Hollywood's Go-To Asian Dad Tzi Ma On His New Netflix Movie, The Joys Of On-Screen FatherHood, And Mulan's Oscar Hopes

Tzi Ma had been working on the pilot of Kung Fu — the reboot of the cult 1970s series starring David Carradine — for a week in Vancouver before filming was put on indefinite hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

And like so many others, the prolific veteran Chinese-American character actor, 57, found himself in a forced hiatus. Holed up at home in Pasadena, California, he’d hoped to ride out the storm by devoting his downtime to a laundry list of personal projects.

At least, that was his plan.

“Because of this backlash, I’m like doing interviews every day, finding some ways to get the message out,” Tzi tells 8days.sg over Skype. “So now, I ended up having no time!”

This “backlash” he’s referring to is the surge in hate crimes against people of Asian descent caused by the misrepresentation of the COVID-19 from media and political figures.

Tzi, a victim of a racist verbal attack himself recently, is doing his part in raising awareness about coronavirus-related anti-Asian harassment with the #WashTheHate social media campaign.

“We had to vocalise our concerns, right?” he says. “It turned out to be a campaign that’s well-supported. It generated a lot of attention. I’m happy that the campaign but whether or not it would make our community safer, I won’t know. Time will tell. It’s a lesson on two fronts: one, for the public, and two, for the community. I think we as a community has to be vigilant.”

But that’s not the only thing Tzi is advocating: he’s also plugging the just-dropped Netflix movie Tigertail, a poignant ‘coming-to-America’ story written and directed by Master of None co-creator Alan Yang.

Tigertail follows the life of factory worker Pin-Jui (first played by Lee Hong-Chi and later Tzi), who leaves his life and first love behind in Taiwan to pursue the American dream, and ends up decades later a bitter divorcé estranged from his daughter Angela (Christine Ko).

Like The Farewell, Tigertail is a moving immigrant’s tale and Tzi is thrilled to be a part of both movies — intimate stories about Asian-Americans told by Asian-Americans. “I believe [having Asian writers and directors] are even more important than having us in front of the camera,” Tzi told us in an earlier interview last year. “Because without them, these roles will not be as rich and not be as plentiful — because they are writing it for us.”

And Tigertail could’ve have arrived at a more vexing time when Asians are being targeted by racist attacks. “I just hope that we present another look at how human we are: How we are as flawed and complicated as anyone else,” Tzi said in a Time interview. “As long as we’re getting that opportunity to share this immigrant journey, hopefully you’re going to have a better understanding of us.”

Here, the very avuncular Tzi tells us more about his experiences working on Tigertail (the title is the literal English translation of Huwei, Pin-Jui’s hometown), how’s he embracing his role as ‘Hollywood’s Go-To Asian Dad’, and his Oscar hopes for Mulan.

On Tigertail being a companion piece to The Farewell…

That’s one way of looking at it but they are two different movies, Tzi stresses. The Farewell is autographical, with Tzi playing director Lulu Wang’s father whereas Tigertail is loosely inspired by Alan Wang’s father life. “Alan’s dad is a doctor,” says Tzi. “And [my character] Pin-Jui is not a doctor.”

In a South China Morning Post interview, Yang said he approached Pin-Jui’s immigrant story with “a realistic look” and “and not trying to necessarily always paint [it] as a fairy tale, where you come to America and all your problems are solved and everything is okay.”

“Tigertail is not about people who have means,” says the Hongkong-born, New York-raised Tzi. If Yang had done so, the movie would “not be as rewarding”. “It’s about a working-class man’s journey and their journey is much harder. They had to work very hard, doing work that people normally didn’t want to do.”

On Pin-Jui reminding him a lot of his brother…

In many way, Pin-Jui’s coming-to-America journey is similar to Tzi’s. “That’s why I feel so close to him,” says he, with a laugh. “The only difference is the occupation. Pin-Jui is toiling away in this convenient store in a rough neighborhood — you’re talking about the Bronx — which is no cake walk, and we had a restaurant on Staten Island.”

Elsewhere, Tzi sees a lot of Pin-Jui in his older brother, 18 years his senior. (Tzi is the youngest of seven children.) “My brother was an architect in Hongkong, but when we moved to the US, he had to go to school again because his diploma was not recognised here, so he got stuck working in a restaurant. I tell you, he would’ve been a brilliant architect. But like Pin-Jiu, he got very quiet, very sullen.”

Because of the sacrifices he made for the family, Tzi saw his brother transformed from a vibrant, carefree individual into someone very quiet, very sullen. Very much like Pin-Jui. “He ran the restaurant all the way till he retired,” Tzi continues.

