We were lucky to catch up with Joy Tuck recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

First, my parents adopted me from Laos when I was just 5 days old! I am pretty much mixed SE Asian, Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Chinese Dai. My parents were older when they adopted me, already about 50, and they are Caucasian, so we are a true multi-racial family!

When I was 4 months old the adoption was final, and we left Laos for the Middle East. I was raised in Qatar, Sri Lanka, Montreal, and then finally the USA. I was about 5 when we moved back to the USA. Settling in Texas, I started kindergarten and then started with a modeling agency! That was mostly for fun and some of my girlfriends were also modeling at that agency. Somehow my mom found an audition on-line for a short film. She submitted me and I was asked to audition! She really believed in me. It was a new process for both of us, but we figured it out and sent in the tape. It was just a couple of weeks later and I had a call-back! A few days later I received a conference call and was offered the role. It turned out to be the LEAD role in an amazing creative film by a man doing his master’s thesis project. The team flew me to Orlando and it was filmed on a huge green screen on the back lot. I loved every single moment of the entire experience and I knew then, I’d be an actor always!

Somehow the belief in me turned into my mom finding me truly amazing agents and managers. We even took off to Los Angeles for “pilot season”, and left my dad in Texas for a few months. I didn’t book a thing! But, after we returned to Texas that year, my manager got me some amazing opportunities on some really great TV shows and then my dad was offered a great job in LA! We did the right thing again – we moved to LA as a family! My mom and dad have always encouraged me, given me the opportunity to home school, and coach with some of the top coaches in LA.

I have studied karate, piano, hip hop, ballet, and even Tahitian and hula dancing. I ride a skateboard, skates, Heelys, and my bikes.

A kid actor has a ton of challenges and mom and dad are asked to do so many things! They pitch, they have headshots taken, the keep acting websites up to date. The take care of wardrobe, hair, and makeup! They receive all the emails, print the sides (lines, read the other characters and tape the auditions. Oh, and they edit the tapes, and upload them in all the (changing) specific ways. They drive, and they pray and they wipe away my tears. They never stop believing in me. My parents are my biggest fans. They know, like I do, that one day the right role, my role, will be there (that big one!) and they don’t ever stop believing in me, because they know this is what I want to do. :)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Getting into the industry so young, I didn’t even realize myself that I was not able to audition for every single role! I think my mom didn’t either. It took some time for us to realize that I would be okay auditioning for “kid” roles that were for “any” ethnicity when the parents were Asian or maybe mixed Asian. Very rarely were roles ever requesting Asian when I was very young. It’s definitely changed a lot! Being Asian sets me apart from other actors who are not of color, but being SE Asian sets me apart from Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) actors too. It’s a bit of a challenge because so many productions want to be diverse, but the end up hiring mixed actors, who are definitely mixed in a way I could never be. I see more shows with Asian actors but not really ones with darker skinned actors. I accept the challenge! I know that as diversity comes more and more to light, that even this remaining obstacle will slowly fade away. I don’t mind playing the adopted child/friend at all. I do feel bad when I see shows where the Asian character is stereotyped in some strange way. Speaking out is difficult, especially when you don’t want to call attention to yourself in a bad way. Well, because you want to work! I also wish I would never have to take a role where I didn’t feel comfortable being stereotyped. I’m definitely proud of my ethnicity and I want to share my stories in film and on TV. My own adoption story overwhelms my origin story, but that still is MY STORY. So many projects have expanded their leads to be POC and I’m so proud to be a young actor while such huge changes are being made!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’m a minor so my mom has worked on my social media since very early on. She didn’t even know what Instagram was when she first started. I think Facebook was the social media of her generation. But, she worked hard at it and even very early on she knew she was creating a brand. There is a lot of advice about building social media, but I do have some suggestions for sure. First, know who you are and what brand you are creating. If you are a young actor and know you want to one day work for Disney on your own show, keep that in mind when you post! Also, keep that in mind for your headshots too. Check out some young actors who are successful and research their Instagram accounts. If you have IMDb and IG and also Facebook (TikTok or Snap) make sure your image is the same on all accounts. If you have a TikTok account that is for you and your school friends, make sure that one isn’t part of what industry people, fans, or casting directors can see. (keep it private) I only use FB a little, and mostly rely on Instagram for social posts. You can easily utilize the connection to Facebook when you post. I would say that posting great images or video (reels) is truly the key. Your posts have to be interesting and visual. My mom works hard at this because I am only 12. Next year I will start to take over some of this responsibility. One thing is certain, you need to engage with your peers, and like and comment on their posts, and follow people they follow. People that are like you! Always use your absolute best judgement in your posts. Remember that there are bad people that can and will follow you. Never post your location until hours after you are no longer there. Use discretion in clothing, and be kind in your comments. Building your audience is something you would work on daily. And, using hashtags that are appropriate for you, and your particular project or post is very important. You can find tons of information by following people who have the type of following that you would like to have. Definitely steer clear of people that try to sell you followers! It’s not believable to have 50K followers when you’re brand new! Stay humble and keep working! I think that reels are the new wave! I’ve been making more and more reels and have new followers every day!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There are so many stories! But one that pulls on those painful heartstrings happened a few years ago. I was not with my current agencies or management but had an amazing audition for a role in a well-known “universe”. I coached with a very well known coach in LA and did an amazing job! The scene entailed me telling a story of how soldiers had entered our house and how they sounded in the sky….and how people were being shot. I was very emotional and cried as I told the story. I can honestly say I rocked it and I received multiple call-backs. We were then asked to verify that I was part Vietnamese for the role. At the time we had no idea. They asked again…can we just show I have a Vietnamese grandma somewhere? We thought I was Lao, born in Laos, and we knew nothing more. Needless to say, I was no longer in the running for this one. Soon after I actually did a 23 and Me DNA test and the results said I am over 50% Vietnamese….I sometimes wonder…..If only we had known…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joytuck.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joytuckofficial/
• Other: www.imdb.me/joytuck

Image Credits
Jenna G. Photography