Sam Song Li is a rising star and jack of all trades. Content creator, director, and actor are just a few of the many titles he currently holds. Raised by a single mother, Sam is no stranger to hard work and perseverance. Appearing in titles such as Better Call Saul, Never Have I Ever, and most recently, The Brothers Sun, to name a few, he has already proven a force to be reckoned with.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Sam recently to discuss his latest role as Bruce Sun in The Brothers Sun, Asian representation in Hollywood, and so much more.
Check out the interview below!
Gabrielle Bisaccia: Congratulations on your role as Bruce Sun in The Brothers Sun! The show has been met with positive reviews and is trending everywhere. I have some questions for you regarding the show and your character, but before I get to that, I wanted to start with the most important question. I saw on your Instagram that you’re a dog dad, so I need to know your dogs’ names and how much you miss them while you’re away working?
Sam Song Li: I miss them so much! I had two dogs, Max and Sky. Unfortunately, one passed away during production. He was getting very old; he was turning 17. Max ended up passing away, but it’s interesting that you asked that because I do think that there were some things that were happening behind the scenes that mirrored what was happening in front of the camera for The Brothers Sun. It was the loss of a loved one and I really resonated with that.
GB: You’re a content creator on TikTok with a constantly growing following. Your skits are witty and relatable. What’s the inspiration for your content? Is it experiences that have happened to you or just ideas that come to you on the fly?
SL: I think it is truly a combination of both. I think a lot of it is based on my own experiences. I think that life is so much crazier than people can even imagine. That’s sort of the beauty of social media for me. You get to see different people’s experiences and I’ve come across some pretty bizarre experiences myself, so I kind of use social media as a platform to exaggerate some of those. Obviously, I do certain things to optimize for retention, relatability, and humor. I will say, for an example, there are a couple of videos where it has a theme and is based off of the most bizarre things that either I’ve personally experienced or stories of my friends’ experiences just smashed into 60 seconds. I think the outcome is just a really relatable video where you’re going to find something in there that you’ve probably experienced as well.
GB: You’ve directed a music video and a short film in the past. Any desire to get back into directing? Would you consider directing a full-length film?
SL: Yes, one hundred percent! I started off my career, or really more my passion, wanting to be a director. I think that came from more of a place of necessity in feeling like it was really hard to be an Asian actor. Obviously that conversation has changed drastically in the last few years and especially with the opportunity to get to play Bruce Sun in The Brothers Sun. I really have a lot of stories I want to tell. Just like in my content [on TikTok], there are things that I’ve experienced in my life that I think will really resonate with people and it’s not going to be able to be on social media because it’s so much deeper and larger than that. There are a couple of movies that I really want to put out at some point in my life, but right now is not the time. I’m just taking in what I can right now, and I think acting is more so on the horizon for me, but I’m always open to it if the opportunity arises.
GB: I read that you were raised by a single mother, and I relate to that as my younger sister, and I were raised by a single mother who worked two jobs to support us. Do you feel it helped shape who you are as an adult and possibly the roles you take on?
SL: Yes and no. I think that when it comes to the roles that I want to take on, that will always change because, as an actor, the whole beauty of it and the art of acting is to step into things that you’re not. That’s why I decided to get into acting and some of the things that I’m looking for the most in my acting career are playing characters that are so different from who I am. As a newcomer who’s trying to break into acting, you’re not going to book the job that you’re not perfect for. I think that’s the reality of acting. With Bruce Sun being my breakout role, it makes sense that it’s so similar to me because I feel like that authenticity really resonates and this is a show where authenticity is very important. I think both Justin [Chien], who plays my brother, and I, are strikingly similar to our characters and our upbringings in so many ways and I think that’s why ultimately, we’re here on a project like this. But for me as an actor, I’m most excited to do projects that really push the boundaries of how people see me and what people think I’m capable of. I think that’s what’s always excited me the most with acting. One of my favorite things about acting is always keeping people on their toes and surprising them.
