Dept: Pop-arazzi
Author: Ada Tseng
Photographer: Diana King
Hair: Sunny Campos
Makeup: Shelly Samia
Although Twilight fans know Booboo Stewart as an actor who plays the kindhearted shapeshifter Seth Clearwater (he recently starred in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2), longer-time supporters have been following Stewart, the singer/dancer/guitarist/drummer/martial artist, on YouTube as early as 2007. There are videos of young Booboo performing as a member of the Disney pop group T-Squad and rocking out in his band Echoes of Angels. Booboo — along with his sisters Maegan, Fivel, and Sage — grew up on movie sets, since their father was a stunt coordinator in Hollywood. Booboo did his first movie stunt around age 10, and when Fivel saw her big brother doing it, she wanted in on the action. Their martial arts training taught them to be comfortable onstage, and they’ve both been singing and dancing in front of huge crowds since they were pre-teens.
“I think the first concert we did together was in Chicago, opening for Demi Lovato,” says Fivel. “We did it last minute, and our dad ended up driving 36 hours straight, so we could perform there.”
Now 18 and 16, Booboo and Fivel have joined forces with friends Davin Baltazar and Ryan Cook to create their new band 5L.
“5L is just a cool way to spell Fivel’s name,” explains Booboo. “It’s her band really, so it’s only appropriate.”
Fivel dances and sings lead vocals, while Booboo plays the guitar and sings supporting vocals. This arrangement takes advantage of their strengths: Booboo started playing the guitar when he was about 10 years old after receiving an electric guitar for Christmas, and Fivel has wanted to be a singer for as long as
she can remember.
Next up, they play twins in the film Hansel and Gretel — fitting, as people always thought they were twins growing up. Their music will also be featured in the film’s closing credits.
A few months ago, I got to sit down and chat with Booboo Stewart – Boy Wonder of our Winter ’11-12 issue – to find out more about him and his experiences. He was super nice and humble; the whole time we were just smiling and laughing while he enjoyed his plate of nachos and I sipped on my Earl Grey tea. We started with a quick round of questions about his preferences before we got to the more serious questions.
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.”
I wrote about BookSwim a few weeks back, the Netflix for books. I have to say, I am a huge fan.
A bookstore in your computer -- just browse, create your pool, and get ready to read!
Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1.
With BookSwim, I’ve checked out the new Twilight graphic novel by Stephenie Meyer and artist Young Kim. (It’s something I really wanted to see, but wouldn’t have bought.) My husband’s gotten a chance to read the dishy Game Change, the scandalous tell-all written by insiders during the 2008 presidential election. And I just started Angelology, a DaVinci Code-esque thriller-romance about an “angelologist” and the real-life angels living among people. (Again, I wouldn’t have bought it, but it makes for a good poolside read.)
Whether you’re a lover of books or just don’t have any more room for all the books you wanna read (but not necessarily own), BookSwim is perfect. You create your list online (just like Netflix). You order by priority (just like Netflix). You get the books by mail (just like Netflix). You return them in the included postage paid envelope (just like Netflix). No mess, no fuss. It’s so easy, seriously, everyone should adopt this business model. (Cocktails by mail anyone?)
My book recommendation -- it's heavy stuff, but wow, what a writer.
And now BookSwim is giving one lucky Audrey reader a free three-month trial. Finally catch up on Chang-rae Lee’s latest book The Surrendered (it is sooo good, trust me). Or indulge in Jennifer Weiner’s latest chick lit read. Or get some fun reads for your little ones. All guilt- and clutter-free. It’s like a Border’s in your mailbox. I’m telling, you will be hooked.
Just comment below by August 4th, 11:59 pm, and you may win! (Sorry, you must have a U.S. mailing address to win.)
Can’t wait till June for the release of Eclipse, the third film in The Twilight Saga? Relive those early, tension-filled moments of Bella and Edward in a new graphic novel illustrated and adapted by Korean artist Young Kim, available starting today.
Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1.
In collaboration with the original author, Stephenie Meyer, this book offers a visual re-enactment of the original book, with characters that really look nothing like Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner. (Meyer has said that the characters in the graphic novel look closer to the characters in her head.)
Get the graphic novel now at amazon.com.
