Theres never been aMagic Mike, masculine Asian stripper ever, says Landi proudly to EW.
You would never expect that.
As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it.
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This is the first time Im able to talk about it and Im bursting at the seams.
Im playing Debby Ryans boyfriend for season 2.
Its very rare that you see the Asian guy with the leading white actress.
Its very rare on TV.
Im playing her love interest and Im also playing the firstMagic MikeAsian stripper on TV.
I had to go through a whole stripping class.
I had to learn a whole dance choreography.
Im all oiled up.
I have a sweat suit on, and I rip it off.
Its like a huge reveal midseason.
I end up being on stage giving her a performance.
When they came to you for this role, was that all on the page?
That you need you to strip and look good doing it?No.
Thats why it was very shocking.
They may have you dance a little bit.
There was nothing about being a full-on stripper on stage, all lubed up.
When I got on set I was like, Holy shit, this is actually happening.
This was the most vulnerable I have ever felt in my acting career.
Before I started acting, I was a shy kid doing an improv class for the first time ever.
It was really liberating for me.
You talk about breaking stereotypes.This is a big thing for the Asian Hollywood community.
Because ofCrazy Rich Asians, theres been a surge of Asian actors being put into the spotlight.
But there have not been Asian actors put in this spotlight before.
Theres never been aMagic Mikemasculine Asian stripper ever.
You would never expect that.
This whole arc revolves around Asian masculinity, which has been a revolving theme in Hollywood for a while.
What made you want to do this?
And I go into this monologue that says as a kid growing up in Minnesota, I was bullied.
I was picked on.
So it was a nice medium for me to explore that and shed light on that stereotype.
Did any of this conflict with yourGreyswork?No, it was perfect.
The last day of season 15 forGreys,I literally got on a plane that night to Atlanta.
And then I shot for like two months.
It could not have worked out any more perfectly.
