Tzi Ma: Actor

Early Life and Immigration

• Tai Ma immigrated from Hong Kong to Staten Island at a young age, experiencing significant culture shock due to the transition from high density to spacious living.
• He was one of only two Asian students in his school, which allowed him to isolate himself somewhat from peer discrimination.
• Access to American media, specifically owning a personal television and daily access to cartoons like Looney Tunes, was described as a transformative "kid in a candy store" experience compared to communal viewing in Hong Kong.
• His parents enforced a strict "no English" rule at home to preserve the Chinese language, creating a culturally insulated environment.

Career Origins and Training

• Ma joined the high school drama club to find a "safe space" against discrimination, which planted the seed for his acting career.
• Bruce Lee was his primary role model; Ma initially viewed himself simply as an actor rather than an "Asian-American actor" due to a lack of other representation.
• He prioritized stage acting early in his career, performing in David Henry Hwang's groundbreaking plays FOB and The Dance in a Railroad.
• Ma cites stage experience as essential for actors to understand character continuity and narrative arcs, which are often fragmented in film production.

Early Film Roles and Anecdotes

• Ma's film debut was in Cocaine Cowboy (1978), where he convinced the director to expand his role from "cook" to "best friend/bodyguard."
• During an audition, he demonstrated martial arts skills by kicking the ceiling, impressing the casting team.
• The production was shot at Andy Warhol's estate, where Ma witnessed the Nassau County Police Department confiscate three duffel bags of powdered sugar (mistaken for cocaine) and $175,000 in cash for the film.
• Ma never felt he had "made it" in the traditional sense, prioritizing his love for the craft over financial gain during his early theater days in New York City.

Current Industry Trends and Representation

• Ma identifies a shift in Asian representation driven by the "trillion-dollar" spending power of the Asian-American market, which numbered 23 million.
• Streaming platforms (Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV) have shifted the content paradigm to 65% international and 35% domestic production.
• Ma notes a positive trend in Asian-American women directing, stating he has worked with four since 2017 compared to only one prior to 2006.
• He advocates for both quality and quantity in roles, arguing that multiple diverse voices are necessary to accurately reflect the multicultural Asian-American experience.

Upcoming Projects and Specific Roles

• The Farewell: Opens July 12 nationwide; based on a true story where an Asian-American family hides a terminal cancer diagnosis from their grandmother to protect her from worry.
• Wu Assassins: A martial arts fantasy sci-fi series arriving on Netflix on August 8, set in San Francisco Chinatown.
  • The series treats Chinatown as a living community rather than a backdrop, addressing the lack of representation of Asian-American veterans in the Vietnam War on the U.S. side.
• Mulan: Ma is slated for an upcoming Disney production.
• Tiger Tail: A Netflix film about a Taiwanese-American family, produced and directed by Alan Yang.

Advocacy and Mentorship

• Ma actively mentors young actors, paying forward the guidance he received from mentor Marco, the first Asian-American actor nominated for an Oscar.
• He employs a "participatory" approach to casting, asking detailed questions to challenge script inconsistencies and ensure authentic character development.
• Ma criticizes the Writers Guild of America for being 85% middle-aged white males, which he cites as a barrier to authentic storytelling for minorities and women.