We’re looking forward to introducing you to EFFY HAN. Check out our conversation below.
Hi EFFY, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
intense martial art training
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Effy Han. I’m an L.A.-based international Chinese actor. I came to Hollywood to pursue my dream — to learn from the best and play among the best. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to find myself surrounded by incredible talent and creative energy, and I count myself lucky every time.
Outside of acting, I’m also a motorcyclist and martial artist, training in a range of disciplines including Jiu-Jitsu, Aikido, Muay Thai, Filipino Kali, Boxing, and Firearm Tactics.
In short, my story is about walking the hero’s journey — I answered the call, came to L.A., and I’m still moving through the trials, challenges, and growth that come with it. Like many dream chasers here, I’m discovering what the next chapter holds — one step, one fight, one breakthrough at a time.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I can’t pinpoint the exact first time I felt powerful, but I remember countless moments from my childhood. After reading a story, I would disappear into my bedroom and transform into the characters I’d just met. Sometimes my sister would join me if she felt indulgent. I’d drape myself in blankets, turn pillowcases into costumes, and play out entire worlds.
In those moments, I wasn’t just a kid in a room — I was traveling through worlds, through time. It was exhilarating, creative, and alive. Even now, when I step on stage or into a role, I find myself in that same space: a time traveler, a world traveler, fully alive with every nerve ending sparking.
That’s what makes me feel powerful — living inside stories, embodying characters, and channeling creativity into something bigger than myself.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Was there ever a time I almost gave up? Honestly — yes, more than once.
LA is not an easy city to live in, and the entertainment industry is not an easy one to survive in. Especially in the past few years — we went through a pandemic, industry strikes, long pauses when everyone kept saying, “The industry is coming back,” but it didn’t, not really. I watched productions leave LA, and now I’m watching people fight to bring them back.
There were moments I felt completely drained — emotionally, financially, and energetically — just from staying, from not walking away. But somehow, I’m still here. And I count that as a win.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I can only speak from my own experience as an actor, but I think the entertainment industry follows money a little too closely. And that’s where I see it fail.
Studios keep betting on movies just because they have big names attached — or because they fit a “proven formula” — and then those projects flop. Meanwhile, the smaller films, the ones that come out of nowhere with real sincerity, with a human core, with a storyteller who cares — those are the ones that win hearts and sometimes even box offices.
I’m not claiming to be an industry expert, but I’ve noticed this: when we chase names, trends, or followers instead of truth, we lose the essence of storytelling. The real purpose of a story is to reveal something honest about humanity — to make people feel seen, to make them think, to remind them they’re not alone.
If the industry could just shift its focus a little — to underrepresented communities that hold some of the most powerful untold stories, or to those “new” actors who’ve been quietly grinding for years — I think we’d rediscover that miracle spark of cinema.
Because in the end, sincerity outlives formula.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
That’s a tricky question, but I think the answer is — both.
I know I was born to do this.
I’m here in the place I dreamed of as a child, doing exactly what lit me up back then — telling stories, becoming characters, living inside imagination. If a passion shows up that early and stays that strong, it’s not a coincidence. It’s calling. It’s destiny.
But at the same time, I’m also doing what I’ve been taught to do — following advice, feedback, sometimes even unsolicited directions from people who think they know the path:
“You need to shoot your headshots this way.”
“You should post more on social media.”
“You have to network like this.”
And while a lot of those suggestions come from good intentions — the tricky part is knowing which ones are for me. Because sometimes those well-meaning voices drown out my own.
The truth is, social media, networking, strategy — they all have value. But they don’t always light my fire. I feel most alive when I’m creating, not when I’m curating.
So, I guess I’m still learning how to balance it — to stay level-headed enough to take good advice, but brave enough to trust my own instincts.
Because the real work, for me, isn’t just acting.
It’s learning to hear my own voice again — louder than the noise of the world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @effy.h_
