Saddle up because we’re going on an emotional ride to Hong Kong with director Lulu Wang‘s new drama series ‘Expats‘. The new Prime Video show will give audiences a personal look into the lives of a tight-knit group of expatriates. Ahead of the January 26 release, ETimes sat down with leading actors, Brian Tee and Jack Huston, to unpack their six-part saga woven with emotion, intrigue, and a stellar cast featuring the likes of Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo in pivotal roles.
Brian and Jack, not only tell us what makes this captivating series a must-watch this Republic Day weekend but also delve into the intricacies of playing emotive male characters, exploring emotional nuances and offering a glimpse into the groundbreaking nature of the series that promises to reshape the landscape of storytelling.
What made you both eager to be cast in Lulu Wang’s ‘Expats’?
Brian Tee: I’m a big fan of Lulu and after I saw ‘The Farewell’, I was just crying buckets. I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve lived with my grandmother for a very long time… for the last 12 years of her life, it was just me and her, so when I saw ‘The Farewell’, it was cathartic for me. So as soon as this project came along and I knew that she was at the helm of it, I was like ‘Yes, please!’
Jack Huston: I’m the same! Lulu Wang’s the greatest. I got to do her first film. We made it together many, many years ago in Berlin, Germany and then when she called me and said, ‘Can you do this? But you have to be naked and gain 30 pounds.’ I was like, ‘You know my sweet spot. I’ve been waiting for this call, I have been waiting to do this, gain a lot of weight and run around in the nod’. Anything to be with Lulu and this amazing cast, I mean like Nicole and Sarayu and of course Brian, I mean it was such an amazing group of people.
Brian and Jack, your performances were incredibly poignant and emotional. Could you share your perspective on interpreting these emotionally complex male characters?
Jack: I love it! It was really funny because it felt like such a reverse of the history of making films. It’s usually such a predominantly patriarchal sort of society and Expats were all the strongest, coolest, most creative women and we were, what has been considered in the past. I completely came to support these amazing women and it was such a feat to just stand back and actually be able to do exactly that, which is support and let them run and do what they did, which was just incredible.
As you mentioned, this show deals a lot with grief, belief, and sexuality but from a woman’s perspective, how do you hope Expats will contribute to reshaping and influencing this narrative moving forward?
Brian: I think because our show has such incredibly strong, talented, brilliant women, I think that will already change the perspective of anybody watching. As Jack was saying, we are fully here to support them. These are juggernauts and titans and incredibly skilled at their craft and what I enjoy about being a part of this series is really being able to feed off of them in every direction.
I think that’s how my character was developed, especially with Nicole and their arc and all the things that were happening within their family dynamic. It was really about supporting them and I think Clark’s full focus was to try to hold everything together in that sense as well.
What message do you hope viewers take away from this series?
Brian: Well, I think the themes are universal as far as our show is concerned. We deal with a lot of heavy situations. As far as the tragedy, of course, but we deal with classism and certain times sexism and patriarchy and in that particular sense, I think the messaging for us is to really have a profound experience for the audience. I think anyone watching this can relate to any one of the themes and or characters and what they’re really going through.
Personally speaking, Expats is a very groundbreaking elevated type of series that no one has really ever seen before. So in that sense, I hope people and audiences are extremely surprised and make it really kind of thought-provoking in that sense, but also kind of an elevated type of entertainment that they’ll all enjoy.
Brian and Jack, not only tell us what makes this captivating series a must-watch this Republic Day weekend but also delve into the intricacies of playing emotive male characters, exploring emotional nuances and offering a glimpse into the groundbreaking nature of the series that promises to reshape the landscape of storytelling.
What made you both eager to be cast in Lulu Wang’s ‘Expats’?
Brian Tee: I’m a big fan of Lulu and after I saw ‘The Farewell’, I was just crying buckets. I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve lived with my grandmother for a very long time… for the last 12 years of her life, it was just me and her, so when I saw ‘The Farewell’, it was cathartic for me. So as soon as this project came along and I knew that she was at the helm of it, I was like ‘Yes, please!’
Jack Huston: I’m the same! Lulu Wang’s the greatest. I got to do her first film. We made it together many, many years ago in Berlin, Germany and then when she called me and said, ‘Can you do this? But you have to be naked and gain 30 pounds.’ I was like, ‘You know my sweet spot. I’ve been waiting for this call, I have been waiting to do this, gain a lot of weight and run around in the nod’. Anything to be with Lulu and this amazing cast, I mean like Nicole and Sarayu and of course Brian, I mean it was such an amazing group of people.
Brian and Jack, your performances were incredibly poignant and emotional. Could you share your perspective on interpreting these emotionally complex male characters?
Jack: I love it! It was really funny because it felt like such a reverse of the history of making films. It’s usually such a predominantly patriarchal sort of society and Expats were all the strongest, coolest, most creative women and we were, what has been considered in the past. I completely came to support these amazing women and it was such a feat to just stand back and actually be able to do exactly that, which is support and let them run and do what they did, which was just incredible.
As you mentioned, this show deals a lot with grief, belief, and sexuality but from a woman’s perspective, how do you hope Expats will contribute to reshaping and influencing this narrative moving forward?
Brian: I think because our show has such incredibly strong, talented, brilliant women, I think that will already change the perspective of anybody watching. As Jack was saying, we are fully here to support them. These are juggernauts and titans and incredibly skilled at their craft and what I enjoy about being a part of this series is really being able to feed off of them in every direction.
I think that’s how my character was developed, especially with Nicole and their arc and all the things that were happening within their family dynamic. It was really about supporting them and I think Clark’s full focus was to try to hold everything together in that sense as well.
What message do you hope viewers take away from this series?
Brian: Well, I think the themes are universal as far as our show is concerned. We deal with a lot of heavy situations. As far as the tragedy, of course, but we deal with classism and certain times sexism and patriarchy and in that particular sense, I think the messaging for us is to really have a profound experience for the audience. I think anyone watching this can relate to any one of the themes and or characters and what they’re really going through.
Personally speaking, Expats is a very groundbreaking elevated type of series that no one has really ever seen before. So in that sense, I hope people and audiences are extremely surprised and make it really kind of thought-provoking in that sense, but also kind of an elevated type of entertainment that they’ll all enjoy.
‘Expats’ Trailer: Sarayu Blue and Nicole Kidman starrer ‘Expats’ Official Trailer
