In The Afterparty, Ken Jeong and John Cho play estranged half-brothers, Feng and Ulysses, at the wedding of Feng's daughter, Grace (Poppy Liu).
This week's hour-long episode "Ulysses" dives into their backstory, and viewers learn (spoilers!) that Ulysses actually had an affair with Vivian (Vivian Wu), Feng's wife, and that he could actually be Grace's father. Ahead of the premiere of the show in early July, Jeong and Cho chatted with Town & Country about filming the murder mystery show together—and what they're hoping for in a possible season three.
Both of you have appeared in so many different genres of movies and television. What drew you to a murder mystery show?
Ken Jeong: Season one of The Afterparty was my and my wife's favorite show of last year. And so it was quite serendipitous to be invited to be a part of season two, which I would've done in any capacity—no matter how big or small the role was, To be a part of your favorite show as an actor, you just can't ask for a bigger gift than that.
John Cho: It was just a combination of factors for me. I'm a fan of [creators Phil] Lord and [Christopher] Miller, their work, fan of this show, and then the character that they were presenting to me was just irresistible. All the adventure movies, and the skills that I'd have to learn that seemed really delicious. It was such a pastiche of so many things that I liked—it was just hard to resist.
The Afterparty goes through so many different genres throughout the season. What were your favorite ones to dig into?
KJ: As an actor, just digging into my own personal episode was really fulfilling and shout out to [director] Eric Appel. My character's more vulnerable and more dramatic than what I'm typically known for, which I relish, which I wanted. And, Eric, Anthony King, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, they just got me through it. This is like grad school for me. This is a conservatory. I'm learning from the best.
JC: I did enjoy walking into the Wes Anderson episode a lot—because I'm a fan, first and foremost, and secondly, it's just an interesting acting style that's really different. On another note, I liked being in the romcom reality of Aniq [in episode one]. I am recalling a scene with Sam Richardson, and I think he's one of the most talented straight man performers working today. It was a real pleasure to be his foil, briefly. That's another favorite genre of mine.
I heard that you filmed out of order. As actors, what was it like dipping in and out of all the different genres and storylines? How'd you keep it straight?
JC: It was fucking confusing! [laughs].
KJ: Thank God for Chris and Anthony to keep us straight the whole time. You would do different episodes on the same day, based on location and for logistical issues that are completely understandable, but also that can be completely confusing. And what was amazing was the encyclopedic knowledge that Chris and Anthony and Phil had, to get us through the day. It was mouth-dropping inspiring.
What helped you transition to different genres?
JC: There's production elements for sure that put you right there, when they change the set out. Then, sometimes you're in a Victorian wig and vest and you naturally find yourself [sits up straight, mimics British accent] 'Hello!' There's those external elements and then there's the work that we do as actors. Most importantly, it was the director, producers, writers, and showrunners who would say, 'This is what we need. This is how you fit into this particular episode and what we need to be doing in this particular scene.' Because, it was abbreviated, you are having to do all these things very economically. I really relied on those people more than more than ever.
For your specific episodes, I'm curious to hear about what references you turned to for the adventure and for the found-footage genres.
KJ: For me, honestly, I'm not just saying this cause he is here, but Searching, John's movie, was the ultimate found-footage movie. You get to see how, how intense, and how deep, I get choked up thinking about how raw that movie and that performance is. It really affected me, just as a fan, years ago. And so it was actually very easy to access. And then working with Eric on that, just trying to keep it as real as possible. You're not performing, you're not not playing Feng. You found your Feng [claps hands], Go. It really is just that. It's almost for me not to think—and I'm really good at not thinking!
JC: For me it wasn't so much of a character thing, but in terms of mood, I just think my character loved Legends of the Fall, a lot. He loved it a lot. And so I think that was a big deal for him. I think in his mind he had really long hair. [laughs].
In episode seven, "Ulysses," we get the backstory of your characters, who are estranged half-brothers. Talk me through what it was like for both of you to play this complicated relationship.
JC: It was fun working with really two talented actors in Vivian [Wu] and Ken. Having it played for laughs up top and then having to find this emotional reality—we were, I may be speaking out of term, but I think we were both surprised at how deep we could go. It was probably informed by our off-screen relationship and how we were getting close off camera and having that deepen that on-camera relationship. We were surprised at how real it got in the context of a comedy.
Were there things about the brothers' relationship that didn't make it on screen?
KJ: A lot of the characteristics in the backstory were all wonderfully baked in. There are definitely like a lot of alts, a lot of ad-libs that we've done. I remember on the found footage, we're at the pool, [to John] and you and I just had a run and I knew they wouldn't use it. My character may or may not have been mad at at Ulysses. I don't know, you made me laugh, as I'm walking away. It's far away—
JC: What'd I say?
KJ: [laughing] 'I love thee–' [laughing] I've not thought about it until just now. Like, 'I love thee brother.'
JC: Well it was—I think he thinks in a mythical, biblical context.
KJ: Yeah, man! He's talking at a pool. We're at a residential area at a pool in the summer. I love thee, brother! [laughing].
JC: We were too busy making each other laugh, rather than talking character.
KJ: Many times. I will add in episode [seven], in the flashback, it was not an acting choice, it was only to make John laugh. That was my only intent in that day: I do this thing that I've copied from my brother-in-law. We used to mimic these looks to each other to make each other laugh.We go [pulls a face], it was just very stupid. John would laugh—and this is when the camera's on John, I should not be doing this. You're a bad acting partner when you're doing that. I did it every single time, and it was glorious.
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
