Constance Wu:
“You have to detach yourself from the result”
(arranged by AM Staff)
“You have to detach yourself from the result. You have to, instead, attach to the result which is going into the audition room, and really, fully, realizing the life of this human being that you’re trying to portray.”
Constance Wu, the American actress who shot to fame after landing the starring role of Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series, Fresh Off the Boat in 2015, recently shared her experiences as a struggling actress.
In an interview with the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, Wu described how she struggled to gain a foothold in the New York theater scene and, later, in Hollywood.
“I was on the really gritty road of auditioning and rejection. And, rejection for often very superfluous reasons. That’s why you have to, not necessarily have a thick skin in this industry because, I think an actor has to maintain a certain sensitivity and vulnerability, in order to have work that has a great emotional resonance.”
“So, it’s not a thick skin you have to have, necessarily, but you have to detach yourself from the result. And the result is booking a job. And you have to, instead, attach to the result which is going into the audition room, and really, fully, realizing the life of this human being that you’re trying to portray.”
“I used to equate my personal worthiness with employment. And it took me feeling empty over and over again to understand that that’s not where the real worth lies.”
“And then, when you don’t get it, it stings a little bit, but you went out there and you did your craft. You did the thing that was meaningful to you.”
“And that took me a long time to really understand because I used to equate my personal worthiness with employment. And it took me feeling empty over and over again to understand that that’s not where the real worth lies”
Wu appeared in small roles on television series like One Life to Live and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as on stage and independent film roles before landing her breakout role.
Following her big break on Fresh Off the Boat, Wu won critical acclaim when she starred as Rachel Chu in Crazy Rich Asians. Her performance earned her Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
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