Much has been written about the struggles of Asian American actors to get parts.
For comedian Steve Byrne of the TBS show Sullivan & Son, being both Korean and Irish was the inspiration for writing his own show, he told CAAM.
“Vince (Vaughn) and I used to hike all the time. He said, “You should write some for yourself because your opportunities are limited given your background.” In Hollywood, I went for Asian roles but I wasn’t Asian enough and I’d go for white roles and wasn’t white enough, said Byrne.
TBS will air the season finale of Sullivan & Son this Tuesday August 19 with a special appearance by Margaret Cho. Despite being on the air three seasons, Sullivan and Son has gotten little fanfare and has already been overshadowed by one of next year’s newcomers, Fresh Off the Boat.
“Every year we’ve been on the air, there’s an uphill battle to try to get people to know about it,” he said. “I mean it’s been tough. I’ve been asked more about Fresh Off the Boat than my own show. I’m like, “Why are you asking me about the show?” (laughs). It seems like we’ve become an asterisk to that show, but we have proven ourselves as a show. I’m not affiliated with that show, but I’ll support it. I’m excited to see it.”
LATEST STORIES
You can read about where the idea for Sullivan & Son came from and the difficulties of getting the Asian American community to support shows like that in CAAM.
