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Your new movie The Workout - in a few words, what's it
about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?
The Workout is a good old-fashioned revenge action movie, but told through
found footage, which gives it a fresh twist. I play Wyatt, an ex-Army
Ranger who opens up his own gym and runs his own YouTube channel with his
brother-in-law, Wyatt, who is also an ex-Army Ranger.
What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and
how much Peter Jae can we find in Wyatt?
The character of Wyatt was honestly a dream role for me — I’ve always
loved that classic ‘honorable hero’ archetype. But to really make him my
own, I had to dig deep and personalize his story. And, let’s be real — not
to give a spoiler alert, but I’m the only Asian American in the entire
film. That instantly gave me something interesting to explore.
So I built out this whole backstory: Wyatt grew up in a rough
neighborhood, the only Asian kid on the block, constantly fighting to
prove himself. He had an abusive immigrant father who had a hard time
adjusting to life in America, and an older brother whom he absolutely
despised because not only did he not protect Wyatt, but he was also
bullied, and that tension shaped everything — his drive, his toughness,
his need for purpose. So he trains his ass off and eventually becomes an
Army Ranger to channel all that pain into strength. Meanwhile, his
brother, who wasn’t as strong, ends up committing suicide. This riddles
Wyatt with guilt, inspiring him to start his own gym and YouTube channel,
making a vow to help guys like his brother find their own self-worth.
Now, none of that actually happened in my real life — thank God — but it was
inspired by my own experiences growing up as an Asian American in a
dysfunctional home and feeling like an outsider. So, yeah, Wyatt’s not me…
but he kind of is. I gave him my fight, my resilience, and a little bit of
that chip-on-the-shoulder energy that drives me in my everyday life.
Since The Workout was shot found footage style, in what way (if at all)
has this informed your performance? Well, shooting
The Workout was wild because most people don’t realize we were literally wearing two
hats — actor and cameraman. We had GoPro vests strapped to us the whole time, so every shot
you see is from our actual POV. At first, it was tricky — you’re trying to
hit your marks while also framing the shot, which is basically like
patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. But after a
while, it became second nature.
What I actually loved about it was how freeing
it felt. When you take away the big camera setup, the lights, the crew
staring at you — it strips away all that performance anxiety. Normally,
when there’s a big lens in your face, something inside you subconsciously
clicks into ‘actor mode’. But with the GoPros, it felt raw and real. I
completely immersed myself in the circumstances of the story and just
lived in each moment. It honestly made the performance way more authentic.
With The Workout being an action movie, is that a genre you feel at home at,
and how did you prepare for your action scenes? Oh man, we went full throttle from day one. Not only were we the actors
AND cameramen— we were ALSO our own stunt doubles. No stunt team, no fancy
rigs — just indie filmmaking at its rawest! Lol. Luckily, I’ve done a lot
of stunt work before, and a lot of my roles tend to get physical, so that
part felt pretty natural. But I always make it clear — I’m an actor who
does his own stunts, not a stunt performer. Those guys are a different
breed. They train nonstop, take insane hits, and make it look easy. I’ve
got nothing but respect for that world. That said, I love the physical
side of what we do. I lift weights, train in kickboxing, and BJJ in real
life, so getting to bring that energy to the set was a blast.
Unfortunately, other than meeting a couple of times before the shoot, we
didn’t have the time or budget for big rehearsals. We basically showed up
every day, sized up the scene and said ‘alright, let’s figure it out.’
But keep in mind, Wyatt is not John Wick. He’s a flawed, unpolished human
being desperately trying to find answers. So although it sounds chaotic,
it actually made everything feel real — raw adrenaline, no filters, pure
storytelling through action and movement. How did you
get involved with the project in the first place?
Director
James Cullen Bressack [James
Cullen Bressack interview - click here] and I had worked together before and became good friends, so when he
called me after the strikes ended, I thought he just wanted to talk about
the last movie we did. But then he goes, ‘Hey, did you see my birthday
post on Instagram? I’m making a new movie.’ I’d seen it but didn’t think
much of it — I mean, people post stuff all the time, right? Then he got
all nervous and said, ‘Would you want to play the lead?’
Now, I’ve been acting for over 20 years, and that kind of call just doesn’t happen
— especially for an Asian American actor. I was like, wait… is this an
Asian movie? What’s happening right now? And I’m born and raised in NY, I
don’t trust anyone. Lol. But of course I eventually said yes. But then he
drops the bomb: He’s got no money and only 15 pages of a script. Classic
James. But honestly, that’s what I love about working with him. It’s always a
little chaotic and challenging, but in the end, it’s always worth it. He
always delivers. I went into this thinking it would never get finished,
and somehow, he pulled it off again. We made a movie! With basically no
money! Crazy! What can you tell us about The Workout's director James Cullen
Bressack, and what was your collaboration
like? I first met James when he cast me as the
main villain opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in his film Darkness of Man.
He emailed me asking for my reel — I sent it — and literally five minutes
later, he calls and goes, ‘You’re my guy. No audition.’ Lol. And that’s
James in a nutshell. He just knows.
He doesn’t get caught up in tapes or overthink it; he goes off instinct.
He trusts actors to bring their truth to the character, and that’s rare.
That first project was tough — it really pushed me — but I think through
that process, he saw something in me. So when The Workout
came around, he could’ve cast anyone, but he took a risk on me. He saw
past who “the industry says Wyatt should be” and went with what his gut
says he should be. And that meant everything, especially as an actor who’s
spent most of his career feeling invisible. For once, I felt seen.
