The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Asian Representation on Broadway & Tracking Alien Intelligence | Guest Spotlight

Episode Date: September 22, 2024

Actor Daniel Dae Kim joins Ronny Chieng to talk about his role as David Henry Hwang in the Broadway play, “Yellow Face,” and how this play speaks to the importance of Asian actors playing Asian characters in productions. Ronny also sits with former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent, Luis Elizondo, to discuss his latest book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” and how evidence of intelligent alien life could help unify Congress.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom Miramar starting October 3rd wherever you get your podcasts.

You're listening to comedy Central. Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is an actor who stars in the new Broadway play, Yellowface. Please welcome my good friend, Daniel a warm house. Everybody loves you, man. You're the man. Well, everyone loves Ronnie. Who doesn't love Ronnie Chang?

I don't know about that. They're forcing it. They're forcing it. So yeah, you, more of those guys who've become so rich and famous, you have to do Broadway now to get your kicks. Yeah, that's it. I'm slumming it in theater. Because you came from theater. I did, yeah. I started my training here in New York and went to drama school here at

NYU. Oh yeah, NYU school here at NYU. And that's where... Oh, yeah, NYU. NYU Drama School. Look at that. And so, yeah, I did theater for a number of years before heading out to L.A. Right, and so was that your... That was where you learned your craft and you were running around town just being a theater kid in New York City?

Yeah, whatever little I know, I learned here. Okay, well, man, we all... Yeah, I don't know about little, but definitely, I wish. I mean, we all, yeah, I learned about little, but definitely, I wish, you know, we all could learn as little as you learned, in terms of acting. And what is this play about? So, it's a semi-autobiographical play.

I don't know if you know the playwright, David Henry Wong. Yeah, the legend. The legendary David Henry Wong. Yeah. Yeah. He wrote a play called M. Butterfly that ended up winning a Tony.

And at the time, in the late 80s, there was a play called Miss Saigon that came to the U.S. And that play was famous because it was a white actor playing an Asian role with taped up eyelids and all that kind of stuff. As they should. That's right. That's right. And that's what the play is about. stuff. -"As they should." That's right. That's right. And that's what the play is about. No. No.

That kind of is what it's about. It kind of is. So he ended up protesting that. David Henry Hwang ended up... David Henry Hwang, yeah. So he ended up protesting that and then ended up... This play is about him writing a play where he actually, for his next play, it's a little bit meta, he ends up mistakenly hiring a white actor to play an Asian lead in his own play.

And so that's what this show is about. I play David Henry Wong. Sure, and that actually is based on a true story, right? Yeah, so much of this play is actually based on true events, the Misigon stuff, and, you know, he actually of this play is actually based on true events, the Miss Saigon stuff. And, you know, he actually wrote a play called Face Value right after that, which was based on Miss Saigon. And that play, the story of the casting of that play

is in this play. Okay, so this is not inception. This is play inception. And I guess you just get attracted to extremely convoluted plot lines I lost. That's right. That's right. And the idea, one of the main themes of the play is the idea of whether or not people of different races

can play other races as actors. Yeah. If we go to the source of the inception, the genesis of it was Jonathan Price playing a half-Asian man in Miss Saigon. And that's what caused the initial... And David Henry Hwang, being an Asian-American activist, kind of spoke out about it. And then he accidentally cast a white guy to play him.

Because I guess what is your stance on that, as an actor, a respected actor in the theater community? Well, I think it requires a lot of thought, whatever you decide to do. And I think part of the reason there was so much controversy around it then and now is because it was just assumed that people of color would not be able to play themselves and that it was okay for people who were not African-American, say,

to put on blackface and then, you know, pretend to be African-American. And it's the same thing with Asian-Americans. But, you know, we're in a situation now where there's so many great Asian-American performers, you being among them. -"Don't, please, you, you, too." I don't know about that.

Right? And so there's absolutely no reason why Asian performers should not be playing Asian characters. Now, you know, I think the thing that gets a little bit more nuanced now is whether we should be nationality-specific among Asian Americans. And that is an interesting question, too. Like, should people of Japanese descent

only be able to play people, characters who are Japanese? Or even more nuanced, should they be able to play Japanese-American characters who have no connection to being Japanese nationals? So these are really interesting questions, and one's worth exploring. Yeah, and as president of all actors... What is the answer?

