Hi Rich, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a 4th generation Chinese-Japanese American who was born in Torrance, CA, and grew up in both Southern and Northern California. At the age of 4-years old, I began my training and studying of Tae Kwon Do, earning my 1st-degree black belt at the age of 13-years old. Raised in an athletic family, I earned Varsity letters in all four sports in high school: football, basketball, baseball, and track. While my parents stressed the importance of balancing both academics and athletics, my childhood dream was to earn an athletic scholarship and play Division 1 college football. That dream became a reality when I was recruited by various Pac 10 (currently the NCAA Pac 12 Conference) and Ivy League colleges, ultimately committing to play football at Yale University. As the son of a sports orthopedic surgeon, I fulfilled all of my pre-medical requirements but my true academic interest lay in the humanities. I graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in History/American Studies continuing my academic studies in graduate school, where I earned both J.D. & M.B.A. degrees.
Having played Division I college football at Yale University, I continued to maintain my physical weight training and conditioning workout regimens as well as my martial arts well after graduating from college. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate school careers, I trained (as a hobby) at different acting studios as a way of pursuing my childhood dream of being a Hollywood actor. After graduating from both law school and business school, I was coincidentally approached and asked by stunt coordinators in Hollywood if I would be willing to do stunts in some upcoming feature films. With absolutely zero knowledge or experience in the film making industry, I decided to take this challenge as an opportunity to learn and educate myself on set etiquette, film and television culture, as well as just “jumping right into the fire.” I promised myself (and also notified my close friends and family that were in the stunt business) that I would work in stunts until I was able to completely cross over to the acting side of the industry. As a result, I was fortunate enough to work on various major Hollywood feature films gaining and obtaining an immense amount of knowledge and insight about the film making industry. Born and raised in Los Angeles, I definitely believe that the surrounding “Hollywood” environment influenced me to want to pursue a career in acting.
I remember seeing huge billboards for films, TV shows, concerts, brand names as well as attending school with children of famous celebrities. As a child, I often asked myself (1) why there was not a famous “Asian American” leading man and (2) why were all Asian actors (like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan) martials artists or characters that could fight and fly through the air. Legends like Bruce Lee definitely inspired and motivated me to pursue my study of martial arts but I was always curious why there was never an Asian American “dad,” “boyfriend,” “policeman,” “firefighter,” “lawyer,” or “hero.” All of my childhood friends had favorite actors that they could relate to ethnically and racially, however, I could never find that one Asian American leading man that represented my “hero.” As a result, the dream and pursuit of becoming not only an Asian American actor but a leading man in Hollywood began. It has been an absolute dream come true for me to be working in Hollywood as an actor, and I continue to live the dream everyday I go to set and perform my craft in front of the cameras.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was extremely difficult for me to break into the acting scene, especially since I had begun my official acting career in my late-20s. Having graduated from Yale University as well as law school and M.B.A. school, I was only able to make the transition to the entertainment industry as an actor later in my life. I was fortunate to have been introduced to the industry via stunts due to my family and close friends who are stunt coordinators in the business. As I previously mentioned, my career as an actor began in Los Angeles, cast for “Lenny” in the TV series, “Beyond the Break” (2007-2009) and “Heatblast” in the Warner Brothers’ (Cartoon Network) feature film, “Ben 10: Race Against Time” (2007). That same year, I was also cast in the feature film “Deadly Impact” and in 2009, I debuted on the big screen alongside Angelina Jolie in the film entitled, “Salt.”
