We fell in love with her in the 2004 romantic comedy Saving Face. Her character Wilhemina is a young surgeon, learning to deal with the commanding forces in her life – namely her pregnant and unwed mother, and developing relationship with dancer girlfriend Vivian (played by Lynn Chen). Her performance gives audiences insight to what its like to live with cultural expectations but also about growing up and learning to love. More recently, Krusiec wrote and starred in Made in Taiwan, a solo stage performance about a young Taiwanese-American woman and her relationship with an overbearing mother. She’s been dubbed as a “Chinese-American Sandra Bullock” by the NY Post, and we can definitely understand the comparison – beautiful and endearing with a ‘girl-next-door’ sweetness.

We sat down with Krusiec at Syrup Desserts in Los Angeles for some coffee and sweets – and to chat about acting influences, cultural stereotypes and what’s next in her career.

Tell us – from the time you were born to the start of your career, what influenced you to get into acting?

The biggest influence was during my high school years, when I auditioned for an art school. I wanted to get into the dance program but I got into the acting program instead. I’ve always wanted to be a dancer; since I was young, I remember in Taiwan I would dance to music videos, jumping up and down. I thought I would become a dancer, but my mom was concerned that my body would break down earlier. I auditioned anyway, because I needed a creative outlet. I got into the acting program and started training as an actor. Because it was free and publicly funded, I never needed my parents for that approval, so I went ahead with it. They weren’t necessarily unsupportive; they trusted that I could make my own decisions. That particular school was very influential because my teacher was very “fame” oriented (like the movie). He had an “if you want to make it in the real world, you’ve got to make it here” attitude. So I took myself very seriously at the time, and really wanted to become an actor. I studied theater arts, and started working very young. I met my first agent at 12, and started making little jobs happen. I started getting paid, though nominal, was still enough to make me realize that I could make a living from this. From there I got my first series, and I ended up coming to Los Angeles after that.

You said you got your first acting job at age 12, what was your first role?

It was a really cheesy commercial that I’ve thought about posting online. It was a Ford commercial, one of those regional spots, the kind you laugh at when you see them on TV. They put me in this really funny wig, and I said “I buy American because I’m an American!” I also got a PBS series where I was a “Spock” like character and small radio parts. And then I got a Sears commercial that practically paid for my college tuition. I felt like I was being guided by some imaginary angel during that time, because it wasn’t something I thought could possibly happen.

Are there any films or theater shows that were big influences in your life?

Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of influences in those fields. I was trained in the theater, and I was watching plays growing up, but I was too emotionally young to understand art. I was dealing with a very practical home life; I was trying to work and get through college at the top of my class. The first time I was moved by a movie was The Last Emperor. I don’t know why but that movie hit me so hard, and I remember sobbing at the end of it with no idea why. That’s when I started becoming more interested in films.

You have acted on television, film, and on stage. What would you say is your most memorable experience?

If I had to choose one, probably doing Made in Taiwan most recently in New York. I had been trying to get a good run in New York for some time, and to be in that New York theater environment was a real accomplishment. It was something I felt that I truly earned and deserved. I developed the show for quite some time in Los Angeles with my then director Chris Stone, and then I changed directors, who would develop it sometimes on the east coast, not in New York but in Pennsylvania. Sometimes as an artist, you question whether or not what you’re doing is valuable and you question whether or not you’re worthy of what you’re doing. People either criticize you too much or they don’t give you any praise. So this last run was when I felt their feedback was very visceral and very real.

What else is on your career wish list?

To create another project that I can helm to some capacity, whether it’s as an actor or a writer or some combination. I’m interested in material that’s going to challenge me as an artist.

Let’s talk about “Saving Face”– many Asian-Americans can relate to the various levels of pressure you represent in the film. How did you personally relate to your character, Wilhelmina?

She’s so passive. She’s really lost when it comes to falling in love. She’s not really forced to make a decision until her girlfriend says you have to decide if you want to keep me. I really felt that passivity in me. But I think the thing I was really dealing with was what does love feel like, what does it mean when they’re in love, what does it mean to commit to someone.

So it seems your focus was less on the cultural aspect, and more on the love story.

Yeah, definitely. That was the most interesting and enigmatic part about Wil is that she doesn’t know herself, and so through the film we try to explore that.

Being a successful Taiwanese-American actress, have you ever felt pressure by studios to play your roles more stereotypically?

In 2003 I starred in Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, and played a character named Ching Chong, whose name was kind of a joke. I don’t think they wanted to be hurtful, but they didn’t really understand it at the time. I wouldn’t do that now as an actress, but at that age and at that time in my career, I was much more idealistic. I thought I could change something, that I had power. But now I know that my power is in making my decisions on whether or not I want to do something. 

Would you say the industry has changed since then? Or are cultural stereotypes  still being pressured onto certain cast members?

I feel like it’s still there. The storylines that  I see when they cast Asians are still the same stories. And they will always exist because of the archetype. We have to create new stories, new versions of that archetype, and that means creating a new “archetype” for ourselves. So I don’t think it’s Hollywood saying ‘let’s create stereotypical characters,  ’it’s them saying ‘let’s create characters people can identify with being real.’ If you look at how many romantic comedies we have with Caucasian Americans, it just feels so repeated. It’s not like it’s a denigration of Asians and casting against them, it’s that there’s just simply not a great of a collection of writers who are writing interesting stories for us. Stereotypes come from archetype, but stereotypes don’t generate beyond the archetype. So it depends on how well the writer is writing. As an actor, you have to create complexity with what you’re given, but if you’re not given much, you’re limited by the words on the page or the amount of time on screen. Is it getting better? Only if people write more interesting archetypes.

Let’s switch gears and focus a bit on ‘Made in Taiwan’. How did it get started? What drove you to see it from conception to stage?

I used to tell a lot of stores about my mom back in college. Soon, I was in this playwriting class. I was trying to write a piece that was due the next day, so I pulled an old essay that I wrote for a literary class. I rewrote it and turned it into an essay about my mother; I plugged in all these anecdotal stories, and I ended up with this 14-page piece which was potentially the beginning of my show. I decided to expand on it with my mentor, Larry Moss, who at the time was developing another one-woman show called ‘The Syringa Tree’. He said to me ‘Look, you have material – that’s the most powerful thing you can have as an artist, so you should develop this thing.’ I started working on it, HBO heard about it and took it to the Aspen Comedy Festival, and I had producers asking if I wanted to turn it into the TV show. I was so shocked that anybody saw it as a TV show, but it gave me more fuel and affirmation that people were interested.

What were the biggest differences and challenges going from working with a cast on a set to working solo on a stage?

In the theater, the energy of the audience is palpable. Performing live is like skydiving, you don’t know what the hell is going to happen. It feels really good once you let go, but you do think you’re going to swallow your own vomit before you get on stage because it’s so terrifying. Once you’re out there, you’re out there. There’s nobody calling ‘cut’, there’s no one stopping you, there’s no do-overs, and for the period of my show, you have to stay as connected and present as you possibly can. Connected to the audience, connected to yourself, and really present. In order to do that with 300 staring eyes, it’s really challenging than working with another actor on camera. The camera starts, stops, but working live is an experience for duration. It’s invigorating and terrifying at the same time.

Thanks for your time, Michelle. We can’t wait to see more of what’s next for you!

Interviewer: Jonathan Hwang
Editor: Tiffany Hsu
Makeup Artist: Annie Lam 
Photographer: Ted Schundler

Related Links:
Michelle Krusiec: Official Website
Made in Taiwan: Official Website
Saving Face Website
Michelle Krusiec on Facebook
Michelle Krusiec on Twitter