Can we play it or not? Well, honestly, like, I have an opinion about it, and it's kind of a hot take, but, you know, I think... Go for it. That's how we get our clicks. Let's go. Zoom in. Zoom in right there. Here's what I think. No. I think, um, I think that we shouldn't be limited to playing people of our own nationality.

Because I always think about the 8-year-old who's watching TV. Can an 8-year-old or 10-year-old watching TV tell that I'm not Japanese or you're not Chinese or if they cannot? And there are a couple criteria that I actually think about. Is this character historically based? Is there cultural significance to a particular country in the character that's being played? Or is there a language requirement

that requires a level of authenticity? Or is it based on a real character that is of that ethnicity? If those things are in place, I do think it's really important that the actor be of that same nationality, of that same specific ethnic origin. But if not, and we're talking especially about Asian Americans, then I think it's perfectly fine for someone who's not, say,

Korean to play a Korean American. Because if we're just playing Americans, that's the emphasis, right? Because, you know, we're not talking about people of specific countries and those specific things. So, for example, someone who looks like me, why can't I play an extremely good-looking person? Well...

You know? Why should I be limited? That's a different conversation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, you've been in show business for like almost 85 years now. So like what based on your, you know, I hate to ask the generic questions, but like you actually have the authority and perspective to talk about this. So what how have you felt the industry has changed since when you first started when

you're running around Hell's Kitchen? -"Oh, back in the old days." -"Running around with Charlie Chaplin." -"No." That's right. When movies just started getting sound. -"Yeah." You know, we've made a lot of progress. We really have.

Like, when I first started in this industry, there was a common misunderstanding that Asians were not funny. Like, back in the 90s, people thought, oh, Asian people are not funny, but there are no Asian comedians out there. And it took people like Margaret Cho, Ken Jeong, and you, and Jimmy Oh Yang, and so many others,

just to show that, yeah, we've always been out there. We just haven't been seen that way. So, you know, so we had that misperception. You know, there have been a lot of stereotypes that we've worked under for a long time. But we're breaking through them. The fact that you're here right now hosting this show is a big breakthrough, you know?

It's true. Yeah. Yeah. It's true. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. What can I say? I'm making history with every dick joke. And Bowen Yang on SNL, for instance. Like, first Asian American cast member.

Well, yeah, that's the context in which I know you. You've always been very supportive. I first met you at the Comedy Cellar. You're always very cool to the new guys. And so I really appreciate you you know, you being a mentor and showing us the ropes and looking out for us and all that. So thank you to yourself and the OGs.

And thank you, Tim. Um, and, you know, this one play was actually, Yellowface was already, it's been mounted before in 2007, right? So this is like a re-mounting of the play. Yellowface was already, it's been mounted before in 2007, right? So this is like a re-mounting of the play. So do you feel like it's, is it just as, do you feel the context of it is different now? It was first put on in 2007.

Yeah, that's right. And now in 2024 now. Yeah, and I actually think it's as relevant, if not more so, because the stuff David was talking about and trying to address in 2007 wasn't really topical then. He was actually ahead of the curve in talking about things like, you know, ethnic authentic casting.

You know, people now kind of see like, well, of course, that's what we should be doing. But back then, they didn't think that. So now in the wake of George Floyd and BLM and, you know, Stop Asian Hate, there is more of an awareness of, you know, what's appropriate culturally and what we should be trying to aspire to.

And so what's crazy about this show is that there are a lot of real-life figures, very prominent people like Dick Cavett and Frank Rich. Oh, who appear in the characters. Yeah, and during the time when David was protesting, they were on the other side of the issue. They were supporting yellow-faced casting. But, you know, now they've all changed their minds

and said, you know what, we've evolved on the subject, and they're a direct barometer of how far we've come. It's a great testament to all of them that they're willing to be in this play and say, yeah, we made the wrong call on that one. And, you know, anything you want to say to Jonathan Price? Whatever his name, for putting tape on his eyes, or you want to call him out right now?

I will say, this is a direct quote from the play, Jonathan, Mr. Price is an excellent actor. Okay, wait, what? Enough to play Asian, a white guy, straight up British white guy playing Asian. But I feel bad for him too, because he was doing what he thought was right at the time. I bet if you-

Which is put tape on your eyes and play Asian. I think if you were to ask him to- Who amongst us hasn't tried to do that? I'm doing it right now. Yeah. Um. Uh. Uh.

