Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Qi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Qi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I love the craft of acting! the craft actually helps me in my own development as a person. I always think I’m a very strange person. my imagination and impulses. However, in acting, it’s always quite forgiving for one’s strangeness. very often you are encouraged to be a little weird and bring forth what’s uniquely you. My mentor Geoffrey Horne made me realize that my strangeness is not wrong and everyone’s uniqueness should be celebrated. He gave me the space and patience to explore and express the world inside of me. it’s very freeing and makes me feel like a kid again.
I guess another reason why I love acting is that It allows me to make different choices than what I would have made if it actually happens to me in real life. for example, sometimes, it’s very hard for me to stand up for myself in real life, maybe I’m too fear of the consequences, or caring too much about other’s feelings. In acting, I don’t have to do that. I can stand up for myself (or for my character), because I know it’s just make belief. Does it make me a coward? haha
Qi, 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?
So I’m in New York based Chinese actor. I was born and raised in Hohhot in the north part of China. I spent a lot of my childhood by myself, and I had to find a way to entertain myself. I guess that’s where my imagination really developed. I got into physical theater when I was in college in Australia. My first physical theater experience was really transformative for me because when I simply felt free. I could really express myself and I didn’t need to worry whether I was being weird or too much. It was an escape for me. In my work, I want to inspire people to be themselves and to explore the world inside of them.
I find tremendous power in personal stories. Last year I was very fortunate to embody Kang Shan in Stanley Leung’s short film Two Lost Brothers. The story follows Shan’s journey to America to find his younger brother who was removed from home in China when he was a kid. When I first read the script, I could feel how personal it is to the filmmaker and the weight of story. Embodying Shan was one of the highlights of my 2023. This year I embodied ZiYuan for Lyncis Niu’s short film Before Fireworks produced by Historia Yi. I was deeply impressed by Lyncis’s passion for this project. It’s a film for her grandparents. Soon I will be playing Chen in Dylan Huang’s film The Grey Dwarf Stars. This film is also deeply personal to Dylan and I’m looking forward to revealing a part me in Chen and bring him alive.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes, I do have a mission! I want to inspire people to explore the world inside of them and be themselves. We are getting more and more detached from ourselves nowadays. For a very long time, I was very detached from myself and I didn’t know how to express my feelings. By embodying sensitive, perhaps not so cool, characters in powerful personal stories, I think it will help audience connecting with the part of themselves that they try to hide in their day-to-day life. hopefully my work will give them permission to reveal those parts of themselves to the world.
Another mission is to redefine Asian image on screen. I don’t know how to elaborate on this yet but you will understand in the future.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an actor is meeting new and interesting people on set. I’m always amazed how filmmaking can bring people from different background together. learning everyone’s story is a very inspiring and humbling experience. If you are Lucy enough, you get to be the vessel for their stories, such as Two Lost Brothers, Before Fireworks and The Gray Dwarf Stars.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just_qi_just_qi/
Image Credits
1: Roger Lin 2: Maccalle