Articles | "All About Dad" film details

David Huynh: The experience was wonderful, and what stood out most was hanging with all the fans and festival goers after the screenings. Personally, I think San Diego has one of the best audiences for films. From my experience, they're very receptive and really know how find the best in the films they see. I'm really excited for the start of this year's festival!

DH: "Baby" had been the first major role that was given to me in a feature film. Making "Baby" was a one of kind experience, and nothing will ever compare to that. Working with veteran actors like Tzi Ma, Ron Yuan, Kenny Choi and Feodor Chin provided a great deal of professionalism and focus on the work for me, but what made filming so singular was that I really felt like they took me under their wings. I was scared walking into production, but I didn't want to show it. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do a good job, to impress them. I had a lot of pre conceived ideas of how the process was going to be like. I didn't want to make any mistakes. Then, on the first day of shooting a lot went bad and when I realized that I wasn't at fault for any of it, a certain amount of responsibility escaped from me. Making films is certainly not a one man show; it's the encompassment of multiple creative wits and responsibilities of everyone involved. I saw Juwan Chung just collected his shit and move on. So that's what I learned. Things will never go the way you plan, but just collect your self and move on. So, when we filmed "All About Dad", I felt I was ready to just have fun, and see what happens. And that's pretty much how it went. For me, "All About Dad" was about how well I could prepare for the role and be able to throw away everything I thought was right.

DH: Watching me on screen is akin to sitting in an empty waiting room. I find myself incredibly bored, however, tolerating enough to keep from squirming like a child in my seat. If I had a choice, I would rather not watch my self. The first time I saw "All About Dad" on the screen, I sat with a bottle of wine in by lap. By the end of the film, I had drunk just about the entire bottle, and I'd say I thought I had enjoyed the film. I laughed. Chi Pham (Dad) makes me laugh. He's such a peculiar person, almost like a Vietnamese Christopher Walken, not that I know Christopher Walken, but I imagine if Walken was a Vietnamese man, he'd be like Chi Pham. So there.

DH: No. Yes.... Uh, not really. Like Ty, the character I play, I also am the youngest of four, so growing up I got away with a lot of shit that my older siblings had to struggle a little bit with. And I also studied film at University in Canada where I'm from. And my best friend growing up was also a tall handsome white guy who also was in love with my big sister... I think he still is, actually. The similarities end there.

DH: Excruciating. It's difficult to take some one seriously who is two years your junior and receive direction without wanting to scream out "respect your elder, Boy!". Mark Tran gives his actors no respect. A tyrant on the set, not to mention pretentious. He would always wear this brown gabardine suit. Never take it off. BUT, having some one like Mark direct you from a script he wrote couldn't be more fun. He knows films and knows how to tell a story and really his age has nothing to do with making a good movie. It didn't impress me or deter me away from the project. But, I'll say this, as an actor I trust him and he really knows how to get under his actors' skin. That's a good thing. And a compliment. Probably the only one I'll ever give him.... He makes me so jealous...

DH: I got a few, but mostly just 'you've had to been there' kind of stuff. Tell you what, if you find me, buy me a drink and then I might be able to tell a story or two.

DH: Well, I do have a method, it's just not The Method. Music I find is very helpful and important for the roles I take on. There's a unique individuality that comes from the choice of music people listen to. I like a lot of preparation. The more time I have, the better it is for me. In most circumstances, I actually enjoy the rehearsal and preparation process so much more than the performance itself. I think I would be totally satisfied to research and prepare a role for a year or however long it would take to discover a character and never to actually have to perform it.

DH: Read. I read a lot, take photos and make really, really bad electronic rock music that no one will ever hear. Unless you're my neighbor and I sincerely apologize to for the noise pollution.

DH: I really don't know... how much do people actually know about me? I can cook up a really, really tasty smoked salmon. Surprised?

DH: I'm preparing for a feature film shooting in November, in San Diego! It's a very San Diego specific story by a local San Diego filmmaker. Needless to say, I hope the film will screen at SDAFF in the near future!