All right, all right. Well, it's- Well, yeah. Thanks so much. You know, I could talk to you for hours, but you got the play to actually do. We're taping this before the play. That's right. Mr. Daniel Dae Kim, very gracious. One of the greatest actors of the generation.

The sharpest cheekbones on television. We appreciate it. The Broadway production of Yellowface is currently in previews and will open October 1st at the Card Hymns Theater. Daniel Dae Kim, everybody. I appreciate it. The Broadway production of Yellowface is currently in previews and will open October 1st at the Todd Haynes Theater. Gail Day Kim everybody! As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie

I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear, but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was.

We're going to talk to the people who were there, and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets

and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, starting October 3rd, wherever you get your podcasts. My guest tonight is the former head of the secretive Pentagon unit that studied UFOs. He's written the bestselling book, Imminent, Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs.

Please welcome Luis Elizondo. -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪

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-♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ Okay, so, you know, thanks for coming on the show. Luis. Thank you for having me. My honor and privilege. Yeah, it's really nice to take a break talking about divisive American politics to talk about what is going on?

Is it aliens? Well, first of all, we don't call them aliens anymore. That's kind of a politically incorrect term. Oh, they're woke. The aliens are woke. We now call them in the Pentagon, NHI, non-human intelligence. OK. Maybe we should probably give people your bona fides a bit.

You are in intelligence and counterintelligence. Right. Yeah, so after college, I spent some time, went into the United States Army, spent some time in military intelligence. And then from there, I was recruited into some special activity programs where I became a special agent in counterintelligence,

investigating terrorism and espionage. And in 2009, early 2009, I was brought in to run counterintelligence for that program, what is now known as ATIP, the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. And later on I wound up being one of its senior members. Right, so you are a military man, a veteran, you are intelligence officer,

counterintelligence officer, a grown adult. Uh, by your own words, you're also a fat-based person. You've said that in interviews. But I'm also proof that you don't have to be intelligent to be an intelligence. Well, no, I wouldn't go that far. Let me just put that out there. Okay, well let me put this out there.

What the f*** is going on with these aliens? There's aliens? So what is alien? What is going on? There's aliens? What is this? So the U.S. government for many decades has been investing a lot of taxpayer money looking into this topic here.

And it turns out that there are absolutely technologies that are coming into our controlled U.S. airspace over our sensitive military installations, may have the ability to interfere with our nuclear equities. And, yeah, it's real. Not only are pilots picking it up and reporting it, also we've got electro-optical data like gun camera footage, flare footage, and also radar data. And it's not just here.

It looks like it's pretty pervasive all over the world now. So what there's aliens, there's f***ing aliens. There are f***ing aliens on earth right now and doing shit. What are they doing? Depending on how you put those two words together I'm not sure they're necessary. Yo, you can't hear me. Yo, there are f***ing aliens coming. Okay, so what are they doing? What are they doing here? What are they doing? So it appears that they're very interested in our technology. We don't hear me, yo, that f***ing aliens come. Okay, so what are they doing? What are they doing here? What are they doing? So, it appears that they're very interested

in our technology. We don't know yet. I wanna be very clear here. But why? They came here, they don't wanna look at my iPhone 16. No, but they- They got shit that flew across the stars.

They don't care about it. They are very interested in our military equities and capabilities and also our nuclear technology. And I think what's, for me, what was most compelling is that in some cases, you had literally, literally near misses of US combat aircraft coming within 15 feet of these objects, in some cases, literally splitting a combat formation

right down the middle. These are things that can do things that none of our vehicles can replicate. Their performance capabilities are far beyond anything that we have. And quite frankly, there's not a whole lot we can do about it right now. OK.

So beyond the shadow of a doubt, you've seen the evidence there are aliens. Oh, the government's already come out. Look, you have a former director of national intelligence, a former director of CIA, a former president of the United States all coming out and saying officially, yeah, there's something to this. the former director of national intelligence, a former director of CIA, a former president of the United States all coming out and saying officially, yeah, there's something to this. I mean, these things look like they are definitely interested in our stuff.

And furthermore, when the government first came out with their new UFO program called Aero, their first report said, yeah, there's 143 of these incidents, but we expect these numbers to go down as we figure them out. The next report that came out, there's 143 of these incidents, but we expect these numbers to go down as we figure them out. The next report that came out, there was over 300. The next report, there's now over 800. So the number's increasing, not decreasing. Okay, so why? Is this getting buried in the cycle or something? Because Donald Trump says, I hate Taylor Swift,

so we just never see this stuff. Because when you're presidents, the government has said these things are around. So, yeah, therein lies the problem. It's a bureaucracy. Look, the men and women, fine men and women of the Pentagon and the US government do incredible work and most of the time we are a lot better off as a society because of their professionalism. Unfortunately in this particular case, the bureaucracy was a problem.

