really broken through in terms of becoming mainstream like Will Smith has. I don’t think we have proven we are a major market yet.”
To take more control over his career, he’s been working with some indie directors and writers to craft projects. “I love acting but who knows,” he says. “It’s a very fickle industry. I could be hot now but in five to 10 years, I’ll need something else.”
Justin’s starting on that something else right now. Following in his father’s footsteps, he started a shoe and clothing store called Attic (attic2zoo.com) with childhood friend Jimmy Yang. The pair opened a location in Buena Park, Calif., four years ago. It’s doing so well that they recently opened a second store in San Diego.
“I got a business degree and spent a lot of money for it,” he says with a laugh. “It seemed like a waste. It’s been a labor of love for Jimmy and me. For anyone who has started a business, it’s like a second job. But it’s paid off. I am really proud of it.”
Are you excited for the Emmy Awards this Sunday? There are a lot of really great shows competing for the coveted award, like Mad Men, Dexter, 30 Rock and Audrey‘s personal favorite, Glee.
And of course, where there are award shows, there are gifting suites going on all week. Check out a shot of Glee‘s Jenna Ushkowitz at the Jacob & Co. Emmy Fine Jewelry Preview earlier this week. She looks hot!
Jenna Ushkowitz at the Jacob & Co. Emmy Fine Jewelry Preview. Photo by David Aguilera/Buzzfoto.com.
The Korean American star is wearing a Jacob & Co. Diamond Sapphire and Emerald Cuff with a Cabochon Emerald Ring. Will she wear it to the award show?
BooBoo Stewart and Christian Serratos. Photo by David Aguilera/Buzzfoto.com.
Asian American actor BooBoo Stewart, who made his big screen debut in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse this summer, also stopped by the jewelry preview. Apparently a big watch collector, Stewart picked out a Jacob & Co. 5 time zone Stainless Steel Mother of Pearl Timepiece.
Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls was also there, we hear, talking about her new album due out in the fall. She picked up a rose gold Hamsa (Hand of God) bracelet and a nude-tone form fitting “Marcella” dress by Nicole Young.
JACOB & Co. invited guests to peruse and select pieces from the collection for either their attendance at the prestigious 2010 Emmy ceremony or another impending momentous occasion. JACOB & Co. is a prominent jewelry house that counts Kanye West, Tom Cruise and Alicia Keys as fans.
Are you excited for the Emmy Awards? Who are you rooting for?
Got Eclipse mania yet? It just released and it’s a long weekend, soooo … I’m thinking a lot of you are gonna go out and watch. Just ’cause.
There’s a lot more eye candy in this third installment (namely, the Quileute werewolves), but in a recent poll held by Fandango, it turned out one little-known newcomer to the Twilight series got top prize for most anticipated Twilight newbie: 16-year-old BooBoo Stewart.
BooBoo Stewart as Seth Clearwater in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," out now.
And why should we care? Because BooBoo (apparently a nickname from his mother that stuck) is of Japanese, Chinese and Korean descent from his mother’s side, and Russian, Scottish and Blackfoot Native American from his father (phew!).
But BooBoo’s no newbie to the entertainment scene. The actor (who plays the 15-year-old Quileute werewolf Seth Clearwater) is a former member of T-Squad, a Disney hip-hop/pop group, and sings with his sisters Fivel and Maegan Stewart, in TSC (The Stewart Clan). (You can download his song with Fivel, “Rainy Day,” on iTunes.)
BooBoo Stewart and his sister Fivel at the Los Angeles premiere of Eclipse.
BooBoo apparently doesn’t get too much screen time in Eclipse, but watch for him to really shine in the fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, hitting theaters in 2011. He’s already been touted as the next Taylor Lautner (and he does have more than a passing resemblance to him).
BooBoo Stewart at the London premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse."
What do you think? Are you gonna watch Eclipse? And do you think BooBoo is the next teen heartthrob?