Being raised by a single mother absolutely shaped who I am, and it really shows with the parallel of Bruce in The Brothers Sun. I’m somebody that’s really independent because of that and there just wasn’t as much time together because my mom was always working. So, coming back from school, I would be alone until the evening and so I would have to learn how to cook and do things for myself and find ways to entertain myself. That gave me a lot of alone time to figure out what I liked and what I didn’t. My mom has always been very supportive, and I think that’s why I could even entertain choosing this nontraditional career. I watched the scene with my mom where we are first introduced to Eileen and Bruce [in The Brothers Sun] in their everyday life and after every line, my mom would just look at me and tell me she’s experienced this before with me!
GB: You received your first television credit for Better Call Saul. Do you see yourself continuing the television route, or do you prefer to continue to explore film?
SL: I don’t have a preference. As an actor, there is so little that you can actually control. I’m not at a point in my career where I can choose, but if I could, I would still prefer TV, because you just learn so much more. You clock in so many more hours and to do a TV show as a first project is huge because you learn so much faster. To do a TV show like this [The Brothers Sun] is the equivalent to doing two movies in so many ways. But the one thing that I can always do is content and social media because it’s the one thing I feel like I really could control. I can just shoot a video and send the message for what I think is resonating with people and it’s instantaneous feedback and it’s instantly out in the world for people to discover. When it comes to TV shows and movies, I’ll see what happens! I’m excited for projects that I’ll resonate with and bring a level of authenticity to. I think I’m really looking forward to finding ways of bringing my authenticity to those projects because I think I have a lot to offer.
GB: As part of the LGBTQ+ community, I know how much representation matters. The Brothers Sun has an all-Asian cast and all-Asian writers’ room. How important and essential was that representation and for you to be a part of this project?
SL: It was huge. I couldn’t believe it and I still can’t believe we live in a time where this is sort of all possible. It was throughout 2010 to 2015 where I really realized I wanted to be become an actor, become a film maker, and work in entertainment. I remember getting a lot of pushback from my mom actually, just like Bruce did from his mom in The Brothers Sun. There was a lot of pushback because at that time, there were Asians on screen, but it’s not like the opportunities that we see today in so many ways. I want to pay homage to all of the Asian-led projects that came before us because without them we would not be here. I hope that this show inspires a generate of more Asian-led projects to be made and that’s all I can hope for. This is the best time to pursue a career in entertainment as an Asian American and I just hope we keep crushing it!
GB: Michelle Yeoh plays your mother, Eileen ‘Mama’ Sun, in the show. She’s an absolute powerhouse with an impressive resume and has been in some of my favorite films, Gunpowder Milkshake and Tomorrow Never Dies. Did she share any words of wisdom with you prior to or during shooting with regard to acting or even just life in general?
SL: There wasn’t anything explicit that she said, but we all sort of knew to keep our eyes and our ears open because every day is a MasterClass of acting when Michelle Yeoh is on set. I really felt like that was true just to watch her work. There were so many things that I learned not only on camera, but off camera as well with her curiosity and compassion and charm. It really was special to watch her, and I realized that being interested and involved and curious behind the camera is just as important if not more important than the work we bring on camera.
GB: Your character, Bruce Sun, is goofy, hilarious, and relatable. Bruce’s interactions with each of the characters always came across as authentic and seamless. Was your character inspired by anyone?
SL: All the characters I’ve ever played have been inspired by a variety of people I’ve met in my life. Bruce is a very heightened version of myself in many ways. There is also this sort of awkward charm and this dorkiness to him that was inspired by a friend I had in college. His mannerisms felt larger than life when I was with him, and it was very unique and had this very unique energy about it. It’s a hybrid blend of a lot of different things I’ve seen. I love to blend stuff that is interesting in my life into all my roles.
GB: What’s next for you?
SL: I worked on a project last year. It’s an indie pilot pitch presentation we are hoping to be greenlit as a series. It’s called Marvin Is Sorry and it’s about Marvin, this mega influencer/content creator who basically gets cancelled because he accidentally had an onset mistake of ending someone’s life. He gets cancelled pretty hard and banned from all of his online platforms and somehow, he gets dragged into an alt-right media outlet to try to redeem himself. It’s a fascinating take on what modern influence and modern influencers means, and ultimately the social and political climate of the world we are living in right now. We just heard yesterday that we can officially announce that we are having our global premiere at the South by Southwest film festival March of this year. We are hoping people get to watch it there and get some meetings and hopefully get picked up as an original show. Be on the lookout for that!
