Awkwafina on The Farewell , Crazy Rich Asians , and the Importance of Representation
What’s the difference between Nora Lum, the soup-loving New York native, and Awkwafina, the actor-rapper currently starring in The Farewell? “One has acid reflux, the other yells a lot,” Lum says.
Vogue found the star holed up in L.A.’s Koreatown, where she gamely (and hilariously) answered our 73 Questions. Her dream travel companion? Jon Snow. “I think he’d be a little reluctant at first, and then he’d be really helpful along the journey.” Is she an early bird or a night owl? “I’m a night owl that goes to bed early and wakes up early—so I guess an early bird.” Where does she feel most at home? “Probably in an abandoned school bus, hurling insults at trees.” Who among us doesn’t?
When the conversation turns to work, Lum grows contemplative, describing the challenges—and opportunities—of being a woman in comedy, as well as what it means to work in film as an Asian American. “You don’t realize how important [representation] is until you realize you’ve been missing it your entire life,” she says of the overwhelming response to 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians.
Happily, Lum has a lot more up her sleeve: It was revealed last fall that she’d been developing a show for Comedy Central. When we fished for a spoiler, she bit. “At the end,” she says, “everyone dies…in the spaceship.” You heard it here first, folks!
Originally Appeared on Vogue
