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Oh, Jason Mendoza, you sweet, beautiful idiot.
Id like to start at the beginning.
DArcy Carden said thatthe audition sides were really unusual.
What were yours like?Wow, this is taking me back.
My particular character was a bit different because when youre introduced to Jianyu/Jason, hes a silent monk.
It was two scenes.
The first scene was a job interview.
Its me pitching him a product about an energy drink/deodorant idea.
I actually wish that they could have incorporated those into the show, but who knows?
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Was Jason Mendoza fully formed when you auditioned?He was definitely tweaked.
When I first got the audition sides, he was very bro-ish so I played it towards that line.
How did you develop the voice?
Or at least some emotional intelligence.At the end of the day, he wants to do good.
Thats his primary motive.
And a big part of Jason is how he carries himself.
Once I embodied how he moves, the voice started to come out.
Was it freeing when you finally got to talk?It was all of the feelings.
It was intimidating; it was fun.
And they just could not stop laughing during the table read.
So that was a really sweet moment when I saw their reactions.
Do you think Jason subverts stereotypes?Definitely.
Hes usually intelligent or the model minority.
And I feel that the fans like the fact that Im not some super-smart student.
Youre not the IT guy.Exactly.
Its a positive spin on basically what they were describing as being a nerd.
It was almost like they were trying to trick you to do this.
But it also depends on if youre broke or not.
That can also be a measure as to whether or not you take certain roles.
This is exactly what I dont want to do.
So I passed on it.
Luckily, Im at the position where I can do that.
But five, six years ago, I wouldnt be so quick on saying no.
Id have to really consider it.
Yeah, youve got to pay your bills.Which is the unfortunate part.
Thats why creating roles is really important, especially for the Asian community on both sides.
The other great thing about Jason is that hes a total babe.[Laughs.]
I wouldnt say that.
Oh man, I always get embarrassed when thats mentioned.
Ive always been not comfortable being viewed like that, but its a nice compliment to have.
Because it was always complimenting Jason as the hot guy or the attractive guy.
But yeah, its a compliment Im trying to take more warmly now.
You dont really see the Asian guy as the hot one whos in a love triangle on TV.Yeah.
Theres always these ideas that you dont want to date someone thats taller than you.
Maybe Im overthinking it.
We dont have to play towards certain stereotypes and images that were constantly bombarded by.
Thats what I love about this show.
Are you Team Janet or Team Tahani?Oh, geez!
As me, not as Jason?
Either and/or both.Ummm, I dont know.
At the end of the day, as Manny, Im just happy to be loved.
And maybe Jason Mendoza would say, Im just happy to be pounding it out.
I cant say what team Im on.
You also eat a lot on the show.
I feel like you eat more than anyone else.Thats a really good observation.
Yeah, I remember when I got caught by Tahani, I was eating cheesy puffs.
When I was introduced to Chidi, I was eating some popcorn.
I think its just the kid in him.
Hes constantly hungry and always needs a snack or some sort of junk food.
Thats super cool that you noticed that.
I didnt even notice that.
How did you get into acting?
If anything, I just worked my butt off.
In terms of my childhood, it was normal.
You go through school, do well in school, and then I went to university.
The performance arts aspect was never really an option because it was never in my family.
Nobody was there to teach me anything about that.
It wasnt until maybe my second year of university that I got inspired to dance.
It was because of the showAmericas Best Dance Crew.
Jabbawockeez, man!Exactly!
Only a few weeks after, I went out to try dance class and I sucked.
From there, I just found this thing that people kept talking about, which is your passion.
I wanted to explore different aspects of performing, and I fell into acting.
I had a bit of a taste of it, and I was like, No, I cant.
This isnt for me.
Do you have a favoriteFast and Furiousmovie?Tokyo Drift, no doubt.
So many reasons: Justin Lin, Sung Kang.
That is definitely my number one, even though I know its the last with so many people.
Even the soundtrack, I remember how it goes.
The soundtrack was just killer.
That is the correct answer.Is it?
You agree with me?
Justin Lin saved the franchise, lets be real.Thats exactly true.
The thing is, Im a big fan of Justin Lin as well.
I dont know if you know the movieBetter Luck Tomorrow.
I love it.It was a movie that subconsciously inspired me to do this.
I watched the movie when I was in high school.
It was the first time that you saw Asian-American kids, Asian-American teenagers acting in a movie.
They didnt have accents and the story line didnt pertain anything towards their culture.
It was just them being teenagers.
So Justin Lin is definitely a big reason whyTokyo Driftis my number one.
Also,Better Luck Tomorrowwas about bad Asians, which is what Jason is.Yes.
It comes full circle, which is amazing.
I know theyfilmed your reactionto Mike Schur telling you about the major twist in season one.
I was like, Uh, am I getting fired?
This has never happened before.
Weve never had a meeting.
And he seemed very serious about it.
So my mind just went to worst-case scenario.
But then he started recounting the story and Kristen had her camera out.
So now it wasnt, Am I going to get fired?
It was, Are we getting punked?
Do you think Jason deserves to be in the Bad Place?Umm, no.
Id like to think not.
Id like to think that he has a good heart.
But because of maybe how he was raised, hes just misguided.
He needs a proper guide.
No, I dont think he deserves to be in the Bad Place.
But, then again, the villain in all of the stories never thinks that theyre the bad guy.
So maybe I have that syndrome.
And he doesnt have to be.
He is a veteran in this industry.
He can do whatever he wants.
I remember there was one time he was eating Swedish Fish and all of the sudden he just paused.
All of us freaked out.
William Jackson Harper ran across the stage.
I ran for my life.
We just didnt know what was going on.
Hes just the biggest child out of all of us.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
