We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lyanna Kea. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lyanna below.

Hi Lyanna, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My new comedy series, “Life of Kea”, is out on my YouTube channel! YAY!

For context, I started making short comedy skits in lockdown as a way to remain creative and to keep the acting/writing juices flowing during a very stagnant time. Aunty Kea is an Asian mom character I created based on my family and myself. She is the quintessential Asian parent with all the fuss, trauma, and flaws that they come with, which is why people love her, I think. She reminds them of their own upbringing and their parents from a cultural perspective.

The great thing is you don’t even need to be Asian to relate! People just adopted her as their own mom to love. And rightfully so because she has such a strong presence and has such specific views about life. Sure, she says and does some outrageous stuff but that’s part of her charm! Since 2020, she has taken over my social media accounts and she’s the main character.

Fast forward to 2022 and millions of followers later, I’m thinking it’s time for Aunty Kea to have her own show that’s solely about her and her life. I mean, at that point, people had been CALLING for it anyways. My team and I applied for funding from Screen Australia, and we just hoped for the best. We were so pleasantly surprised to hear that we were selected to receive funding from Screen Australia to DO THE SHOW!

It means so much to me because it was a dream come true!

I’ve always wanted to write, direct, produce, and act, and now I get to do it for MYSELF, in a series that came from such HUMBLE beginnings, starring a character that was created just to cheer people up. I also got to hire my talented friends who deserve to land roles and jobs.

Three years ago, I would NEVER have believed you if you told me that content creation would be my full-time job. I’m beyond grateful and it’s just so wonderful seeing the work that I’ve put in, manifest into a whole new comedy series!

The ‘Life Of Kea’ series is also meaningful to me because I get to put Chinese Malaysians front and centre, and work with amazing people whom I’m so lucky to call my friends. I love them so much and they make ‘creating’ so fun.

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.

Well, I’m an actor, first and foremost. I’ve always loved performing on stages, but it took me a while to gain the courage to do it. I started acting almost 11 years ago, doing theatre and musical theatre. I’ve learnt so much about myself through performing and working on productions. Did I think I’d ever make it a career? I mean, sure, I dreamt it. But I didn’t know if it was possible. My upbringing certainly did not make it seem possible.

I moved to Australia about 8 years ago to further my studies. I put aside my acting dreams for a while to become a ‘responsible adult’ and then decided that I couldn’t live without it. Too bad Covid hit! So, I became a content creator to build up a portfolio of sorts.

Turns out, people loved the content, and my following went from 0-1MIL on TikTok in my first year. I was thrilled! I gradually quit the job I hated and dove head-first into becoming a content creator. It paid off because now, I’m a full-time actor/creator with my OWN series, and I perform for millions all over the world daily.
Moral of the story, it is possible. Anything is possible.

What do I do?

I make comedy skits and lots of my skits feature my main Asian mom character (Aunty Kea) who is strong, independent, and outrageous. She’s 100% Chinese Malaysian and she’s not afraid to show it. I’m also a working actor, as well as the producer, director, and writer of “Life of Kea”, which is a series funded by Screen Australia based on Aunty Kea’s life. It’s out on my YouTube channel!

I also want to provide more representation for Chinese Malaysians and Malaysians in general, because we’re unique, we have unique accents (that’s right, plural, with an ‘S’), and our experiences can vary greatly!

My aim is to just make people laugh and know that they’re not alone.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to learn to “let go” and believe.

I come from quite a conservative family, and there were lots of things I wasn’t allowed to do or explore. Being ‘myself’ was a luxury because I always had to be considerate of everything and everyone ELSE. As far as I can remember, there was a lot of comparison, doubt, and low self-esteem.
Even the skills I had that were worth praising, always came in second to whatever I lacked, i.e., not scoring well enough, not being skinny enough, not fit enough, not smart enough.

This was all normal too! As far as my friends and I were concerned, this was the norm. So, for a long time, I was my worst enemy. I came out of school with pre-determined life directions and not knowing who I was. Having supportive friends was a great change but it wasn’t enough.

Years later, I was stuck in a boring job, in a life I didn’t expect. So, one day I started reading self-help books and everything changed (So cheesy, I know, you can roll your eyes. I almost decided not to share it but it’s the truth).

It took me YEARS to finally realize that I COULD prioritize myself. I had to unlearn decades of self-loathing habits and turn them into self-serving ones. It was difficult but worthwhile.

Looking at how far I’ve come and how much progress I’m about to make; I just know that the teenage me would be so delighted and feel so safe with me now.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Well, it wouldn’t be right for me to tell you how to run your show. BUT –

Here’s what I think matters:

1. People will try to make fun of you and tell you how ‘cringe’ you are for trying out social media. They may try to discourage you and they may even be jealous.
PAY THEM NO MIND. We’re all going to die someday.

DO YOU.
And you can apply this to EVERY area of your life. You’re welcome.

2. HATE is inevitable. You’re going to get some heinous remarks. Learn to brush it off. Remember that no happy or successful person feels the need to spread hate.

3. Actually LIKE what you’re doing. It’ll feel more fulfilling.

4. There are going to be down days, weeks, and months. Stay your course. Figure out what has worked in the past, double down on that content, and HOLD ON. If that doesn’t work, scream into your pillow, and try something new.

5. Don’t be so hard on yourself, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT. There’s never going to be a good time, and there’s always a better angle, a better camera, a better take, or a better joke. Getting something out there is better than nothing. Stop cock-blocking yourself. You’ll get better with time, but you will never have the opportunity to improve if you don’t let yourself post.

6. Remember to celebrate the wins!
Your first 10K? Treat ‘choself.
You posted videos every day for a whole week? Treat ‘choself.
You hit your new personal best on views? Treat ‘choself.
The small wins matter as much as the big ones, so celebrate it all! Enjoy the fruits of your labour!   

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyanna_kea/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lyannakeaa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKKf2Tvw0Xqz6RfzTI2dTpQ
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lyanna_kea?_t=8cibKm4sAqn&_r=1