What is worth the wait to Ross Butler? It isn’t just love, if that’s what you’re thinking after watching Worth the Wait, the Love Actually-esque romantic comedy film directed by Taiwanese director Tom Lin Shu-Yu. “During the press tour for this film, we get asked a lot about whether love is worth the wait, but I think it’s life that’s worth the wait. As long as you keep holding on and stay optimistic, the things that will happen in your life will be worth the wait,” Butler contemplates.
The Singapore-born American actor stars as Kai in the film, which features an ensemble cast of Asian-American strangers—including our very own local icon Tan Kheng Hua—whose lives intertwine along the way, flitting between romantic, platonic and familial relationships in its web of stories. Butler’s character, Kai, forms a romantic connection with Leah, played by Lana Condor. Whilst it isn’t the first time he is sharing the screen with the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before lead—in which Butler plays Peter Kavinsky’s jockish friend, Trevor Pike—it is their first time playing romantic leads together. “We’ve been finding something to shoot together since (To All The Boys). Everyone can see the chemistry we have on screen, just because we’re so close and so comfortable with each other,” Butler poses. True enough, the film boasts plenty of heart from the two who share an obvious connection on-screen, as they play long-distance lovers who take a risk on one chance encounter.
Hot on the heels of its Taipei Film Festival premiere, Butler swings through our parts of town for the film’s press tour in Asia. We catch up with the actor as he chats about romcoms, what Asian representation in the entertainment industry looks like now, and his favourite on-screen relationships in Worth the Wait (apart from Kai and Leah, of course).
Congratulations on the Asian premiere of the film. How has the press tour been?
It’s been great. This is the first time I’ve had to go to Asia for a press tour, and it’s special, because this particular project was nearly an all Asian cast, but it wasn’t an Asian story. So it was so cool to see the reactions of people in Taiwan and Malaysia and Singapore, and how they reacted to watching such a story, with faces like their own. So it’s been really special for me, and also a little bit of a homecoming for me. I haven’t been back to Singapore since 2008 and things have changed a lot. Malaysia too, I hadn’t been back before shooting the movie. So this is the first time that I’m here with time to explore, and I get to meet people and eat the food. It’s been so nice.
What was it like filming with Lana Condor again and playing romantic interests?
Filming with her was awesome. The only thing that was hard was maybe the first time we had to kiss on screen, because we almost share a brother-sister relationship in real life. We had such a great connection when we shot To All The Boys together, and we had been finding something to shoot together since then. So that’s when she brought me this script. During the kissing scene on the first day, we definitely had some takes where we were giggling a bit, but then we were just like okay, we need to commit to it. Aside from that, I think everyone can see the chemistry on screen, just because we’re so close and so comfortable with each other. There’s a lot of improvisation with certain lines; we go back and forth a lot and when we saw the film the first time, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they kept those moments in.
Were you a huge fan of romcoms growing up?
I have seen some, but not like the big ones that everybody talked about when I was younger. But the one that I watched a lot of was 50 First Dates. That was such a unique one for me, and I think I saw it like five times in the movie theatres when it came out. Other than that, my mom didn’t really let me watch television growing up, like she wouldn’t let me watch sitcoms like Friends and stuff, but she would let me watch whatever movies I wanted to. So I grew up watching films like Gladiator and Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, I don’t even know why, but I watched more of these really serious movies. So yeah, I didn’t actually watch much romcoms.
So when you were getting into your character, Kai, what were you thinking about?
When I was creating the character, I was borrowing a lot from personal experience, which is not something I always get to do—because I’ve played a teenager for 10 years. So those roles aren’t as relatable to me, but this is the first time I’ve been able to play someone in their late 20s or 30s. So yeah, for me, it was drawing a lot from the experience of being an actor, like having to do long distance. Dealing with parental expectations too, like the scenes that deal with Kai’s relationship with his parents; I too went against what my own mom wanted me to do. So there’s a lot I wish I could have said in my real life that I felt I could say through this character instead.
What was it like filming in Malaysia?
So I was filming in Kuala Lumpur for about 10 days. It was cool, because you know, growing up in America, all I remembered of Malaysia was like the Petronas Twin Towers. I’d seen them when I was there, but I hadn’t known much more than that, which is kind of a shame because I’m half Malaysian. Even when we went back to visit it would be to see more tourist spots, and I never really knew where the good places were, like Jalan Alor Food Market. Being able to queue for the durian and all the fruits and see all the hawker stalls, that was a crazy fun experience. Back in America, the satay isn’t the same, the chicken rice isn’t the same. You can’t really get char kway teow, you know? I don’t know why it’s so hard to find all these foods, when it’s so good.
What do you think about Asian representation in Hollywood now?
So I’ve been in Hollywood for over 10 years now, and back when I was in my 20s, I was a lot more optimistic about change or representation and inclusion in Hollywood. What I’ve realised, however, is that it still is very limited; the media is painting it to be much better than it actually is. Yes, Hollywood is very much in support of creating Asian movies that are about Asian stories, but I find that it kind of gives them an excuse not to include Asian people in their own stories.
Even today, you don’t see many Asian led movies that aren’t just about Asians, right? So for me, the hope is that we won’t need to tell another Crazy Rich Asians story in order to have an all Asian cast, or Asian characters don’t always have to have this Asian-ness about them. It’s okay for them to just be normal people. So my hopes are that we can create more of this content outside Hollywood, to show Hollywood a different perspective. The approach is outside in, rather than trying to change it from the inside out. So with the global marketplace for entertainment changing—where we see a lot of shows coming out of South Korea and Southeast Asia, reaching the West and even winning awards, I think, that’s ultimately what is going to change the industry at large.
Apart from Kai and Leah’s, what is another on-screen relationship you were interested in the film? What do you want people to take away most from the relationships in the film?
I’m so invested in all the other relationships. I’ve seen this movie so many times now, but I’ve always found myself emotionally affected by Teresa and Nathan’s relationship, as they deal with the aftermath of the miscarriage. It’s always the ending that gets me, even though I know what’s gonna happen. When they’re doing the ultrasound and you find out they’re having twins, it’s always like a big moment for me. It feels stranger than fiction but what really speaks to me is that it’s actually based on a true story of the sisters of one of our producers, Rachel.
It’s a story about perseverance and about how the things you deserve will come back to you; just don’t give up on yourself or fall too far into the darkness. You have to talk to people, and I think this links to what I want people to take away most from the film too. Holding out is worth the wait, if that makes sense. A lot of times during the press tour for this film, we get asked about whether love is worth the wait, but I think it’s life that’s worth the wait. As long as you keep holding on and stay optimistic, the things that will happen in your life will be worth the wait.
So what’s next for you on your personal wishlist?
I would love to do more action comedy, something like Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon. People don’t really know this but I actually started out in comedy, so I still love shooting comedies. People know me more for 13 Reasons Why, but even then my role was a bit more of a comedic relief type of role. So I’d love to just get back on a comedy set, because there’s so much improv and you get to bounce ideas off each other. It’s all about timing, and chemistry and I think we all need a bit more of that. I feel like we’ve lost a lot of good comedy, especially in Hollywood. But comedy is also so specific to culture, right? Like, it’s hard to sell comedies sometimes because what we find funny in America doesn’t necessarily translate in Asia. So one thing that I did love about working on Worth the Wait is that every scene we had was filled with a lot of laughs.
Worth the Wait is on streaming sites and in theatres now.
