I was emotional. I wanted to be taken seriously. I was pretty emo. I was reciting Shakespeare monologues when I was 10. I still know the whole ‘To be, or not to be…’ monologue, because I knew it when I was 10. Constance Wu Read Quote
Authentic programming that shows the outside world garners authentic interest. Constance Wu Read Quote
The more you know about somebody’s back story, the deeper you can delve into that well, and the more your comedic choices resonate full-body instead of just being quick, quippy one-liners that are just like a bunch of people trying to be clever. Because after a while, cleverness is just really obnoxious! Constance Wu Read Quote
People are embracing the thing that made them different growing up instead of letting that thing elicit shame. Constance Wu Read Quote
My family is Chinese-Taiwanese. I’m from Richmond, Virginia. The community in which I grew up was pretty white. The storybooks you got at school featured white children and an animal, or animals, and as you got older, the novels you were assigned were about, like, the problems of white boys and their dogs. Constance Wu Read Quote
My first Asian role model was Michelle Kwan. Her beauty comes from within. She’s also really beautiful on the outside. But when I first saw her ice-skate, her performance was so moving and beautiful that she just glowed. Constance Wu Read Quote
I wish reporters were more in tune to the difference between the Asian experience and the Asian-American experience. I think often they lump the two together and think that when I talk about Asian-American narratives that they can cite ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ or ‘Mulan’ as proof of concept when it’s a different experience. Constance Wu Read Quote
My dad got a job as a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He teaches biology and genetics. My dad has been obsessed with science his whole life. Both my paternal grandparents were illiterate bamboo farmers, so he really worked his way up and then got a Ph.D., full ride and everything, from universities in America. Constance Wu Read Quote
In terms of pure acting, my role model has always been Philip Seymour Hoffman; I really always loved what he did. I love what Mark Ruffalo does. When I was younger, I liked Cate Blanchett a lot. These are all actors who are given stories and allowed to carry the whole story. Constance Wu Read Quote