Constance Wu Says the 'Crazy Rich Asians' Cast Used WhatsApp to Keep In Touch Over 4 Countries
The families of the cast of Crazy Rich Asians are located all around the globe — and between shooting their hit movie and attending the 2019 Academy Awards, the stars have used WhatsApp to keep their relatives updated every step of the way!
Constance Wu, who stars in the 2018 hit, told PeopleTV on the Red Carpet Live special that the cast relied on the Facebook-owned messaging app to keep in touch with their families overseas. The app has been essential to people all over the world for many years since it allows users to make international calls and send messages without having to worry about additional costs.
“We use WhatsApp mostly,” Wu, who also plays mom Jessica Huang in the ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, said while on the red carpet for the 2019 Oscars. “We have different group chats!”
The 36-year-old told PEOPLE in August that when she read Crazy Rich Asians for the first time, she immediately felt a connection to the character Rachel Chu — a New York City economics professor who discovers her boyfriend is ultra-wealthy when she travels to Singapore to meet his family.
“I loved the story and thought, ‘I could play this.’ But it seemed impossible,” Wu said of the character she would play in the film based on the novel.
Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Oscars coverage to get the latest news on film’s biggest night.
“I had never seen an Asian-American woman be the leading role in a movie or saw a face that looked even close to mine that Hollywood deemed worthy of its own fairy-tale story,” she continued.
The film adaptation was the first major Hollywood production in 25 years to star an all-Asian cast (the last was 1993’s The Joy Luck Club).
“Asian Americans are so used to being the number two or number three in a movie that they don’t usually get to explore more than a few facets of themselves,” Wu said. “Rachel is interesting because I had the chance to explore the fun parts but also the vulnerable parts.”
RELATED: Crazy Rich Asians‘ Constance Wu ‘Never’ Thought She’d Get a Lead Movie Role as an Asian-American
Wu got her first big break in Hollywood in 2015 when she began playing the protective mom in Fresh Off the Boat— the first network sitcom about an Asian-American family to air in 20 years. It’s now heading into its fifth season, and Wu says she is having a blast breaking down barriers and doing what she loves.
“Being an actor wasn’t a choice. It’s part of my identity,” she said. “It’s all I ever wanted.”
The 91st Academy Awards are broadcasting live from Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on ABC.
