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From gettg his start as a producer at BuzzFeed to fdg his place wh The Try Guys and exprsg his most thentic voice through his artistry, Eugene breaks down some of the memorable highlights om his life.<br><br><em>Eugene Lee Yang is the voice of Ambrosi Golnlo NIMONA, available now on Netflix. </em><a href=\"" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"></a> <br><br><em>SAG-AFTRA members are currently on strike; as part of the strike, unn actors are not promotg their film and TV projects. This terview was nducted prr to the strike.</em><br><br>Director: Juliet Lopez <br>Director of Photography: Mallm Cook <br>Edor: Ron Douglas <br>Producer: Funmi Sunmonu<br>Le Producer: Jen Santos <br>Associate Producer: Emebe Beyene<br>Productn Manager: Andrsa Pelachi and Peter Bte <br>Productn Coordator: Kariha Kidd<br>Talent Bookg: Meredh Judks, Keaton Bell<br>Camera Operator: Shay Eberle-Gunst<br>Sound : Gray Thomas-Sowers<br>Productn Assistant: Liza Antonova<br>Post Productn Supervisor: Christian Olgu<br>Post Productn Coordator: Sut Alter<br>Supervisg Edor: Eri Dillman<br>Assistant Edor: Jason Malizia<br>Graphics Supervisor: Ross Rack","thumbnailUrl":["],"uploadDate":"2023-07-20T16:00:00Z","duratn":"PT00H14M34S"}</script><figure class="CneVioEmbedFigure-kCfJjN noFMx e-vio-embed"><div data-ttid="script-ntaer"></div></figure></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK hvFIAc grid grid-ems-1"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em grid-layout__tails"><div><ul data-tt="SeriRubricWrapper" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SeriRubricWrapper-hXyKBk iUEiRd cBDtFT egwoVl"><li><a href="/vio/seri/beg">Beg</a></li><li><span aria-hidn="te"> | </span></li><li>Season 1</li><li><span aria-hidn="te"> | </span></li><li>Episo 11</li></ul><h1 class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ GridDetailsHed-gvhQzS iUEiRd jsgzTv hed">Eugene Lee Yang Breaks Down His BuzzFeed Career, Fdg His Place wh Try Guys & Comg Out</h1><div class="TabsWrapper-dIUrJy drZqub tabs-ponent TabAndTabSectnWrapper-fDshys bWpYHB align-left" role="tablist"><nav aria-label="Sendary" tabx="-1" class="NavigatnWrapper-bFftAs lflsIW" data-ttid="navigatn"><ul class="NavigatnListWrapper-gWXLVS xcFFY navigatn__list" data-ttid="navigatn__list"><li class="NavigatnListItemWrapper-cxLZKD eyFDxF navigatn__list-em" data-ttid="navigatn__list-em"><a tabx="0" role="lk" aria-selected="te" class="NavigatnInternalLk-cWEaeo imOljK watch-page--tab-lk watch-page--tab-lk--active watch-page--tab-lk--disabled navigatn__lk" href="#about" data-ttid="navigatn__ternal-lk">About</a></li></ul></nav><span class="NavigatnDivir-fEDnwq ixXXMs navigatn__divir"></span><div class="TabsContentWrapper-jnMXFX bWCRYg"><div role="tabpanel" tabx="0" class="TabsPanel-dugBWX bQJFHA"><div><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ About-dxeYVs iUEiRd jGPOAO kpScjZ"><div>Eugene Lee Yang looks back on the moments that shaped his reer and reflects on his journey to beg a voice of reprentatn the entertament dtry. From gettg his start as a producer at BuzzFeed to fdg his place wh The Try Guys and exprsg his most thentic voice through his artistry, Eugene breaks down some of the memorable highlights om his life.<br><br><em>Eugene Lee Yang is the voice of Ambrosi Golnlo NIMONA, available now on Netflix. </em><a href=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <br><br><em>SAG-AFTRA members are currently on strike; as part of the strike, unn actors are not promotg their film and TV projects. This terview was nducted prr to the strike.