By Ed Diokno, Views from the Edge
Little known fact: I once auditioned for Kung Fu, the TV series starring David Carradine.
In 1975, I still had dreams of becoming a screenwriter. I had a writing agent and submitted several ideas for Streets of San Francisco, which was also filming in the city at the time, and other projects — all with Asian themes.
I didn’t consider myself an actor and I make no claims to having any acting talent. I had no formal training (although I did attend the first class conducted by actor Rene Auberjunois which I promptly dropped at Cal) and only appeared in one movie because I was a friend of the director.
Kung Fu was in its third season and apparently, had used up all the known Asian American actors in Hollywood and was in search for new faces.
My writing agent suggested to the Kung Fu talent scout that he see me. He knew I had some martial arts training and had an 8X10 of me, just in case I sold a script and hit it big; we both had high hopes back then.
The auditions were being held in my agent’s agency’s office, so I trekked my way into San Francisco.
I let the secretary know I was there for the audition. Mind you I had never auditioned for anything in my life. I fancied myself a writer. Being young and naive, I said to myself, “What the hell.”
The search for new faces, apparently wasn’t going too well, I surmised since I was the only “actor” there for the audition.
Finally, I went in and met the talent scout. He was friendly enough: broad smile, firm handshake and with the upbeat air you’d expect from Hollywood He handed me a page of a script and asked me to read some lines with him reading the other parts.
I did the best I could, but I knew I was not “feeling” it.
The scout said, “Great, great. That was very good,” in an attempt to get me over my nervousness and put me at ease. I thank him for that.
But then, he said, “Can you say the lines again with an accent?”
What? The only accent I knew how to imitate was a Filipino accent since I grew up with a community of Filipino American elders, mostly World War II veterans.
I knew what he wanted though. He wanted me to either use a sing-song accent, or a strong, clipped accent like the one used by the Asian American actors that appeared in the Kung Fu series that took place in the American West in the late 1800s.I opted to imitate the strange accent used by David Carradine, the star of the Bruce Lee-inspired series.
I closed my eyes, imagining myself as the Shaolin monkKwai Chang Caine. I went for it.
I knew I had blown the audition despite the enthusiastic scout’s encouraging words ending with the dreaded, “You’ll hear from us.”
As expected, I wasn’t surprised I never again heard from the scout or the series. The TV series. Kung Fu was cancelled two months later. David Carradine claimed he had sustained too many bruises and injuries to continue. But the real reason was the ratings were down.
I write all this because Warrior, a new series inspired by martial arts legend Bruce Lee will debut this April 5 on the Cinemax network. It is about a martial arts-trained warrior who arrives in during the Tong Wars of 1800’s San Francisco and will feature a predominantly Asian cast who have the acting talent that I lacked.
The story behind the story, says that Lee, who had starred as Kato, the martial artist/chauffeur of the Green Arrow, submitted a script about a Shaolin monk wandering the old West doing good deeds and kicking the hell out of bad guys. The networks rejected his idea, but lo and behold, a year later, Kung Fu was developed starring a White guy doing Yellow Face.
Warrior, is based on the notes of Bruce Lee. His daughter Shannon Lee and Asian American director Justin Lin are among the executive producers.
Ironically, while the white actors in the new series will speak English appropriate to the time period, the Asian actors will speak English with a contemporary tone — an apparent nod to the show’s producers and the #NoWhiteWashing and #NoYellowface movements.
I harbor no resentment towards anyone associated with the old Kung Fu show, including that talent scout who auditioned me, but to them all, I can only say: “Accent? My ass!”
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RE: Ode to Bruce Lee: Warrior Hopefully Makes up for Kung Fu: Ah, the writer’s description of being asked to provide an accent in his audition for the original “Kung Fu” series rings true but it also remindful of the choice we can bring to the ask. I got my first TV role 46 years ago in “Kung Fu” and wound up being cast in three hour episodes and a two hour episode. I was a theatre major at Northwestern U. and by dint of hard work and focusing at the objective wound up being cast in many shows at the University. I was cast in my first guest star role following my first appearance earlier in the season. Before we were going to shoot, the director said I sounded too american so if I’d use an accent. Inwardly the temp rose within me, but in a moment, a thought came about how David Carradine played Caine, so I decided to use the stage diction I had trained with and used at Northwestern, and at the cut, the director said “yeah that’s it, good”. I learned at that moment I didn’t’ have to fight the stereo-type and be so defended, but just give something that sounded different to their ears. It’s developing that skill set.
Early years with East West Players, others would criticize why I’d practice various non-asian dialects as well as doing vocal impressions of John Wayne for example until one day years later there was a casting call for House of Lee’s Chinese BBQ sauce looking for an Asian John Wayne which I booked & it worked. Then years later fooling around between set ups on a two hour Magnum P.I. I lightened up with my John Wayne impression…word got to the head guy and the next season a character was created Lt. Gordon Katsumoto who drove Magnum to distraction with his John Wayne impression later brought back the next season in another episode. The point learned was you can demand such and such or you can also light the imagination with a skill set that can be incorporated into the script. There are ways to deal with obstacles without using blunt force. All I will say that the landscape of Hollywood in the early ’70’s was very challenging to surmount, and though there are attitudes and beliefs that need to be dealt with what was a monochromatic rainbow back in the day is more colorful today and accepting. But what still is a truism, they have to be carefully taught and as a fisherman you want the catch you have to also have the patience and development of your skill set to effectuate and build a place for oneself. Heck after 46 years I’m still at it and it never get’s old.
Mahalo,
Clyde Kusatsu