Randall Park Visits LMU, Encourages Students to Focus Less on “Making It” and More on Creating

Imagine you are a student in Professor Julia Lee' s Asian American Literature class, and the actor and filmmaker Randall Park shows up to discuss his film "Shortcomings," based on the graphic novel you read by Adrien Tomine. That's exactly what happened. Park, who was an English major at UCLA before launching his decades-long career, felt right at home as he fielded questions from Lee and her students about the film and his work, which includes credits like "Always Be My Maybe," "The Office," and his breakout role on ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat."

Park grew up not too far from Loyola Marymount University in a diverse neighborhood. He described his high school as "a perfect mix of races, religions, and cultures." Though he wasn't much of a performer as a kid, creativity was always part of his life. His mother was a painter, and their home was filled with art supplies and canvases, an environment that nurtured Park's own interest in illustrating.

It wasn't until he arrived at UCLA that Park, who is Korean American, found both an Asian American community and a passion for acting. Alongside his English major, he studied Asian American Studies, which deepened his understanding of the community's history and complexities and encouraged him to explore his own identity more fully. Inspired, Park began writing and staging plays and skits with friends, efforts that eventually grew into the formation of an Asian American performance troupe.

His college years proved transformative, shaping a strong sense of identity that continues to guide his work. "Career decisions, the people I work with, the projects I work on, like Shortcomings," Park said. "I like telling Asian American stories. I will always tell stories that resonate with me as an Asian American, and more of them are needed."

Park's directorial debut, "Shortcomings," brought together his longtime love of illustration and his commitment to portraying complex Asian American characters. In the early 2000s, while browsing the Giant Robot store on Sawtelle*, he was drawn to the cover art of Adrien Tomine's graphic novel. He quickly devoured the story, which follows a group of deeply flawed, often unlikable young Asian Americans as they navigate life in the Bay Area.

Park later learned that Tomine had written a screenplay adaptation that initially generated interest but ultimately stalled when a studio pushed to change the characters' races, which would have fundamentally distorted the story. The project stayed with him. In 2020, after launching his production company, Imminent Collision, Park discovered that the script had been optioned and that the producers were looking for a director. He pitched himself for the role, partnering with Tomine and his own company to bring the film to life.

Park has seen opportunities expand for Asian American actors with series like "Fresh Off the Boat" and films like "Crazy Rich Asians." Still, he has also had to take roles that perpetuate negative stereotypes. Those experiences, he said, have taught him how to speak up and advocate for pushing characters in more thoughtful directions.

During the first season of "Fresh Off the Boat," Park worked with an accent coach but felt he didn't fully commit to the accent, and the result didn't ring true. In later seasons, he scaled it back significantly, so the performance felt more natural to him.

Park emphasized that accents themselves aren't inherently problematic. The issue, he said, arises when an accent is paired with a one-dimensional character-when the accent becomes the joke rather than part of a fully realized character.

Park advised the room full of aspiring storytellers not to get hung up on the idea of "making it" in the industry. Instead, he urged them to focus on simply "making stuff."

"Pursue it, even though it's tough," Park said. "Enjoy the pursuit. Enjoy shooting crazy things like a soap opera in IKEA with your friends. Don't think of 'making it' as a level of income or fame. Think of it as actually making things: writing, shooting on your phone, creating consistently."

If bigger opportunities come along, he added, that's a bonus. What matters most is finding your voice in all that you do, continuing to create, and staying creative.
At one point during the conversation, Park mentioned that he had considered becoming a professor. Julia Lee jokingly assured him, "You can come back to LMU anytime."

Park's visit coincided with LMU's Asian American symposium week. Lee added, "He was such an inspiration for young aspiring creatives of color, even staying for an hour after the event to chat with students and take photos!"

*Park shared that Sawtelle is one of the best streets to hang out on in Los Angeles, shouting out Sun Nong Dan for its Korean soups and stews, Nijiya Market for Japanese grocery finds, and the new We Share Records for digging through Japanese vinyl.