</em><br><br>Director: Juliet Lopez <br>Director of Photography: Mallm Cook <br>Edor: Ron Douglas <br>Producer: Funmi Sunmonu<br>Le Producer: Jen Santos <br>Associate Producer: Emebe Beyene<br>Productn Manager: Andrsa Pelachi and Peter Bte <br>Productn Coordator: Kariha Kidd<br>Talent Bookg: Meredh Judks, Keaton Bell<br>Camera Operator: Shay Eberle-Gunst<br>Sound : Gray Thomas-Sowers<br>Productn Assistant: Liza Antonova<br>Post Productn Supervisor: Christian Olgu<br>Post Productn Coordator: Sut Alter<br>Supervisg Edor: Eri Dillman<br>Assistant Edor: Jason Malizia<br>Graphics Supervisor: Ross Rack</div><p class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ AboutDate-iizOQc iUEiRd fmjuOh fCmonT">Released on 07/20/2023</p></div><div class="TranscriptWrapper-hGQQXY eVMnyn"><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TranscriptHeadg-hfjqKn bmzxCs ixsGAz">Transcript</div><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TranscriptSectnWrapper-AzyBZ iUEiRd jsgzTv bLKUuV"><p>There's a joy for queer people.</p><p>It's not jt g out.</p><p>It's not jt fdg or checkg</p><p>all of the ser pots your life.</p><p>It's how much gayer you get day by day.</p><p>You jt get gayer and gayer and more queer.</p><p>Like, you feel your power grow.</p><p>It is wild.</p><p>Hi, I'm Eugene Lee Yang,</p><p>and I'm lookg back at some moments</p><p>that have shaped my inty and reer.</p><p>This is Beg Eugene Lee Yang.</p><p>Hope I am drsed.</p><p>I probably am most regnizable to people</p><p>om my time at BuzzFeed.</p><p>Buzzfeed was a really fascatg</p><p>lateral reer step for me.</p><p>Aga, I was hyper-foced on wrg and directg</p><p>and was applyg to Sundance labs.</p><p>I was dog the typil slow, sad upward track</p><p>that we all do as young filmmakers,</p><p>where you're jt starg to the mirror every day sayg,</p><p>like, When will life beg?</p><p>But I was sperate for a full-time job,</p><p>and BuzzFeed Vio was jt this fledglg new partment</p><p> 2013 when I joed.</p><p>I was already, I thk a lot of people n relate to,</p><p>small-town girl, big cy,</p><p>you know, far away om the fay,</p><p>so I uld tablish this really vibrant,</p><p>wonrful, close muny,</p><p>spread my wgs as a young gay man.</p><p>Even though I had told my parents that I was gay</p><p>when I was 18, I'm jt one of those classic s</p><p>of a fay that didn't talk about ,</p><p>probably for 15 years after that.</p><p>So even if you e out, don't mean</p><p>that you actually have e out to the open</p><p>bee other people are jt ready</p><p>to close the door back on you.</p><p>And I love my fay.</p><p>And you'll see, wh some of the future work</p><p>and the exposure I had onle,</p><p> forced que a b of that nversatn to happen</p><p>more quickly than might have naturally.</p><p>The last thg I ever expected</p><p>was to have to nont my inty,</p><p>which I was already dog ternally</p><p>and wh my fay behd four walls,</p><p>to lns of people onle.</p><p>And that's where you start seeg my journey</p><p>really sort of skyrocket.</p><p>Luckily, I thk I was more well-prepared</p><p>as an olr person.</p><p>By the time I was my 30s, I had enough safety,</p><p>personal secury, that I uld take bigger swgs</p><p>wh exposg myself.</p><p>Not that way.</p><p>Don't Google me.</p><p>You'll see some really embarrassg thgs.</p><p>The first thg everyone has to know</p><p>is if they are a safe, secure space.</p><p>And once they have that,</p><p>some people jt might not be on the same ri wh you,</p><p>and that's okay.</p><p>But some people, they're jt a ltle slower.</p><p>They're jt a ltle slower on that journey.</p><p>And that was my suatn wh my fay.</p><p>Let's see what we have next.</p><p>The drag vio is really tertg bee that was,</p><p>I thk, the fourth official Try Guys vio.</p><p>There were no st at BuzzFeed prr to .</p><p>We were the first to say,</p><p>Oh, we should jt repeat ourselv as a st.</p><p>This is an tertg dynamic.</p><p>The worst was shavg the legs and that took two hours.</p><p>Poor Mayhem was, like, on her kne shavg and got,</p><p>like, my actual leg hair and her mouth.</p><p>It was disgtg.</p><p>Hi, Mayhem.</p><p>Hi mom.</p><p>She's still my mom.</p><p>You know what I love about this vio too</p><p>is that that was the first time I tucked.</p><p>That was the first time I pletely shaved my legs.</p><p>That was the first time I ever had</p><p>that much makp on my face.</p><p>And look at me now.</p><p>And the drag vio was the first one</p><p>that I actually personally produced and eded.</p><p>And the prev vios were like, men try women thgs.