Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“Even before I knew I was going to get to play the part, I was very excited when I saw the breakdown of the character,” said “XO, Kitty” star Gia Kim. “She was described as this queer, Korean, queen bee. I’ve never seen that combination in a character before. There are so many aspects to her that I thought, ‘She’s gonna just be a whole new archetype of a character. And I’m so thankful it was me who got cast to play her.’”
“I would love to experience more musical exchange in my travels,” said Ian Chang, whose group Son Lux was nominated for an Academy Award for their scoring of the film “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” “Unfortunately, the standard touring model doesn’t allow for this because of how tight the travel and performance schedules tend to be. I do have a very fond memory of trading drum set lessons for cajón lessons in Lima with an incredible cajón player who was just 10 years old.”
“Being in the desert felt like the safest place to be during the pandemic,” said Grammy-nominated songwriter Hollis Wong-Wear of her trip to Joshua Tree. “I could go on walks without a mask and not feel like I was endangering anyone.”
Former football player Isaiah Mustafa is known to TV viewers as Luke Garroway in the Freeform series “Shadowhunters: Mortal Instruments.” He also won an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for his work in the Old Spice commercials.
“One of the things I love about dance is that it has given me the opportunity to see the world,” says Maks Chmerkovskiy, who grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, and New York. “It gave me the opportunity to see things I never could have dreamed about as a little boy.”
Actor Russell Hornsby is technically based out of Los Angeles, but he has lived in Portland for the past six years working on the NBC series “Grimm.” His latest role is opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in the feature film adaptation of “Fences,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by August Wilson: “We filmed in Pittsburgh, which is the setting for ‘Fences.’ It added a level of authenticity and the city became another character. My father is from there and I had been there as a young child, but it felt like this was my first real time in Pittsburgh. It’s a burgeoning city that came out of the rubble of the steel mill and created a new identity. The city offers so much and has also become a very foodie-friendly city that embraces artists. I look forward to returning.”
An avid traveler, Piper Perabo credits her trips for getting her involved with the International Rescue Committee. “I was working in Istanbul and there were so many Syrian refugees there,” she says. “Until then, it hadn’t hit me how far many of them had walked with their families to try to find safety and work. That was an awakening for me.”
George Foreman has many impressive achievements on his resume — world heavyweight boxing champion, gold medalist at the 1968 Olympic Games and entrepreneur (more than 100 million units of his George Foreman grills have sold worldwide). Now the fan favorite is starring in NBC’s new reality series, “Better Late Than Never,” which is a remake of the Korean series, “Grandpas Over Flowers.” Along with Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw and Jeff Dye, Foreman travels the world in the fish-out-of-water concept.
A blockbuster hit in Korea, “Thieves” features an all-star cast that includes Jun Ji-Hyun and Lee Jung-Jae. (The duo shared the big screen in the 2000 film “Il Mare” — the film that was later remade as “The Lake House” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.)
“Downton Abbey” fans immediately recognize Brendan Coyle as John Bates, the valet and former British Army batman to the Earl of Grantham in Julian Fellowes’ period drama series. Coyle, 52, now stars in the Esquire Network’s series, “Spotless,” where he portrays an East London mob boss named Nelson Clay.
“We were lucky enough to grow up in a house where both parents were into cooking,” says DavidFung. “I’d definitely hop on a flight back to Seattle for some steamed salmon fish and Dungeness crab real quick.” His brother, Andrew, adds that he would love to revisit the Gum Moon Ting restaurant in Hong Kong to devour the xiao long bao dumplings.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, sisters Tegan Rain and Sara Keirsten Quin are better known as the musical duo of Tegan and Sara. The twins, 33, won three Juno Awards earlier this year in Canada for their work on their seventh studio album, “Heartthrob.” But the song that has helped earn them a new (and young!) fan base is “Everything is Awesome.” They recorded the infectiously catchy song for “The LEGO Movie.”
Born in Colon, Panama, and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Gary Forbes had basketball on his mind when he was growing up. When he discovered he had Type 1 diabetes, he worried that it would derail his NBA plans. But, with the help of his diabetic father, he learned to navigate his way around his illness. After brief stints with the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets, the 28-year-old athlete last played for the Chinese Basketball Association’s Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. Forbes’ latest project is TypeOneTwo.org, an online forum he created to help young people learn how to live full lives with diabetes.
Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Masaharu Morimoto is recognizable to “Iron Chef” fans as the serious chef who consistently creates artistic and delicious Asian fusion dishes. A star of the Japanese cooking competition that spawned “Iron Chef America,” Morimoto has been a dominant presence on both shows. The 56-year-old chef and restaurateur opened his first restaurant in Japan in 1980, before moving to the United States five years later. He owns restaurants in New York, Tokyo and Mumbai, has a line of sake and beer and is the author of “Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.”
As a little girl, Shannon Lee grew up in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. The only surviving child of Bruce Lee — who would’ve celebrated his 71st birthday this year — Shannon is the CEO of Bruce Lee Enterprises and president of the board of directors for the Bruce Lee Foundation. Based out of L.A., the 42-year-old actress/singer/entrepreneur may be seen next in “I Am Bruce Lee,” a feature-length documentary that will soon air on Spike TV.
As the co-founder and CEO of Kolo — a line of colorful photo albums designed to maintain archival-quality photos without breaking the bank — Peter Dunn loves to travel, even though one-third of his year is spent on the road for business. A resident of Connecticut, Dunn uses websites to hunt down good travel bargains when he goes away to places like Italy and Hong Kong.
The Wonder Girls’ single “Nobody” became the first song by a Korean group to ever hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The quintet, which splits its time between Seoul, South Korea, and New York City, performs its radio-friendly songs in Korean, English and Chinese. After touring with the Jonas Brothers, the Girls hit a string of smaller clubs earlier this year. Known simply by their first names, Yenny and Sun (both 21 years old) and 17-year-old Lim chatted about their favorite vacation spots. Like a true teenager, Lim admits she’s always on the lookout for “famous restaurants and landmarks.”
“Without a question, Bruce Lee was the uncontested idol for a lot of little black boys growing up in the ’70s. We absolutely accepted him as Soul Brother No. 1.”