Randall Park says Hollywood is taking "wrong lessons" from Barbie success
Ant-Man's Randall Park has said he believes Hollywood has taken the wrong lessons from the success of Barbie.
The actor, who is known for his role as Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has just released his feature directorial debut Shortcomings and recently sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about the film and Asian representation in Hollywood.
Park was asked about the lack of Asian representation onscreen which can seem at odds with Hollywood studios courting the Asian box office.
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Speaking about the complexities of representation, Park said: "I feel like, just in general, this industry is taking the wrong lessons.
"For example, Barbie is this massive blockbuster, and the idea is: Make more movies about toys! No. Make more movies by and about women!"
Later in the interview, Park revealed that he almost quit acting to become an architect after years of trying to get a break.
"There were times when I did try to quit," Park said. "There was a period where I decided, 'I’m going to quit'. I’ve always wanted to become an architect.
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"'I need to take some prerequisites at the community college, and I’ll go into architecture'. I enrolled in Santa Monica College, took a basic physics class, could not pass the class — because I was so out of practice — and ended right back auditioning again. Fate always brought me back to acting."
Earlier this year Park was cast in the upcoming Netflix series The Residence, from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.
The series is based on The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower and Park will play FBI special agent Edwin Park.
Barbie is out now in cinemas.
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