Jason Wayne Wong is a Chinese-American-Canadian actor whose desire to tell stories and entertain others has been strong since he was a child, despite being discouraged from pursuing the arts at a young age. Overcoming adversity from the industry, society, and even his own family, Jason has now been performing on stage and in front of the camera for over 15 years. We had the opportunity to speak with him about his career
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. For readers unfamiliar with your background, what drew you both to a career in film and TV?
I got started in the theatre/stage scene in San Francisco 20 years ago and gradually moved into more film and TV, first through commercials and then with various projects that were shot in San Francisco or the Bay Area. After spending the pandemic in Vancouver (which was the only place that kept filming/working during the shutdowns), I’m in LA now and enjoying bigger projects and roles.
You were discouraged from pursuing the arts at a young age. Please tell us more about your pursuit of an acting career and how these early experiences shaped your appreciation of acting.
I wish I could have studied drama or theatre sooner, but I ended up being more focused on those pursuits and what I wanted after I finished university (where I studied art instead.) I started taking studio classes at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (ACT), and after almost a year of evening/night classes, I took the plunge and started auditioning for various plays and theatre companies.
Who were your early influences and how did they impact your career?
Growing up, television wasn’t as diverse as it is today. So even though I appreciated the performances of some of the great mainstream actors of film and TV at the time, I really found myself drawn to any featured actor of color. Sometimes when you don’t see yourself represented in the media, you find yourself drawn to anything (or anyone) who also represents the “other”, whether they’re a POC or LGBTQ or the antagonist or anti-hero.
I’m so glad my first feature film was directed by Wayne Wang. Watching an established and well-regarded Asian-American director at work was so encouraging. When I started booking higher profile roles, it was more about observing professionalism and collegiality on and off the set, no matter their age, gender, or color. Anthony Edwards and Henry Thomas were just the truly nicest people to work and socialize with. And more recently, when I worked on an episode of Good Trouble, series lead Cierra Ramirez was the first person to welcome me to set and made me feel so incredibly welcomed and included. The way you behave towards others—no matter what their role is—can really set the right tone for everyone. I will always remember those people and those good experiences and hope I can pass along that positive energy to others I work with.
You’ve appeared in numerous stage and screen projects, including a variety of roles in Netflix’s “I Think You Should Leave”, Freeform’s “Good Trouble”, Here TV’s “Not So Straight in Silverlake”, HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant”, NBC’s “This is Us”, ABC’s “A Million Little Things”, The CW’s “The Flash”, and Hulu’s “Chance”. What draws you to a role and how do you prepare for a character?
I have to be honest—I’m still at a stage in my career where I will take almost any job that comes my way! I’m just lucky they’ve all been such rewarding projects. The preparation is always the same (thanks to my training at ACT and now with my current acting coach in LA): Who is this character and what do they want? What do they do in order to get what they want? Sometimes it’s relatively simple, sometimes it takes more work, but it always starts that way…at least for me!
Are there any projects, in hindsight, you feel you shouldn’t have worked on, and if so why?
Every project is a chance to learn and grow, even if it’s not what you originally expected. As with any job, you learn what good management or leadership can be. Or you learn how to protect yourself. There’s growth and development no matter what.
Audiences will be able to see you as David Tan in the Amazon Prime Video project, “American Girl: Corrine Tan”. Please tell us more about the roles and what viewers can expect.
I loved this role for so many reasons, first and foremost because of the representation we show to young audiences. I only knew about the American Girls dolls through my niece, who was really into them about 15 or so years ago. But in preparing for the role as the father of one of the American Girls, I did a deep dive into their history and stories as well as the history of the “Girl of the Year” line of dolls. Each year, the “girl of the year” has a mission or a particular story or cause. And ours is about equality, sportsmanship, and showing that any girl—including an Asian one—can be athletic, adventurous, bold, and brave.
You are also a book publisher, publishing your late husband, Jim Nawrocki’s collection of work. Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss. Can you walk us through the process of bringing his work to the public?
I was so lucky to learn about 7.13 Books and its founder Leland Cheuk in Poetry & Writers magazine. Reading about Leland’s personal struggles with cancer and the traditional publishing industry inspired me to write a heartfelt letter about Jim’s similar struggles, with the main difference being that Jim couldn’t beat his cancer. It came from a place of love and devotion, so when Leland agreed to publish Jim’s work it felt like I had accomplished something major for him, so he could rest knowing a large portion of his work would be in print and live on.
I had worked in magazine publishing briefly as well as graphic design and print production, but publishing a book was a new process for me. I guess I was lucky we had a lot of time during the pandemic shutdowns to work on it, taking our time to make sure we’d produce a book Jim would have been proud of.
What other projects are currently working on?
We just came out of an actors’ strike, so I’m back to auditioning and promoting projects that I couldn’t really talk about while on strike. One of my pilots, For Years to Come, has been blowing up on the film festival circuit, with sold-out screenings in LA and NY. It’s such a lovely, heart-warming story with a little plot twist, and it features me and writer/creator James Patrick Nelson as romantic leads—a role we’re not always cast in, even within the LGBTQ community. The entire team behind it hopes we can get funding and distribution for more episodes soon.
A second season of Not So Straight in Silver Lake with Daniel Franzese (of Mean Girls and Looking fame) has just premiered on HereTV, and a lot happens to my character throughout four episodes. (Sorry, no spoilers from me!)
I’m also looking forward to being in the new season of The Disappointments, a hilarious web series where I got to work with legendary Asian-American actor Gedde Watanabe. The scripts (by writer/director and star Rich Burns) were so over-the-top funny. I’ve always wanted to work on a comedy like this, and this second season takes all the laughs to a new level!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
I’m @retrogradejason on Instagram, and you can also find out more about my husband Jim’s book at 7.13 Books’ website, www.713books.com
Thanks so much!
Photos by Ashley Barrett
About Author
