In conversation with Bowen Yang: star of ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’

Photo: UTA

You may know three-time Emmy nominee Bowen Yang as the iceberg that sank the Titanic. Or maybe you remember him as the proud gay oompa loompa who was outed on national television. Or perchance you recognize him as one of the lead members of the pop group Glitter Revolution who Costco hired to help boost sales. In any case, Bowen’s stardom has risen beyond measure and he’s the best thing that’s happened to ‘Saturday Night Live’ in recent years.

Bowen’s latest project is a lead role in ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice,’ streaming now on Paramount+. The film is based on the Laurence Yep novels of the same name and follows a Chinese American teenager who discovers he’s part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. With guidance from a mythical tiger and other zodiac animal warriors, Tom trains to take on an evil force that threatens humanity.

In the film, Bowen plays Sidney, a Rat who is one of the zodiac animal warriors. Sidney the Rat is a comical and duplicitous thief who is known to steal food and treasured objects, earnestly calling his bounty “acquisitions.”

Showing up to our interview in a shirt adorned with “Chinatown” lettering, equipped with his signature intellect (he’s as funny as he is smart) and a wall of books behind him (‘Crying in H Mart’ and ‘Minor Feelings’ catch my eye), Bowen spoke to me about his role and the importance of the new film. 

You’ve had so many iconic roles (you have great taste!) from ‘SNL,’ to ‘Awkwafina is Nora From Queens,’ and ‘Fire Island.’ Tell me what drew you to this movie, the role, and why you wanted to be part of it.

What drew me to the movie was the vision for it — it was so clearly laid out. It was just such an easy yes. I think about the zodiac very often. My mother really downloaded her whole brain on to me when I was growing up, [teaching me] how important the zodiac is. People who have Asian family can really relate to this.

What drew me to the role was this character of Sidney being this loyal friend and part of this support system for Hu (Henry Golding) and Tom (Brandon Soo Hoo). 

Bowen Yang as Sidney, the zodiac Rat.
Photo: Paramount Pictures/Paramount+

How would you describe Sidney as a character and are there any overlapping traits you share in common? 

Sidney is close friends with Hu and he calls himself an “acquisitions specialist,” which is just a fancy term for thief. He really knows how to get in the gutter and find treasures, and I think that is a very enviable quality. I think if you can make something out of trash, if you can find the diamond in the rough in situations, that’s what survival is — that is what living through the world is all about. And I aspire to that! I don’t know if Sidney and I are the same in that way. Sometimes I get in my head about a situation and I have a hard time finding the hopeful thing. 

Other than that, Sidney and I are both very loyal and we’re both very supportive of our friends. I do love seeing a journey like Tom’s. Someone who is really coming into their own and discovering something about themself. That’s something I took a long time doing in my own life. Without being too obtrusive, I like to help as much as I can when I see someone on their path to self-knowledge.

And if I can add to that, you and Sidney are both known to provide comedic relief.

Ohhh thank you, yes! 

I’m a person who believes that everything has purpose or a goal. What do you think the purpose or goal of this film is, and do you think it achieved that? 

Absolutely! I think the purpose of the film is to show this Asian American experience but make it so authentic and specific that it almost becomes universal. That it doesn’t really end up being about an Asian American experience in the end, even though it clearly is and it achieves that so wonderfully. 

I think another facet of the goal is to give this wonderful story that’s stood the test of time and give it this perfect adaptation that really drives home this idea that grief and responsibility are these things that are part of the human condition. Self-knowledge is the thing that sees you through it. I really enjoy that message in the film. It really resonates and each time I’ve seen the film, that message stood out. 

Prior to shooting the film, were you familiar with the Laurence Yep novels?

I wasn’t but when I was approached for the movie I bought a used copy on eBay. It was tattered copy from the ‘90s, I think. I read through it and thought this was really special. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved to read as a kid. I’m just really lucky that I get to honor that could-have-been should-have-been idea and really step into it as an adult and live through it in some other way.

L-R Sandra Oh as Mistral, Lucy Liu as Cynthia, Sherry Cola as Naomi, and Bowen Yang as Sidney.
Photo: Paramount Pictures/Paramount+.

So many animated films are marketed toward kids but they’re really for adults too. What’s your elevator pitch to adults for why they should watch the film?

Well first of all, the visuals are incredible and the set pieces are amazing. The action and fight sequences are things I’ve actually never seen in animated films before. And as someone who consumes a lot of that, I think in the year 2024, to still feel like there’s some novelty in that is amazing. 

There are sequences with Lucy Liu’s character (Nu Kua) that are so incredibly animated. There’s just a stacked cast. This is when I sort of get emotional and overwhelmed at the idea that we have this [Asian] community of performers now in the industry that can come together. And this is not my first time working with Michelle Yeoh — which is crazy to think. This is not my first time working with Sandra Oh, or Lucy Liu, or Greta Lee. Now we’re really starting to meet multiple times on multiple projects and that is really exhilarating to think about.  

I predict that watching ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ becomes a Lunar New Year tradition for families. What are some other Lunar New Year traditions of your own? 

They change as I get older. Growing up, it was all about the red envelopes but you receive them less and less as an adult. Now it’s all about the food, gatherings, cleaning — I’ve got to do a deep cleaning of the house — and I try to catch the lion dancing in Chinatown in New York or Sunset Park, dim sum if I can make it on Sunday but it’s going to be crazy. This Sunday is going to be crazy but I’m going to try! 

There’s a party called Bubble_T in New York that’s run by queer Asians and I’m going to go with some friends to that and party the night away. Now they do it once a year on Lunar New Year. Some years I can’t make it because I’m stuck at work at SNL but this year I’m on break and I’m so happy and excited that I get to go.

Parts of this interview have been edited for clarity.