“The only saving grace for my brother is that he actually married the woman he loves. Unfortunately, Pin-Jui’s journey took him to another place and his ticket [to America] was this arranged marriage [to a woman he didn’t love].”

On working with Joan Chen…

In Tigertail, Joan Chen plays Yuan, Pin-Jui’s first love whom he leaves behind in Taiwan and meets years later in New York. For Tzi, it’s a thrill to work with Chen again. “We did [the 1993 crime thriller] Golden Gate where she played my daughter — I know, I know — and [the 2008 drama All God’s Children Can Dance, we were quasi-lovers, and this time, we are actual lovers.”

Their past collaborations is key to selling the idea that their characters once shared a romantic history. “That’s what chemistry is about,” says Tzi. “Audience will pick up on that relationship subconsciously, you don’t need to explain it to them because you can feel this connection between us. If it were another actor playing Yuan, it’s not going to be the same.”

Christine Ko and Tzi Ma on location in Huwei, Taiwan. Tzi remembers shooting a scene on the bullet train without permission. “The DP, the cameraman, Alan [Yang, the director], me and Christine were constantly swapping seats. Thank God, nobody said anything because we were such a nuisance. We were trying to hide the camera by placing a magazine over it. It was guerilla filmmaking. Oh my God, I feel like a criminal!”

On fatherhood…

Having played paternal figures in Tigertail, The Farewell and Mulan (more of that in a bit) — what has Hollywood's Go-to Asian Dad learnt about fatherhood? “I’m not quite sure if there’s a lesson for me,” says Tzi. “All these lessons are for the fathers out there.

“I’m just holding up a mirror to fatherhood and whatever you see, if it moves you in some way, if it reflects in some way your own relationship between you and your dad, then I’ve accomplished something. And for better or worse, if you see something’s not so good, what can you do to change it? How do you get over this kind of obstacle? Do you need to seek therapy and professional help?

“For me, it just feels like I’m a conduit, a conductor of some kind and I’m happy with that. I’m really blessed that I had that opportunity. And besides, I have some amazing ‘daughters’. Strong, independent, beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent, gifted. It’s really fairly impressive group of young women that I’m proud to be associated with, to be part of their journey as their screen dads.”

On not having kids on his own…

“I always felt that I were to bring a life into this world, then I need to be fully engaged,” says Tzi. “Doing what I do as an actor, early in my career, I know that would not be possible because it’s too hard. Because I did theatre for 12 years and you don’t make money from theatre.

“You really have to make a choice. You have to know that there would be certain sacrifices if this is what you are going to do. I didn’t want to be in a predicament, like my other actor friends who have a family — and children — were in, where they had to accept roles they didn’t want but really need the job.

“I had the luxury of saying no and I tell you, it made a difference in my career. Because I can dare say that there isn’t anything out there that I didn’t do on my own accord. Nobody twisted my arm to do it. So really I am more than satisfied with that choice. I don’t have that ego where I need to perpetuate the family name. My brother did that for me — I am sky free!”

So what does his nephews and nieces make of his title as 'Hollywood's Go-to Asian Dad'? “You know, I’m the cool uncle!” he says, before letting out a hearty laugh.

On Mulan’s delayed release…

Disney’s live-action remake of the 1998 animated feature was originally slated to open in March but is pushed back to July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tzi, who plays the father of the titular heroine (Liu Yifei), hopes the actors would get some notice come awards season.

“There are performances that are outstanding,”Tzi enthuses. “I promise that you’ll feel good about it. You’re feel that you are represented properly.” He’s rooting for Liu: “She is playing a teenager all the way through womanhood while disguised as a man. C’mon man, it’s an [Oscar-worthy] performance there.”

And frankly, it’s about time Asian actors receive some Oscar love. For some reason, they are always overlooked. Tzi points out Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, which won nine Oscars, but received zero nominations for its actors. “John Lone, who played a teenager to he's 80 — not a word! Joan Chen as the opium-addicted queen, nothing! You tell me those are not amazing performances?”

What does Tzi make of Parasite’s being the first foreign-language film win the Oscar for Best Picture? “I’m very happy with the progress [Asians] have made in the industry but the only thing that’s left out is really recognition for our actors,” says Tzi. “Parasite received six nominations, but nothing for acting? This is not a National Geographic documentary, we are not looking at trees.”

Tigertail is now streaming on Netflix. Mulan opens in cinemas July 23.

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos, Netflix, Disney