However, I decided to accept a role in a feature film in Vietnam commemorating 1,000 years of the capital city of Hanoi in 2009 that led me to live and work in Vietnam for almost two years. As a result of my work and popularity in South East Asia, I was able to get the attention of producers and directors back in Hollywood that allowed me the opportunity to be cast in the feature film, “Make Your Move,” alongside “Dancing With the Stars” regular, Derrick Hough and Korean pop-star singer, “BoA” directed by Duane Adler (who also directed “Save the Last Dance” and “Step Up.”) In 2014, I had to opportunity to travel to Asia again and star in 3 feature films and 1 TV series in South Korea. Again, these opportunities opened doors for me back in Hollywood, and since I have fortunately remained busy working on productions back in the U.S. I have dedicated my life to pursuing my acting career and have always been open to sacrificing my lifestyle and comfort in order to have success in Hollywood.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Everyday, actors are judged, criticized, and often rejected which can ultimately be very intimidating and overall discouraging. The industry continues to test our commitment, willingness, self-sacrifice, and level of perseverance that we are willing to uphold and exercise in order to pursue our dreams as artists. My journey thus far represents one in which I have refused to give up and stop. There have been numerous times in my career that I have hit a dead-end or did not know what to do or what to focus on. These times have always tested my faith, courage, and belief in what my parents installed me as a child, to always keep working and never quit. Constant rejection and failed auditions have motivated me to continue to work on my craft but to focus on different aspects of the training, such as my physical health and scene study classes. I have found that by staying in top physical shape as well as working with other actors in my acting studio has provided me with the positive distractions from the everyday grind of auditioning and stressing about the next job. I pride myself on the notion of always “being ready,” so I never have to “get ready” for the next potential role or project. The most detrimental thing any actor can do to sabotage their career is to literally stop. Throughout my early life, I was always searching for something that would “wake me up in the morning and get me out of bed.” In college, I heard all of my classmates discuss their future plans and career goals but I still had not pinpointed exactly what I wanted to do. I always knew regardless of what I chose as a future career that I would need to absolutely love it, be it, and live it everyday of my life. From being a history major at Yale University while completing all of my pre-med requirements to earning a joint J.D./M.B.A. dual degree in graduate school, I still did not know what I wanted to do with my life. My parents taught me to always keep working at something and never stop.
If I didn’t know what to do, then I should continue focusing and striving for excellence on what I was currently working on in my life. I always believed that as long as I kept on persevering towards a common goal other opportunities and “doors” would present themselves to me. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to pursue as a career, I had the confidence and faith to believe that as long as I stayed motivated, proactive, and determined, that career “door” would eventually present itself for me to walk through. And that’s exactly what happened. An offer at a law firm brought me back to Los Angeles where I coincidentally received my first job offer to work on a Warner Brothers’ feature film in the summer of 2007, drastically altering my career path. Ironically, my dream of being an actor in Hollywood had begun solely based on my achievements and accomplishments of graduating from law and business school and accepting a job at a law firm. Whether I was studying at Yale or pursuing my graduate degrees in law and business or trying to get representation in the industry, I always kept working and never let my creative “engine” stop. With every conclusion or rejection that I have faced has always led to another door being opened. If I would have stopped persevering or quit in any of my ventures, I would have never ended up playing collegiate football at Yale, graduating from law and business school, signing with an agency, joining my actor’s studio, or even booking my next job.
This is all obviously easier said than done, but I stress to everyone that during those dark, lonely times when things appear to not be working out or progressing as you would have expected, you must always continue to stay active and proactive about fine-tuning your craft, whatever that specialty or interest may be. The training never stops, so one should always be cognizant that they are not only training or grinding now, for example, as a young actor until they “make it,” but that the training and commitment is a lifestyle. You must love it, be it, and live it everyday of your life. To me, this is what being an actor in Hollywood is all about. As I reflect on my acting career thus far in the industry, I can only attribute it to the principle my parents preached to me as a child: always keep working no matter what you do. Throughout my life as a student, athlete, and now actor, I have continued to live by this principle of always working and persevering through both the positives and negatives in any given situation despite not knowing what the future holds for me. It has been an incredible journey since I began acting, and I am grateful for all the opportunities as well as friendships and relationships this industry has afforded me. I encourage everyone pursuing the same path as me or sharing similar desires and career goals to always keep grinding and working no matter how difficult the process is or becomes.
The worst decision anyone can choose to make is to literally stop and negate all of the positive momentum that he or she has generated so far in their individual career, life, and overall universe. Had I quit studying martial arts as a young child or playing Pop Warner football in elementary school, I am confident to say that I would have never achieved my first childhood dream of playing Division 1 college football at Yale University nor been presented with the opportunities (decades later) that would allow me to fulfill my second childhood dream of working as an actor in Hollywood. Words cannot express how honored and humbled I am to bring to life an idea, vision, and dream of the legendary martial artist and my childhood idol, Bruce Lee. Never would I have imagined that I would be starring in a project created by the greatest martial arts legend of all time while continuing the pursuit of my dream of being a Hollywood actor. Despite the fact that the entertainment industry is exceptionally critical, unpredictable, and often discouraging, I continue to stay committed everyday to working and pursuing my craft no matter what lies ahead because “running water never grows stale, so you just got to keep on flowing.” – Bruce Lee
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My official website is www.RichTingWorld.com. I am on all social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) @RichTingWorld.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.richtingworld.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/richtingworld
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/richtingworld
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/richtingworld
- Other: www.imdb.me/richting
Image Credits
(1) Photographer: Dana Patrick (2) Photographer: Ryan West
