We recently connected with Joe Zhang and have shared our conversation below.

Joe, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I think it’s mostly my mom that led me to this artistic path. My mom is a housewife but also a artist from body to soul. I’ll have to say that I got all my artistic DNA from her ’cause my father only cares about alcohol and tobacco. She loves music, film, photography and artwork so I was influenced by her ever since I was a toddler. So I decided that I want to be a film director when I was a teenager. My mom bought me cameras, gave me money for movie magazines and supported me for the short films I was making.

After high school, my parents supported me to study TV Photography in Communication University of China. I studied 4 years there and I felt lost. I lost my interests in photography and I didn’t think that I was a good photographer. And that was when I decided to step in front of the camera and be an actor.

My parents was shocked to hear my decision. “You studied Photography in one of the top schools in China and now you want to quit and do Acting? In the US? ”

I understood their concern. I could easily get a stable and well-paid job with my BA in TV Photography but I wanted to give up everything and start new in a different country. Everyone thought I was crazy. For my parents, it means that they will have to spend a lot of their savings to pay for my tuition. Apart from that, no one believed that I would succeed, including my parents. No one believed that a boy from China with no acting training can get into an MFA program in the US.

Me and my parents never had a fight over this. I told them this was my dream and at least I wanted to give it a try. If I didn’t fight for it then I will be miserably regretting my life when I turn 40.

After hearing this, my parents agreed to support me.

Now, I’ve graduated from the MFA Acting program I was dreaming about and I’m about to teach Acting in the same college. I’m always grateful for what my parents did to me. And I feel lucky that they were always being supportive unconditionally throughout my artistic pursue. They always believed in me, or maybe they just wanted the best for me. Without them, my dream couldn’t be fulfilled. And I won’t be who I am right now.

Joe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Joe Zhang and I’m from China. Zirui Zhang is my real name but no American can pronounce that, that’s why I use Joe as my name. I like Joe as a name, it makes me sound average. I hold a BA in TV Photography and an MFA in Acting. I’m an actor, dancer, model based in LA. I also write some shit and direct some shit but I wouldn’t call myself a writer or director. I’ve worked as a casting director and I’m currently teaching Acting at a college.

I studied photography when I was in college and I made a lot of short films. Finding actors was a challenge for me because they were usually cocky and I didn’t want to deal with them. So I was the actor for all my short films. And then one day I was like: “Hey, I like this feeling! I should be an actor!”.

That’s how it all begins.

I feel like acting is something I really need in order to survive. As human beings we all have questions, regrets, sorrows, traumas and all kinds of feelings that need to be unleashed and expressed. But as human beings we are all required to put on a mask and pretend nothing is wrong. I’m scared of my own feelings. I’m sacred that people will judge me for expressing myself. So I bury all these feelings deep inside. But when stagnant water collects things will begin to rot. And that’s why I am depressed. But through acting , I will be able to express all my feelings freely behind the mask of the characters play. I will be able to find catharsis in Hamlet’s lines. I will set free the hateful personality that I imprisoned through the atrocities of Richard III. No one will judge me because I was being the character instead of myself.

In a nutshell, acting cures my depression.

Apart from the selfish aspect, I think actors are storytellers of humanity. By portraying these characters we show people the joy, the sorrow, the ultimate questions that we all share as a specie. People will see themselves in the characters and find comfort, empathy; find power, hope. We help people understand themselves and others all around the world. We tell stories, so people can live a different life.

My mentor used to say that actors are defenders of humanity. Although I don’t know if I can defend humanity, I believed in it. I wish that I was a man made of mirror, so that every inch of my skin can reflect a glimpse of humanity.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think providing a system which encourages and supports artists financially is essential both for the artist and society. After all, the biggest problem that a lot of artists are facing is money. Artists need to buy bread and pay rent like everyone else. I think organizations and big studios should pay more attention to funding striving artists instead of creating cultural garbage.

Some artists’ work was misused and stolen by organizations that are more powerful than them, and it is hard for the artist to fight for their right. How to protect the artists work and their creative enthusiasm is also something we should think about. And also we should reduce the impact of capital on artists. We can’t let money control everything.

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

As an actor, I don’t really have a particular goal for my career. I just want to keep doing acting. But I do have a dream that I want to accomplish: I want to play at least one role in one project that I truly believe and appreciate. It sounds easy but I think it can be pretty hard to accomplish. I hope that one day when people talk about me after I die, they will think of that role I played.

Contact Info:

• Website: joe-zhang.com
• Instagram: natural_joe

Image Credits
Ryan Nebreja, Zhongxu Chen, Yuang Liu,