To become typecasted, even as the nerd, may not be as bad as it seems
Mary Partin
Issue date: 3/16/09 Section: Entertainment
You've seen him around, most likely, and you remember his face, if not his name. It could be that you recognize him as Shia LaBeouf's best friend and could-be stoner Asian guy-with-a-camera in the 2007 thriller "Disturbia," or maybe as the could-be stoner Asian guy-with-a-camera in the 2008 thriller "21." You've seen him in "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist," and most recently as "Chewie", a definite stoner Asian guy, in "Friday the 13th." Maybe you've seen him in all of these and you thought you saw him "The Perfect Score," but that was a different stoner Asian guy.
The tendency for actors to play similar characters in different movies is typical, especially in larger Hollywood productions (i.e. every movie I just mentioned). However, in the case of Aaron Yoo, who is dependably funny in all of his rolls, that typecasting tends to overshadow the talent of the actor.
Being casted as the funny stoned guy is bad enough, but to see Aaron Yoo basically team up with Arlen Escarpeta in "Friday the 13th" to be the two token minority stoners, you wonder how far an actor has to go to break out of his or her mold. It is possible, but that many types stacked against one person makes it unlikely. It's as if "they" purposely cast actors like Yoo in a specific form, but leave just that much room for him to project his true talent into the picture.
Consider Justin Long, who started as a nerd in "Galaxy Quest", a virgin in "Crossroads," and a dweeb in "Dodgeball." And then suddenly he is one of the guys in "Waiting…," the alpha male in "Accepted," and downright cool in his most recent film "He's Just Not That Into You." Given enough time, an actor with enough talent should be able to break free of a certain rerun role.
For Aaron Yoo, his career hasn't quite reached that point. He's working against more then just being nerdy looking, and he is really good at being an entertaining stoner. But if being a token anything leads anywhere for any actor, why not for altogether entertaining actors like Aaron Yoo?
The tendency for actors to play similar characters in different movies is typical, especially in larger Hollywood productions (i.e. every movie I just mentioned). However, in the case of Aaron Yoo, who is dependably funny in all of his rolls, that typecasting tends to overshadow the talent of the actor.
Being casted as the funny stoned guy is bad enough, but to see Aaron Yoo basically team up with Arlen Escarpeta in "Friday the 13th" to be the two token minority stoners, you wonder how far an actor has to go to break out of his or her mold. It is possible, but that many types stacked against one person makes it unlikely. It's as if "they" purposely cast actors like Yoo in a specific form, but leave just that much room for him to project his true talent into the picture.
Consider Justin Long, who started as a nerd in "Galaxy Quest", a virgin in "Crossroads," and a dweeb in "Dodgeball." And then suddenly he is one of the guys in "Waiting…," the alpha male in "Accepted," and downright cool in his most recent film "He's Just Not That Into You." Given enough time, an actor with enough talent should be able to break free of a certain rerun role.
For Aaron Yoo, his career hasn't quite reached that point. He's working against more then just being nerdy looking, and he is really good at being an entertaining stoner. But if being a token anything leads anywhere for any actor, why not for altogether entertaining actors like Aaron Yoo?
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