ProfileFast & Furious actor Sung Kang on opportunities for Asians in Hollywood and why his directorial debut, a horror comedy, is more funny than scary

What is it like transitioning from a billion-dollar franchise to a microbudget indie film? Sung Kang knows the answer. “Lunch on a Fast & Furious movie costs more than the whole budget for Shaky Shivers,” he says, laughing. “But at its core, filmmaking is still the same. You have a three-act structure. Actors have to hit their marks. Lights have to go up. You have to call ‘Action’ and ‘Cut’.” A horror comedy set in northern California, Shaky Shivers marks Kang’s feature debut as a director. He took on the project while waiting for his next acting job. “It was time to get behind the camera and start creating,” he says. “As a director, I can give opportunities to people who face the same struggles I face in Hollywood. It’s about paying forward and passing on knowledge.” The son of South Korean immigrants, Kang became an international star as Han Lue in the 2006 film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Although the character died in the climax of that film, Lue was such a fan favourite that he was resurrected in later films in the Fast & Furious series. Since then, Kang has worked steadily in film and television. Each new project gave him the opportunity to learn more about directing – filling his “toolbox”, as he put it. Oscar-winning star Ke Huy Quan says Hong Kong film industry helped inspire him “I’ve worked with amazing directors like Walter Hill, who’s a living legend,” Kang says. “He was so generous about his approach to filmmaking. So was Robert Rodriguez. He was an open book; I’d ask him how he did a scene in From Dusk till Dawn, and he’d pull out his computer and show me.” Kang faced his share of discrimination when he started out in the 1990s. He tried to avoid stereotypes like “guy with machete” or “guy with kung fu” – the first ones to get killed in thrillers. He worked closely with Fast & Furious director Justin Lin to expand Han Lue’s role from his appearance in Lin’s 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow. “It’s great when Michelle Yeoh wins an Oscar,” Kang says. “Projects with Asian-American or diverse casting are wonderful, but will they continue? “People think it’s all rosy on my side of the fence, but I’ve yet to play the role I feel I can. It’s like I’m at the starting line, but I never get to run the full race. Yes, I’ve been in big tent pole movies. But as an artist, I am not fulfilled.” When the roles he wanted didn’t appear, Kang decided to forge ahead as a producer and director. “It’s OK not to be Michael Jordan,” he says, “if I can coach the team and create another Jordan.” Kang’s friends Andrew McAllister and Aaron Strongoni wrote the script for Shaky Shivers, which focuses on Lucy (Brooke Markham) and Karen (VyVy Nguyen), friends and coworkers at an ice-cream stand. Lucy is convinced she’s been cursed as a werewolf. It’s up to Karen to cure her while avoiding attacks by zombies and demons. “Andy, Aaron and I, we’re all children of the eighties,” Kang says. “We grew up watching An American Werewolf in London and Evil Dead. Andy wanted to share his love for this genre with his nine-year-old daughter without scaring the bejabbers out of her. “That’s why they created these characters. The story’s really about their friendship.” Shaky Shivers is also about creating practical effects instead of relying on computers. For one thing, Kang didn’t have the budget for CG. He also wanted to pay homage to make-up and effects artists like Gabriel Bartalos and Rick Baker. McAllister and Strongoni had made a short documentary about Bartalos, the special effects supervisor on Shaky Shivers and a veteran of films such as Leprechaun, Darkman and Blade. “Gabe created all the monsters and practical effects in our film,” Kang says. “Without his support, we would never have been able to make Shaky Shivers. His craft is a dying art form in Hollywood.” The monsters and gore in Kang’s film are deliberately outlandish, more funny than frightening. To find the proper balance between humour and horror, the director leaned heavily on his performers. “I would read the words on paper and think, ‘This is not funny at all. How is turning into a zombie going to be funny?’” he says. “If Brooke and VyVy couldn’t lift those words, find the humour in them, we wouldn’t have had a chance with this film. “I think this was the second comedy I ever worked on,” he adds. “The beauty of comedy is that there’s an instant reaction. Even during the take you start hearing giggles. “On the third take, if you can afford a third one, if the crew is still laughing, you have it right. If there’s no reaction and people are falling asleep, you have a problem.” Would Kang ever consider directing himself in a movie? “Early in my career I got to work with Denzel Washington on the first film he directed, Antwone Fisher,” he says. “He let me hang out with him, basically shadow him to see how he worked. He was a great mentor. “Because of the business aspect of the project, he had to put himself in the film as an actor. He told me, ‘This is just way too much.’ “Now I don’t consider myself the best actor, and I’m definitely not the best director,” Kang says. “So that’s two things I’m not great at. Why would I double that up? I’m not good at multitasking anyway, so let me focus on one or the other.” Kang is developing two film projects, one about his childhood in a biracial family in the US state of Georgia. “I want to get that out in the world,” he says. “It’s about my father and mother. There’s a fire under that one because I want to honour my father, who’s not too healthy, before it’s too late.” The second project is based on Shuichi Shigeno’s Initial D manga. “It’s about cars and drifting and cool things like that,” Kang says. “Almost a Rocky or Karate Kid. A fun, big-budget movie that expresses my love affair for cars.” For now Kang is plotting the future of Shaky Shivers after its September 21 cinema debut with content provider Fathom Events. Grateful for the passion of his cast and crew, he also realises how much he was helped by the “foreign” world of post-production. “I got to work with some industry veterans in part because I didn’t know what I was doing,” he says. “You may sound dumb the first time, but if you don’t ask questions, you’ll continue not to know. “On the other hand, I believe if you are humble and transparent, people will go out of their way to help you.” Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook