The reason I was excited to talk to actress Bellamy Young wasn’t that I watched all seven seasons of Scandal but because I saw her on Broadway in 1997 playing a prostitute in The Life, a little-known Cy Coleman musical I was obsessed with as a teenager. Still, a great deal of our conversation revolved around the beloved ABC series she starred in. How could it not?
During her episode of “What I Wore When,” Bellamy explains what she wore to audition for Scandal—and how she had a precise vision for the way she wanted the character to look. I learned that, in its early stages, Mellie was written as a “tiny little part” and Bellamy was reading for the role the day before she’d be hired to work, but still wanted to nail it. All she knew was that she’d be playing opposite actor Tony Goldwyn who, she told me, directed her a few years earlier on an episode of “Dirty Sexy Money.” So going into the audition, she used him as a jumping-off point.
[embedded content]
“I just thought to myself, “Who is the partner for Tony Goldwyn? That’s sort of all I had to go on because [Mellie’s] language was so thin,” Bellamy said. As for the outfit: “I just had a very specific vision. I had a blue upscale work shirt, but I want clam diggers and I wanted a scarf and I wanted pearls … I wanted to do an updo, a french twist.” It sounded to me she was going for a take on the eternally classic Kennedys-on-Hyannis Port vibe, which she concurred.
Sarayu Blue was debating a career change—or, at very least, a pivot—when the actress landed the part of Emet on I Feel Bad, NBC’s new comedy from Amy Poehler. “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I quit,'” she explains. “It was more of a really deep frustration with the industry and feeling like there was a cap on what, as a woman of color, I was going to be allowed to do.”
That’s not to say Blue isn’t proud of her résumé so far. She is! She’s had great experiences with roles on just about every hit procedural and sitcom you can name (NCIS: Los Angeles, Grey’s Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory) as well as a memorable part in this year’s Blockers. But after more than a decade auditioning for what she jokes are “four-line doctor roles,” Blue started to feel discouraged. She questioned her long-term plan. She thought, “I gotta figure something out to be able to not be broke at 85.”
Acting is like being in a dysfunctional relationship, she explains. Right when you’re ready to call it, you get just enough to keep going.
“In my experience, if it wasn’t written specifically for a woman of color…a lead role wasn’t going my way.”
“I turned to my husband and said, ‘I think I’ve got about one more pilot season in me,'” Blue remembers. “And he looked at me with heartbreak. I mean, he was so sad that’s where I was. It really broke his heart.” She tears up remembering this story, because, “it just makes it mean so much more now.”
That “it” is playing Emet, a mother/daughter/wife/coworker who’s just trying to keep it all together. When Blue saw the role, she knew she wanted it. Bad. She remembers shaking as she left the audition, thinking, Oh my God, I think I nailed it. After that came a studio test, then a network test, and a read with Paul Adelstein, who plays Emet’s husband David. Still, Blue knew well enough by now that roles can come and go at anytime, for any reason. It’s the nature of the business.
Another factor she considered: Emet wasn’t written specifically for an Indian woman. “I was the only woman of color testing for it,” she says. “It was one of those experiences where you go, ‘Oh, it’s either going to go that way or this way.'” In other words, she wasn’t really in competition with anyone for the part—she was auditioning for “the concept of me doing the role.”
PHOTO: Getty Images
PHOTO: Getty Images
PHOTO: Getty Images
But it worked: Blue got the part, and it had ripple effects for the rest of the show’s casting. “It brings this cultural specificity,” she explains. “You have to get Indian parents, you have to get biracial children.”
Blue compares this to a Cinderella story: Colorblind casting is still so unheard of in the industry that it’s a fairytale. A fantasy.
“There have been plenty of times I read for the leads of pilots, and I’ve called up my manager and said, ‘I’m not going to get this. You still want me to go in?'” Blue says. “Not to be cynical. I’m happy to go in; I love auditioning. But I had the awareness at that point that it was like, ‘They’re not going to do that.'”
“I’ve heard a lot of people when I got [I Feel Bad] say, ‘Where did she come from? We didn’t know you could do this!'”
When I ask her to elaborate, she says, “In my experience, if it wasn’t written specifically for a woman of color—and even more specifically, Indian—a lead role wasn’t going my way. It just wasn’t on the table. It wasn’t an option. There are plenty of lead roles that I think lots of women of color are fantastic for, but more often than not they’re creating that work for themselves. That’s what I’ve seen.”
She’s also seen people of color or other marginalized communities being limited to those aforementioned four-line doctor roles. “When you watch any story, there are characters that are fleshed out and there are functional characters. There’s nothing wrong with either,” she says. “But if you keep putting [people of color] in those roles, audiences aren’t going to know what those actors can do. I’ve heard a lot of people when I got [I Feel Bad] say, ‘Where did she come from? We didn’t know you could do this!'”
But that’s the point: She can do this. She has been doing this. She just finally has a platform to show it.
“The thing about the show that’s so special is how honest it is. None of us feel like we’re enough or doing enough or that we’re allowed to just take a break. We’re all just trying to get by,” Blue says. “I wanted to let Emet be the flawed human she is. Because I think that’s how we all feel, like treading water and trying to keep afloat. That, to me, is very human.”
Back in December 2016, director Jon M. Chu and Warner Bros. put out a worldwide casting call for a little movie you may have heard of: Crazy Rich Asians. Hopefuls were asked to upload two-minute audition videos to Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter using the hashtag #CrazyRichAsiansCasting for a chance to be considered for an acting or creative role.
Naturally, the casting call went viral across the world, and thousands swarmed social media with their audition tapes. Though the lead roles ultimately went to stars with more clout and credits—including Constance Wu and Awkwafina—a few spots were given to Asian and Asian American actors and artists who applied. One of them was Cheryl Koh, a student at University of Southern California at the time.
Known as Cheryl K on YouTube, Koh made an impression with her audition, a belting rendition of Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best.” “I almost was going to take it down,” Koh says of her audition tape. “But I thought, whatever happens, happens.”
[embedded content]
A year after uploading the tape, she was chosen to sing “Money (That’s What I Want)” for the opening and ending credits of Crazy Rich Asians. Chu asked Koh to put a spin on the song, which was originally recorded by Barrett Strong and famously covered by The Beatles, by singing both Mandarin and English verses.
[embedded content]
Of course, the rest is history: The film’s number one at the box office, and a sequel is already in the works. Now, Koh’s looking for an agent, publicist, and record label to keep up with the demand for her work. Here, she tell us more.
So, what made you decide to upload an audition tape? And what led to you being chosen?
Cheryl Koh: When I heard about the casting, I thought this would be a really good chance for me. I didn’t have anything to lose. And when I read the script, I felt like being in Los Angeles and being Malaysian would give me a chance. I thought, Maybe they won’t have to fly me to LA for the audition, so that will help! The acting part took up most of the time; I only had 15 seconds to do a “hidden talent.” I memorized the script and then chose a song to reflect my soulful singing type.
When did you hear back?
CK: I didn’t hear back for an entire year; I got an email from Warner Bros. this January. It was [director] Jon M. Chu who saw my audition and asked them to contact me. Of course, I was jumping up and down. I recorded the song they wanted me to sing—“Money”—in my room. I learned it and recorded it on the same day. Jon called me and said, “Cheryl, I have good news for you.” And I replied, “Am I going to cry?”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Cheryl Koh
You met the cast. How was that?
CK: I just loved how friendly they all were to me despite being big celebrities. Gemma Chan was so elegant. Constance Wu was approachable and professional. Ken Jeong even went up to me first and introduced himself. When I got home, I saw that he had followed me on Instagram. It was so cool. I took selfies at the premiere with most of the cast, and they recognized me too.
Now that the movie’s out, what’s the response been like?
CK: I am very grateful for the support I’ve been getting from friends, family, and even random strangers who message me and tell me they like my song. It’s very encouraging for someone like me, coming all the way from Malaysia to Los Angeles and never expecting something like this would happen.
What are your thoughts on how well Crazy Rich Asians is doing at the box office?
CK: For a movie like this to come out is already an achievement. For a movie like this to come out and break all these records is another achievement in itself. This is the best thing we could ever hope for, and I couldn’t be more proud.
Have you been getting a lot of offers since Crazy Rich Asians?
CK: Warner Bros. invited me back to work on a few projects with them. I studied music industry in college, so I was able to negotiate the CRA contract by myself. But now I need to find an agent, a publicist, a record label since I’m going to be doing more things. I spend most days replying to emails, calls, and doing interviews now. It’s tiring, but I love it.
There’s no man in town as admired as Gaston; he’s everyone’s favorite guy. And according to a new interview with People, Idris Elba, everyone’s other favorite guy, almost played that “man among men” in this year’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
After talking with People about his musical theater background (and singing a snippet from a Guys and Dolls song), Elba revealed what could’ve been. “I honestly love musicals,” he said. “I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast. I really did, for Gaston.” He continued, “I called, I said, ‘Listen, I want in!’ They were like, ‘Ah, uh, ah, OK!’ So somewhere they have a tape of me singing.”
Sadly, Elba flatly refused to re-create the audition during the interview. “Here’s the thing: No,” he said, since, after all, “I didn’t get the part.” The 45-year-old also joked that the casting directors probably thought he was “a little old” and that he resented Luke Evans, who ended up landing the role of Gaston, “only a little bit.” He quickly added, “No, I love you, Luke, you know that. Great actor.”
Honestly, as incredible as he would’ve undoubtedly been in the villainous role, it’s probably for the best that Elba was passed over. Look on the bright side: Seeing the Luther star embodying Gaston’s toxic masculinity and rampant misogyny would’ve been tragic for Idris Elba fans. This way, the Internet’s campaign for him to be the next James Bond—which needs to happen—can continue, unfettered by any clips or GIFs of him saying Gaston’s problematic lines.
That said, it would be totally fine if he were to get cast in a new revival of Guys and Dolls and got to show off his impressive singing chops once again.
