Desmond Chiam at a special screening of “With Love” season 2.Photo:Mark Von Holden/Getty
Mark Von Holden/Getty
Thanks toJoy Ride, more film audiences will recognizeDesmond Chiam’sface — or at leasthis pecs.
In the raunchy comedy from directorAdele Lim, writers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, and a predominantly Asian team of on- and off-camera talent, the Australian actor, 35, plays a sensual — but celibate — Chinese soap-opera star oppositeStephanie Hsu.
“I got him immediately,” Chiam tells PEOPLE of his character. “And I was like, Asians wrote this. Because they know who this is. They’ve seen this guy.”
It’s the latest in a series of roles demonstrating Chiam’s versatility: he stole scenes as flag smasher Dovich on Marvel’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, yet also embodies a “stupid himbo,” as he puts it, on the rom-com seriesWith Love.
He’ll next star and undergo extensive fight training in the sequel to 2021’sMortal Kombat.
“It was a gradual thing,” Chiam says of discovering his passion for acting. “Listen, I’m a 12-year-old boy inside. I love swinging around swords and pretending to fly X-wings around. Spaceships and cowboys and elves and fantasy and all that stuff.”
That discovery ran counter to what he originally planned for his career: becoming a lawyer. After obtaining a law degree from the University of Melbourne, it was an eye-opening conversation with a colleague at his firm that set Chiam on the path toward on-camera stardom.
“It’s a done deal, the moment you dip your toe in [as an actor], you are in,” he says. “The idea that you can live in these imaginary worlds and then play dress up and put these characters on in the morning and take them off at night, it’s just the most wonderful thing.”
Read on for more from PEOPLE’s exclusive conversation with Chiam.Joy Rideis in theaters now.
You switched from a law career to acting after about three months at a firm. Why was that?
Desmond Chiam:Because lawyers are miserable! [Laughs] That’s not a true statement for every lawyer out there, but this lawyer was miserable. And I had this really insane chat with my partner at the firm that I was at. The junior having lunch with the partner is already, like, social and career gold. I went out and had lunch with him and I thought I was gonna [go] straight to the moon with the career. And he was like, “Des. I wake up in the morning and I just eat my breakfast waiting to get on the tram. And then I’m on the tram waiting to get to work. And then I’m at work waiting for lunch. And really at the end of the day, I’m just waiting to die.”
And I’m like a new hire. I’ve been there for about a month. Like, okay, I think the little voice in my head saying “This is not for you,” I should listen to that and try something else.
That’s amazing you two have had that full-circle moment withJoy Ride. Did you and those friends embark on this showbiz journey knowing how difficult it is to make a living?
You know, intellectually, sure. But I think when you put four Aussies in a room together, it’s a real Han Solo situation. Don’t tell us the odds. [Laughs]
Was being a lawyer ever considered a backup plan, or are you like a gambler, all in on acting?
All in. It’s so funny ’cause everyone’s like, “It’s good that you have the law degree, you have backup.” And there’s no way. I will never go back to that. It’s not in me to go back. So, no, it’s not a viable backup, guys. It is very much an all-in situation here.
But there’s ways you can play the house, you know what I mean? There’s little things that you can do here and there. Look, it is a gamble. And the last person you should take advice from is a gambling addict saying, “Yeah, definitely go to Vegas.” But there are little things you can do. Expand the breadth of your experience, live life, enjoy it. And I think all of those things make the strongest actors.
How did you connect with yourJoy Ridecharacter?
There was a specificity to Clarence that I just knew who this dude was. If you grow up Asian, particularly if you grow up Singaporean as well, the idea of these Chinese or East Asian megachurches, I think there’s a lot of Korean ones in L.A. as well — that are filled to the brim with these extremely good-looking, extremely horny young people.
If you ever go to one of those megachurch youth groups, it’s one of the horniest places you’ll ever go. [Laughs]
There was such a specificity of, I knew the guy. There was this dude who was like a model in one of the Catholic churches in Australia and he was always like, “No, no, no, I’m not good-looking. I’m nothing, I’m above these carnal desires.” And I’m like, “Mate, no you’re not.” It’s just very funny looking at that, you know, “doth protest too much” kind of dynamic. That’s exactly what Clarence was.
Stephanie Hsu plays Clarence’s soap-opera costar and fiancée. What is she like as a scene partner?
Amazing, gentle, welcoming, loves all play. We were putting stuff in there. I don’t even remember but we went off script a bunch… She’s so welcoming. There’s no such thing as first-day jitters on a set with Steph. You walk in and she’s just so nice. That goes for the whole cast, but specifically Steph wassonice.
Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, Ashley Park and Sabrina Wu in “Joy Ride”.Ed Araquel
Ed Araquel
What was the tone of this set? It seems like one of those movies where it’s miraculous to get through a take without breaking.
I will say the core four had a thing going of trying to break each other, which was really, really fun to watch. ’CauseSherry [Cola]will just say some off-the-wall stuff. AndSabrina [Wu]is so funny. Sabrina will come in with just this insane choice. And watchingAshley Parkcrumble was one of the funniest things that I’ve ever seen. It’s like a dam breaching. She’s really trying to hold it.
It was so much fun. And then of course, we had Teresa and Cherry and Adele there and it was like we all knew each other. We’re all mates. And then of course I’ve got Chris and then Alex [Hodge] as well, another of my close friends. And Ronny [Chieng] and I go way back — we were in law school together.
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Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, Sabrina Wu, Sherry Cola, David Denman, Adele Lim, Ashley Park, Chris Pang, Desmond Chiam, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Hsiao, and Rohain Arora at the SXSW “Joy Ride” world premiere.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
What is your ultimate goal as an actor? Do you have a dream role, project or genre?
Let me give you the Desmond adult answer, which is, I don’t really think in terms of a specific goal. This is such a mutable career, it changes every day, human desire changes every day. It’s hard to put a target on things.
The 12-year-old boy in me’s answer is: I wanna play a cowboy. Put me in a Western, gimme a six shooter, I’m ready for this, I’ve been on horses. Let’s go. One of my favorite movies isKiss Kiss Bang Bang. I would love to work with Shane Black — I feel like that’s my two worlds coming together, the action-y, high-octane intense stuff and the very witty, banter-y dialogue.
We’ll see. I might have a different answer tomorrow, but that’s my one right now.
Lastly, what is your idea of self-care? What is your downtime like?
There’s a beach out there [pointing] and it’s gorgeous. That’s my off time. But in a more holistic sense, the holistic answer to that is — now, because I overthink a lot, my off time I’ve devoted entirely to the philosophy of, “Hey, first thought, best thought.” If I wanna go to the beach, I’m off to the beach before I’m even thinking about it.
source: people.com
