Julia Ling Interview

Jeanmarie Simpson: Julia, it is such a treat for me to have the opportunity to speak with you.

Julia Ling: Thanks for welcoming me to Buzzine!

JS: I love what you do with “Anna” on Chuck. She is bright and interesting and multi-dimensional. The writing is clever and witty, and your ensemble is so talented, but how do you approach the work? You are so transcendent — it’s hard to remember that you’re acting.

JL: The writers and producers of Chuck certainly are an amazing team, and we are lucky because a good script makes our jobs as actors so much easier. Of course, an actor always feels the need to bring more to the table than just what’s in the script.  I started my research at a local Best Buy.  When I approached the Geek Squad techies to ask about their job,  their first response was, “You look so much like this girl on a show called Chuck.”  [Laughs] I replied, “Yeah I get that a lot.”  Anna Wu wears tons of makeup on the show, so I guess I look completely different in real life. I also brought my own geek experiences from school.  It wasn’t too hard because I actually majored in Chemical Engineering at UCLA, so we studied computer programming.  I started building computers since I was a little girl.  I was very active in the Engineering Society of UCLA (ESUC).  The engineers that surrounded me taught me what being a geek was all about. Then I asked myself, what would make Anna Wu unique?  At the time, I was really into the whole Japanese anime girl look, and I grew up playing video games, with many thanks to my older brother for that. So I thought it’d be cool if Anna was one of those gamer anime geek girls who fixed computers for a living, tried to look tough by the way she dresses, but was really just a sweet girl who enjoyed the attention from her Buy More co-workers.

JS: Does your language acumen give you any kind of an edge as an actor? I know that when I start speaking Spanish with any regularity, I begin to think differently. I think some of that comes from assigning gender to inanimate objects, etc. Can you relate to that at all?

JL: I can totally relate!  After returning to the States from a two-week trip in Germany, I found myself thinking in German.  For the following days, it was hard to switch back to English.  There are different personalities associated with different cultures. You’re used to speaking manners that are socially acceptable.  If you were sarcastic in English, for instance, it could be funny, but under many of the same circumstances in Chinese, sarcasm would be frowned upon and considered rude. Recently, I was asked to translate “in your face” into Chinese and German on a show.  The truth is, you can’t do that! Not literally, at least, because the literal translation from English makes absolutely no sense in Chinese or German. Studying something new is frustrating, but then after you know it, it becomes so fun.  Knowing several languages makes acting fun too!  I worked on one episode of House where Dr. House speaks Mandarin. It’s such a surprise, it was hilarious.  The writing was great, and when paired with the comedic timing of the exchange between Dr. House and my character, the whole scene became absolutely hysterical. On NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, I played a viola prodigy who spoke five languages and did some translating for Studio 60.  There was one scene where my character had to “read from the tabloids” in Mandarin.  Of course, tabloid language is different from conversational jargon, so I consulted some Chinese linguistic pros the day before shooting, because I’m more used to conversational Mandarin, not newspaper syntax. That show was a blast to shoot, especially since I love Mandarin.  It just sounds so poetic and pretty.  Anyway, during one take, I decided to do the scene in German.  It totally threw everybody off.  We all started laughing. Good times.

JS: You are an incredibly talented visual artist and a brilliant young woman (a genius!) in so many ways. How does the entertainment industry strike you, as a bright person living in the world today?

JL: Celebrity gossip, red carpet parties, stories told on TV or in movies…they’re all just one big illusion. The entertainment industry has power to provide escape from reality by allowing an audience to live vicariously through their protagonists on the screen. It has the power to provide stress-relief to an audience, which probably explains why the movie business continues to profit despite a receding economy. It also has a way of altering reality.  The entertainment industry is a bunch of filmmakers with ideas coming together to bring their imaginations to life.  Of course, that’s always fun.  It’s the “movie magic” that so fascinates the world. But that’s it.  We have to remember that it’s a semblance from imagination and magic that brought these stories to life.  The real world is often different, whether it’s a movie, a show, or even the news, and it’s extremely important for the audience to keep an open mind and do their research, and obtain their information from many sources elsewhere.

JS: How is the Hollywood scene serving the global scene today?

JL: Of course, having the great technology and resources to bring education and experiences from all around the world is super awesome. Being the entertainment capital of the world also means we’re responsible in many ways for how the world thinks.  Media that we put out there can change people for better or for worse. Entertainment professionals have got to be careful about what they make, because many people seem to absorb whatever Hollywood puts out there. It’s great that filmmakers are able to openly share their stories with the world, but we don’t necessarily see the actual perspectives of other heroes in our lives.  Like, what about the engineers or the scientists who develop technology for the betterment of mankind?  What are their true opinions? What about the researchers who empower our society with new knowledge, the police and military who save lives by risking their own, our financial or real estate experts, the professional law-makers who have to weigh so many difficult decisions?  These other professionals have opinions and stories too, but they’re so busy with their own professions, and their stories are not told to the world as much because they’re not filmmakers.

JS: The writing on TV is getting so much better — the storytelling is fantastic. Do you see the potential for our culture (and I would argue that television is American culture) to bust out of its vacuous image and reach beyond the American Idol wannabe pattern into something that can make a meaningful impact on future generations?

JL: Change is inevitable. I do believe the image of “American culture” will develop as globalization continues to bring new influences. Is there motivation among young storytellers to make a difference in future generations?  I guess that depends on filmmakers of my generation.  I believe the motivation is always there. After all, a storyteller wouldn’t tell the story unless it really meant something on a personal level, but some stories are more powerful than others.  Somewhere in the piles of scripts, there’s going to be a golden story that will just touch the lives of many and change the world, for better or for worse.

JS: What are you working on now, Julia? What’s next?

JL: Recently, I learned to drive a car.  I learned to ride a motorcycle.  I have been painting, singing, riding horses and playing the piano, but what takes up most of my time is my training in martial arts, weapons and dance everyday for a few things we have in mind.  I’m also working on a historical piece, but can’t talk about it yet!