 AsiaFinest's
Interview with Byron Mann
AsiaFinest was able to get an online interview with the talented Byron
Mann. This interview was conducted on 02/27/2006. Check it out!
 AF:
How did you get into the acting?
Byron: I got into acting because I
ran out of things to do. I was in college, then graduate school, and finally
realized I didn’t like what I was studying to do -- law, so I turned
to something I enjoyed doing when I was in high school -- acting.
AF: What's your daily life like?
Byron: My daily routine changes all
the time. When I’m filming, I go with the filming schedule –
waking up early, coming home late, long, irregular hours. When not filming,
I travel, spend some time in Asia, or simply stay home and relax.
AF: What was your favorite project
or work to this date?
Byron: Almost every project I’ve
worked on has been close to me. That’s because you spend so much
time and energy on them, they’re kind of like your children. And
I enjoy all the films I’ve worked on for different reasons: The Corruptor,
I had a lot of free time so it was like a paid vacation, and I knew we
were making a good film. On Invincible, we were filming in Sydney, Australia,
and that was fantastic. Everyday was fun in the sun. On Streetfighter,
we filmed in Thailand, Australia and Canada. That was my introduction
to big-time production. So much happened on that project I can’t
begin to mention them. Let’s just say, it wasn’t boring.
AF: How has the Internet changed your
life?
Byron: The Internet has allowed me
to access people and information in a way that is really unbelievable.
I enjoy calling a friend up in another continent for free anytime of the
day. At the same time, it’s easy for the Internet to replace human
interaction, which I find is really “the point.” I try not to
have computers replace human beings.
AF: For the female visitors of AsiaFinest:
Are you currently single? How would a girl approach you? What do you look
for in a girl? Turn Ons and Turn Offs?
Byron: In terms of women, I think
the best way to meet people is through friends. If a woman is warm and
honest, that’s a big plus. If she tends to be dishonest, materialistic,
or downright cold, I start running.
AF: Did your parents support your
decision to act?
Byron: I think my parents didn’t
quite understand what I was doing in terms of acting; no one in my family
comes from entertainment, or knows anyone in entertainment. But after
a while, when they saw that I was happy doing what I was doing, and able
to make a good living at it, they were fine with it.
AF: What's the hardest parts of being
an actor?
Byron: Hardest part of being an actor
is waiting: there’s waiting for a project to happen, waiting for
your turn to act, waiting for the set to be lit, waiting for your film
to come out. A lot of waiting.
AF: Where would you be today if you
weren't an actor?
Byron: If I weren’t an actor,
I might be a real estate developer, or a travel consultant, or anything
to do with golf.
AF: Any goals that you want to achieve
but still haven't?
Byron: I have many goals, most of
which are personal. If you let the goose out, then everyone’s going
to hold you accountable for it.
AF: For the male visitors of AsiaFinest:
How do you keep in shape? Any advice or tips for guys who's thinking of
becoming actors?
Byron: Any exercise on a daily basis
and a healthy, balanced diet would be conducive to keeping in shape. Running,
gym, golf, tennis, yoga, almost anything that gets your blood moving is
good exercise. Any diet that consists of vegetables, fruits and white
meat would be a healthy diet. And drink lots of water. I would give the
same advice to someone who wants to be an actor as someone who wants to
be a doctor: if you can find something else that makes you happy, do it
instead.
AF: What do you do for fun?
Byron: For fun, I like to travel,
play golf, play tennis, watch good films, eat nice food, hang out with
good friends.
AF: Is true that you're a pretty good
tennis player? Are you into any other sports?
Byron: I grew up playing lots of tennis,
competed in tennis, and taught tennis. These days, I still play from time
to time, but I enjoy playing golf a little bit more.
AF: What genre of music and which
artist are you listening to now?
Byron: I listen to soft rock mostly.
I can’t tell you the artists’ names, because I don’t know
who sings the songs. My friends give me CDs and I listen to them. Recently,
I’ve been listening a lot of Mandarin songs, some of which are very
good. But again, I don’t know the names of the artists.
AF: Any upcoming projects that we
should look out for?
Byron: I just finished Dragon Boys,
a ground-breaking show about Asian organized crime in Canada. I play a
cop, and I’m after a crime boss played by Hong Kong’s Eric Tsang
(Infernal Affairs). It’s an excellent show, and will come out in
the fall in Canada, and later on, in the U.S. and Asia. Also coming out
are The Shanghai Kid with Kelly
Hu, and the horror thriller The Counting House with Maggie
Q.
AF: Dragon Boys sounds pretty interesting.
Is Dragon Boys a TV series or TV movie?
Byron: Dragon Boys is a four-hour
miniseries for CBC, the BBC of Canada. It is the first time in North America
(ie. in the US and Canada) that there is an epic miniseries starring predominately
an all Asian cast in a mainstream network television program in prime
time. It will air in September or October this year. At the same time,
talks are being held to buy the show for Asia and the US So, it will likely
air in the US networks sometime later. The cast includes actors from the
US, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.
AF: That's just about wraps up our
interview, thanks again Byron!
Byron
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