The second time working together was totally different — by then, we were
already friends. The energy on set was like a bunch of kids playing in a
sandbox. James shows up in his tracksuits, keeps the vibe super light and
fun, but when it’s time to work, he’s laser-focused. He surrounds himself
with people he trusts, so every set feels like family. That’s what makes
his projects so special — it’s chaos, heart, and laughter all rolled into
one. And everyone plays an important part.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the
on-set atmosphere? There’s that saying, movie magic. Well, every day something special
happened and we all felt it because we kept looking at each other with
huge smiles, but didn’t want to speak about it because we didn’t want to
get ahead of ourselves and jinx it. But each day it grew bigger and
stronger to the point it was undeniable. What started as a group of
friends just trying to stay productive and creative after the strikes
quickly evolved into something far greater. Even the extras and stunt
players who volunteered for the day felt it and wanted to come back to be
a part of it.
Every project you work on, through the blood, sweat, and tears, you become
a part of a family. And I’m so grateful for The Workout family. Everyone
from the actors, extras, stunt players, wardrobe, make-up, props, craft
services, assistants, they were all a huge part of making something
special out of nothing.
Any future projects you'd like
to share?
I have a script that I wrote loosely based on my upbringing in the Bronx.
I know Asian content is booming right now, and we’re having a moment, but
I feel like we never got to tell the story of my generation. Stories from
the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, of the 1.5 generation latchkey kids. There’s Crazy Rich Asians,
well, I’m telling Crazy BROKE Asians. It’s the ANTI-model minority story.
I think it’s important to show all the flaws and imperfections of the
Asian AMERICAN experience so it humanizes us. We’re more than just BTS,
Blackpink, and K-dramas. I’m hoping The Workout will help open doors to
let me tell this story. It’s definitely a passion project.
What got you into acting in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I first got into acting while secretly living at a church during my
rug-rat teen years. It’s a long story, but to keep it short, one day I
broke into one of the rooms to find stuff to sell to make some money, came
across some fancy puppets, started playing around with them, then got
caught by the children’s pastor. But instead of calling the cops, he saw
my talent for it. Next thing you know, I was touring with him, hitting up
different churches, performing puppet shows for hundreds of kids. Then I
got accepted into LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing
Arts. That school changed my life and allowed me to see life outside the
Bronx and meet fellow weirdos like myself. I took some acting classes at
Rutgers University, but nothing serious.
Years later, I got back into it while designing clothes and running my own
greeting card company. I got cheap headshots done and submitted myself for
everything I could- student films, independent films, random commercials,
etc. It was like my boot camp. Then I started taking more classes and just
fell deeper in love with it.
I’m always in class. Acting is like working out to me. You have to
constantly go to the gym to exercise your sensitivity, imagination and
empathy every day, or those muscles get weak.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to The
Workout?
As I mentioned earlier, because of my physical stature, a lot of the
movies I’ve worked on were acting stunt roles. I’ve had fight scenes with
Gerard Butler, Chris Hemsworth, Ken Jeong, Scott Caan, let’s just say I
have no shortage of credits as gangsters, thugs, goons, and convicts on my
resume. Lol. But all those characters lacked depth. What I’m most proud of is the
critically acclaimed, hilarious YouTube web series we released back in
2010 called Ktown Cowboys.
Believe it or not, I have the most fun working on comedy. At that time,
there was a huge void as far as Asian Amerianstories go, so we decided to do a show
about a group of friends and the perfect night out in Koreatown. It was
like an “Asian Swingers” or “Asian Entourage”. I had the opportunity to
play this brash yet sensitive meathead named Peter, and the community ate
it up. It went viral, then snowballed into a movie that we premiered at
SXSW in 2015. We were like local heroes within Asian American communities all across
America. Unfortunately, it was way before our time. Hollywood still wasn’t ready to
greenlight Asian American content, so we had to find funding ourselves,
and eventually it fizzled out. Now Asian content is the rage, but everyone
forgot about us. It kinda sucks. But when I randomly meet people who tell
me how we changed their lives and inspired them to get into entertainment
or just helped them find their Asian pride in general, you realize the
impact that it had on people who felt neglected for so many years. It
sounds cliché, but that’s something success or money can’t buy. And the
best part of it is we did that on our own. With no support from
Hollywood. How would you describe yourself as an
actor, and some of your techniques to bring your characters to life?
It’s all about story, story, story. Of course, certain techniques help you
get deeper into character and help you focus on being present. I’m
learning these improvisational techniques for acting at the moment and
having a blast. But to me, the most important thing is immersing yourself
in the story and being present to the circumstances you’re dealing with.
Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you?
I’m inspired by tons of actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christian Bale
and Gary Oldman. But I always look up to the guys that play strong
characters with a big heart — Jon Bernthal, Tom Hardy and Denzel
Washington. Not only is he a great actor, but a man of faith and
integrity, which is lacking in Hollywood. He’s not afraid to be who he is
and share that. And he has a passion for bettering the younger generation,
which is very important to me.
Your favourite movies? Godfather 1 & 2, City of Gods,
Forrest Gump, Do the Right Thing,
Braveheart, Almost Famous,
Swingers. Too many to name!
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... and of course,
films you really deplore? No comment. Also, too many to name. Lol. Your website, social
media, whatever else? Follow me on Instagram
@peterjaenyla Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Check out
The Workout on VOD and Blu-ray October 28th!! Please support
independent films by spreading the word and leaving reviews :)
https://athome.fandango.com/content/browse/details/The-Workout/4554278
Thanks for the interview!
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