</p><p>One, no other guy the office would do bis four,</p><p>and two, allegedly I have, you know,</p><p>a very distct perspective</p><p>and I did unrstand that eventually there's value</p><p>wh the way that I spoke and the way that I brought</p><p>a margalized pot of view to thgs.</p><p>Havg that perspective be jt you laid bare on mera,</p><p>our liv beme the story and the ntent.</p><p>I'm gonna go tuck the bathroom.</p><p>Oh [beeps], oh my God, I thk I did .</p><p>[Interviewer] Once the group had formed,</p><p>was there eher prsure,</p><p>like a nversatn of like, who you would be?</p><p>Bee to me, om an outsir's perspective,</p><p>if you were a Spice Girl, you would be Posh Spice.</p><p>Oh my God, thank you.</p><p>That's so nice of you.</p><p>[Eugene chuckl]</p><p>Thk of your iend group, right?</p><p>You naturally sort of hab like,</p><p>oh, she's a ltle more Sailor Juper,</p><p>she's a ltle more Sailor Mars.</p><p>I jt happen to be more Mars naturally.</p><p>Havg to al wh this ia of prentatn</p><p>wh a st was really quick bee I'm so ed to .</p><p>I'm so ed to verg and prentg.</p><p>I thk a lot of queer people are, like,</p><p>do you change a ltle b</p><p>when grandma to the dner table?</p><p>You know what I mean?</p><p>Like, those are those thgs</p><p>that I'm jt more well-equipped to be,</p><p>I gus, hyper gnizant of</p><p>as opposed to, like, my lovely st members, Zach and Keh.</p><p>Sometim you're really jealo of whe men.</p><p>They n jt walk to any suatn and be like,</p><p>I own this room, I own this untry.</p><p>So ially, was very obv,</p><p>I was, as you said, like a ltle sexier,</p><p>but was like, I mean, you're gonna look spicy</p><p> a pile of marshmallows, you know what I mean?</p><p>I love Zach and Keh.</p><p>I will [beeps] go to war for them,</p><p>but they are the softt, sweett boys you will ever meet.</p><p>So I basilly jt had to like, [sighs],</p><p>and they're, like, sexy and ser.</p><p>Wow.</p><p>Next tone.</p><p>So this was one of my proust moments</p><p>when I was a producer at Buzzfeed.</p><p>I was stg on this rare gold me,</p><p>a platform that reach lns of people stantly.</p><p>And if I'm not dog somethg wh </p><p>that speaks both to, like, my ner sred child</p><p>and hopefully a lot of viewers out there</p><p>who also n benef, then what am I dog this space?</p><p>Queer prom has always existed</p><p>outsi different variatns</p><p>for different ci and different events.</p><p>But this sort of ia of flyg , you know,</p><p>six young people wh their fai</p><p>to experience sort of this, like,</p><p>fun LA treatment of a prom was really special.</p><p>And was the first time I feel like</p><p>I was able to say on mera that I was queer.</p><p>There was, like, a mor l always</p><p>sce I was on mera, sce I started.</p><p>Like, is he, isn't he?</p><p>Which we see every level of media</p><p>and entertament pecially, kd of surroundg</p><p>and swirlg around people's inti sce the,</p><p>you know, Hays Co.</p><p>And that bull [beeps] was always so awful for me to,</p><p>like, wear every day, like, go home to my boyiend</p><p>and jt, him beg like,</p><p>well, there's all the people askg about</p><p>if you're gay or not.</p><p>Not beg able to say explicly,</p><p>but 's bee I wasn't sure about where certa people</p><p>very closely my life would land.</p><p>That was even my life</p><p>wh a relatively liberal fay to my 30s</p><p>and as someone who was seen on mera all the time,</p><p>and at that pot, drag and wearg, like, you know,</p><p>lots of, like, genr nonnformg cloth,</p><p> still was, to Asian muni pecially,</p><p>seen as sort of, like, artistic fantasy and exprsn.</p><p>So when I did somethg like queer prom,</p><p> was still seen as far enough, like,</p><p>arms' length extensn of somethg my persona,</p><p>but wasn't my sexualy,</p><p>you know, was my artistic exprsn.</p><p>Ooh, one of my favore ments</p><p>someone had said when this first me out was,</p><p>Oh, Eugene's not jt g out as gay,</p><p>he's g out as himself.</p><p>Which was really jt right on the money and ma me,</p><p>that actually ma me tear up a ltle b.</p><p>The actual tle of this vio is,</p><p>I'm Gay, Eugene Lee Yang,</p><p>which people had to force me to do.