We recently connected with Dorren Lee and have shared our conversation below.

Dorren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was always curious about acting growing up but I didn’t have the opportunity to explore it or think it was a possible career path. I didn’t know anybody who worked in the industry and my conservative immigrant parents wanted me to be a doctor, lawyer, or work in corporate. And that I did. However, in the first week of my full-time corporate job, I knew I couldn’t live my life doing something I’m not happy with. From my perspective, my parents’ journey immigrating to a new country would be a waste if I didn’t give my dreams a try. I used the corporate job to save up money so I could start taking acting classes. It became the highlight of my week and I knew I had to pursue an artistic path.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an actor and filmmaker. I am best known for my work in Star Trek: Discovery (CBS), Kung Fu (CW/Warner Bros), and Possessor (Netflix). I recently directed and produced my first short film called “The Park” which will be premiering at Blackbird Film Festival in Cortland, New York in April 2024. The film will premiere online in April 2024 on CineAsian Films. I am immensely proud of the film and grateful for the talented people who worked on it with me and made the film possible.

Prior to being an actor, I worked a full-time corporate job. where I saved up enough money to attend a summer theatre conservatory in New York City. I loved it immediately and took a chance on myself to pursue my dreams. It has been an amazing adventure of growth, exploration, and discovery. I’m most proud of myself for taking a risk even though it hasn’t always been easy but it has been true to what has been placed in my heart. And I hope this inspires others who are thinking of breaking away from the expectations placed upon them and living their life to the fullest!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

At first it started out as an unexplainable inner need to create and express through acting. I’ve always been curious about why we’re here, what it all means, living different lifetimes… big weird questions since I was a child, and acting has been one of the ways to explore those questions. Then it grew into an appreciation for the film medium, and realizing the importance of storytelling and representation on screen. So much of our framework of the world is through the images we see and stories we hear. My goal now is to be a storyteller, and contribute to the stories and images we see on screen to help shape our world.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I learned is that it’s okay to be a beginner at something and fail before you become better. It was tough coming out of university with a business degree, leaving my corporate job, and feeling like I’m starting all over again waitressing at a restaurant while I took acting classes. I felt it was almost a rite of passage for me to shed my old beliefs of conforming to what I was told to be so that I could live as my most authentic self.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dorrenlee

Image Credits
Farrah Aviva, Vai Yu Law