Humble beginnings. Constance Wu opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about her career path from waitress to Crazy Rich Asians star.
“This last year has been unbelievable to me. A few years ago, I was waitressing,” the 36-year-old actress told Us at IndieWire Honors 2018 in West Hollywood on Thursday, November 1. “To go from that to getting to lead two of the biggest projects for Asian-Americans — Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians — has been amazing as an actor, but as a person being involved in a project that is really about representing the Asian-American experience has been meaningful to so many people. The fact that I can be a part of that, I can’t be grateful enough.”
The Fresh Off the Boat star also shared her excitement about the movie’s follow-up. “The sequel will probably follow the book. The book is a series of three books,” Wu explained. “I don’t know because I’m not writing it, but I know that I’m 100 percent there. I love working with [director] Jon M. Chu. Anything he does is going to be extraordinary. He’s the best.”
Chu spoke to Us in September about the sequel’s progress. “It’s very early stages,” he teased at the time. “We have an idea, and then we tear it down and start a new one … We have a deep bench of actors, and I would love to use them as much as possible this time.”
The 39-year-old filmmaker noted that the cast wanted to contribute their own ideas for the follow-up. “They’re texting me,” he revealed. “They want to do spin-offs of the Goh family. They want to do Astrid’s story. Everyone wants their own movie. You never know. Maybe this is the cinematic universe in its own, which would be amazing.”
The Hollywood Reporter announced in August that a sequel based on author Kevin Kwan’s China Rich Girlfriend is in the works. Chu, as well as producers Nina Jacobson, John Penotti and Brad Simpson and screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, were in talks to return.
Wu previously detailed the importance of the movie’s diversity. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this. I feel so lucky to be a part of such a talented cast and crew of actors,” she told Us in August. “We only can hope that this opens the door for different kinds of Asian-American stories, and stories from Asians who grew up in countries where they’re not the dominant culture, so they don’t see their faces reflected in pop culture.”
She continued: “That means something when you see your face up there. What we want to say with this movie is it means that your story matters.”
With reporting by Nicholas White