</p><p>I didn't even want my face thumb.</p><p>I didn't even want to be ially.</p><p>I jt wanted to do somethg that,</p><p>for me, was a very fortable, nate form of exprsn.</p><p>This entire project om the moment that I said</p><p>I have to do to the moment premiered</p><p>was ls than a month and I choreographed , I directed .</p><p>I jt went, all right, this is what you've traed for.</p><p>And jt kd of, you know,</p><p> was like puttg on my old pair of sho,</p><p>but I was most worried about the fact</p><p>that I was the central foc of .</p><p>'Cse I ially nceived </p><p>wh the ia of stg someone else</p><p>bee I was more fortable wh this ia</p><p>of creatg a short film, a mic vio that told this story</p><p>but didn't ph my inty or face forward.</p><p>I then realized that through the ter,</p><p>through beg able to fd myself</p><p> ont of lns of people,</p><p>if I n show them this</p><p>while also then brgg every sgle tool</p><p>that they haven't seen om me om my filmmakg toolbox,</p><p>that way cross creatively</p><p>will create somethg special and unique and powerful.</p><p>It is so rare for me to watch somethg back</p><p>and not cricize every small thg about .</p><p>Anythg I do, I jt, like, look back and I say,</p><p>this uld be better, this uld be bigger,</p><p>this uld be brighter, this uld be bolr.</p><p>And this was jt one of those thgs that,</p><p> felt like an exhale,</p><p>and there's no way to go back and say,</p><p>I'm gonna ntrol the breath.</p><p>I watch and I jt feel my body jt sort of flatg</p><p>and I, like, I exhale wh .</p><p>I jt n't see beg anythg other than what was,</p><p>and was appropriate for the time,</p><p> was appropriate for my journey,</p><p>and ma the fay members I had</p><p>who were pletely the dark about ,</p><p> started a lot of nversatns,</p><p>and thankfully, those nversatns,</p><p>some of them, had a posive endg.</p><p>But if they were gonna see me really e out</p><p>to not jt them but to, like, everyone,</p><p>I'm gonna do my most thentic voice.</p><p>It's the one time really on the ter</p><p>I'm jt happy that that n ntue to live on,</p><p>and I wouldn't change for the world.</p><p>Thoands of Asians the US</p><p>have bee targets of harassment.</p><p>It was jt one of the tim where,</p><p>wh the COVID panmic,</p><p>this heightened foc on Asians and immigratn</p><p>and the Cha vis was jt the right time to,</p><p>like, be able to drop some tn to that nversatn.</p><p>'Cse we know when those onle nversatns happen,</p><p>pecially durg a worldwi panmic,</p><p>tn go out the wdow,</p><p>like, people don't wanna know about facts.</p><p>We have actual lears g up</p><p>wh the most bull [beeps] stori to take thgs</p><p>like cril race theory out of our schools,</p><p>which isn't even our schools.</p><p>The passage of the famo Che Excln Act 1882,</p><p>the first law the Uned Stat</p><p>that barred immigratn solely based on race.</p><p>This is sentially cril race theory.</p><p>Beg able to put that out there for anyone to see,</p><p>even if one middle school teacher picked up</p><p>and showed to their kids,</p><p>I would feel like that this was a worthwhile enavor.</p><p>We n't rponsibly live a society now,</p><p>even as artists, whout engagg crilly</p><p> the nversatns bee unfortunately,</p><p>polics are jt like,</p><p>jt one step away om entertament.</p><p>It's almost the same thg.</p><p>The stop AAPI Hate Reportg Center found that bullyg,</p><p>asslts, and verbal abe were beg more normalized</p><p>across the Uned Stat.</p><p>I had a relatively diverse muny growg up.</p><p>There weren't many other Asians until I was middle school</p><p>and a lot of tech pani moved to Central Texas.</p><p>It's beg more rare,</p><p>the experience of growg up a town where you are,</p><p>like, the only of one particular other.</p><p>You know, I got bullied and I got phed around,</p><p>and people jt thought I was funny</p><p>and that my food smelled funny.</p><p>And that was, like, for me, extremely formative.</p><p>They tried to create a Asian-Amerin Club,</p><p>and our prcipal, we all got the signatur</p><p>and our prcipal shot down</p><p>'e he said Asian Amerins didn't ntribute enough</p><p>to Amerin society bis the railroads.</p><p>Like, that was the type of town I grew up .</p><p>He said, You got diversy club, that's enough.</p><p>Which was still, like, fun</p><p>'e was, like, all the non-whe people hangg out.</p><p>I learned how to step.</p><p>It was a lot of cultural sharg</p><p> a place like a small Texas town.</p><p>What else is he hidg?</p><p>Who is the real him?</p><p>Who am I?</p><p>Nimona.</p><p>I am so exced for people to see this.</p><p>The origal story, Nimona,</p><p>is by an credible creative force, Andy Stevenson.</p><p>Actually origated as this,</p><p>I believe a grad project that was a web ic</p><p>and then beme a graphic novel.</p><p>But has a huge queer cult followg.</p><p>The character that I play is Sir Ambrosi Golnlo.</p><p>I was very lucky to have been st 2020 actually.</p><p>So I've been wh this for three years.</p><p>The reason my name me up</p><p>bee I was already kd of askg my agents,</p><p>like, I would love to start voice actg</p><p>and beg a totally different character</p><p>where no one n see my face.</p><p>This me through directly om the producers</p><p>bee when they translated Ambrosi Golnlo</p><p>to the film versn, they sentially ma him Asian.</p><p>I would fd out later that one of the animators</p><p>had ed several referenc</p><p>and I was clud visually</p><p>bee I gus I've done somethg my reer</p><p>where they said, I'm gonna thk of a gay-ass Asian man,</p><p>and this character needs to be jt,</p><p>like, right out of the bat, like, that's a gay man.</p><p>I don't re what you say.</p><p>Look at his hair, look at that face.</p><p>So they brought me for the dn.</p><p>I dned like everyone else, and I land the part.</p><p>My versn of Golnlo is a ltle more warm,</p><p>a ltle more charmg, and certaly very much</p><p>obvly love wh the other lead balter.</p><p>It's, like, not a qutn.</p><p>And that's what's betiful about this film</p><p>is that I'm not g anythg.</p><p>It's not like a, oh, will they, won't they?</p><p>It's not a, oh, you should watch this.</p><p>So they have this revelatn the end of the third act.</p><p>They're gay om the jump.</p><p>It's jt gay.</p><p>And to have my first voice performance experience</p><p>be a character that is pennt on,</p><p>at the very least, me rmg my perspective,</p><p>fg him wh my perspective,</p><p>bee that's what the directors really wanted.</p><p>I thought I was gonna walk and be way more knightly,</p><p>and they said, No, no, no, no.</p><p>We want the sence of your queer experience to be</p><p>like, to permeate this character.</p><p>And that's not somethg you hear</p><p>om higher ups Hollywood every day.</p><p>It was very fortunate and betiful experience for me</p><p>to be able to lend part of myself to this character.</p><p>I'm not the villa here.</p><p>I know, I know.</p><p>I'm sorry for everythg.</p><p>And on top of that, Nimona herself,</p><p>she's sentially this wonrful,</p><p>non-bary, genr non-nformg, jt rebel.</p><p>And I nnot wa for people, pecially our muny,</p><p>to be able to see where this story tak </p><p>and how rolv and what that msage is the end.</p><p>It's a fantastic actn adventure film</p><p>wh a lot of humor and a lot of heart,</p><p>but 's also very much for as a muny.</p><p>I'm jt really blsed to have been part of this film.</p><p>Thank you so much for revisg the ton wh me.</p><p>This has been Beg Eugene Lee Yang.</p><p>I n't wa to bee even gayer.</p><p>That's what's gonna happen right after you stop this vio.</p><p>I'm gonna be out there, beg so much more gay.</p><p>It's gonna be wild.</p><p>In a year, I'm gonna be , like, my fal form,</p><p>jt a [beeps] unirn on fire.</p><p>You're gonna see, like, a et across the sky</p><p>and that's gonna be my gay ass,</p><p>jt like gog, y.</p><p>[Eugene chuckl]</p><p>Jt bldg all the bigots.</p><p>[upbeat mic]</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fLDozG grid--em grid-layout__asi"><div data-ttid="CneVioWatchPageRightRail" 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