We continued to try to get alarm bells up to the Secretary of Defense over and over again, but there was this layer of these proverbial praetorian guards that didn't want to tell the Secretary of Defense that we were spending taxpayer money looking into these things, and oh, by the way, turns out they're real. Okay, are you, with all due respect, is there any chance that you are accidentally

describing the synopsis to Independence Day? Because that's the movie. That was in the movie. They couldn't get to the dude because they wouldn't listen. So you're telling me aliens are going to take over because of U.S. government bureaucracy? Well, I certainly hope that's not the case. I think, you know, when we look at this issue here, this has been going on for decades.

This has been going on since the late 1940s. Now, when I say that, people go, wait a minute. You're talking about Roswell? Was Roswell real? When we look at this issue here, this has been going on for decades. This has been going on since the late 1940s. Now, when I say that, people go, wait a minute. You're talking about Roswell? Was Roswell real? Was Roswell real? It was. Absolutely.

OK, so what was at Roswell? There was a crash. It was of a vehicle that had broken into two pieces. And it was recovered by the United States government, taken to a secure military installation. And then from there, it went out to certain locations. What is in that book I'm allowed to talk about? That went through the Pentagon review process.

So I am legally able to talk about it. There are things that I'm still not yet allowed to talk about. What are those things? Tell us those things. That sounds like, well, let's see here. I do not look good in an orange jumpsuit. I got to be very careful. Yeah, are you going to look good in an orange jumpsuit, so I gotta be very careful. Are you gonna look good in whatever jumpsuit

aliens put on you? We better be, we better be, we better be, this is the, it sounds like we're battling aliens and bureaucracy here, can we, I don't know if we can fight a two front war on this. Can we choose a side to fight here? I think I'd prefer to fight aliens if I had to choose between bureaucracy and aliens.

To be honest with you. Okay, so in the book you say that, and by the way, I mean, I read the book and it's a very, it's a page turner. It's very well written, it's easy to follow. Like in it you say like the best case scenario right now is that aliens are a national security threat. Issue, issue. To determine if something is a threat, it's really a very simple calculus. It's capabilities versus intent. Now, we've seen some of the capabilities.

We still have no idea of the intent. So, therefore, we don't know if it's a threat. But let me give you a very quick analogy here. You probably live in a great, lovely area, just like your audience here. Do you lock your door at night? I live in New York City, so no, not really. Do you lock your front door? There's aliens here right now in New York City, as you can see.

Yeah, I do lock my front door. And most people do. And let's say you lock your windows and you turn on your alarm. Let's say one Sunday morning you come downstairs and have a hot cup of coffee or tea, and despite your doors being locked and your window and your alarm on, there's now size 12 muddy boot prints in your living room floor, in your carpet that weren't there the night before.

Now no one's been hurt, nothing's out of place, but despite you doing all this other stuff and locking doors and making sure the alarm's on, there are now footprints in your living room carpet that weren't there the night before. My question to you is, is that a threat? And so my response is, from a national security perspective,

I was wearing my national security hat, it could be if it wanted to be, so we probably should figure out how it's getting into the house. We should probably move at that point. We should probably get out of that apartment. There's boot prints, there's people walking around. So these things are, we are encountering them

over controlled US airspace, like I said, over sensitive military installations. And so from a national security perspective, we've got to figure out what these things are. No shit, no shit, we got to figure out what's going are. No shit! No shit! We've got to figure out what's going on. You see, you're saying you're being very professional, you're being very technical, you're being very calm as an intelligence officer, and then you're saying

there's aliens here that we don't know what they want. What, okay, what do, what should people take away from this? There's aliens and what, fire? When you see it shoot on sight? No, no, don't do that. I would recommend not doing that. I think what people need to know right now, the don't do that. I would recommend not doing that. I think what people need to know right now, the US government is taking this topic very seriously. There's several pieces of legislation

that are going through Congress right now. There are members in both the House and the Senate that have been briefed by whistleblowers on this topic, people who have been part of certain efforts, UAP efforts in the past. You're sure it's not getting mixed up with the Border Act, right? Because when you say aliens, I don't think they really know

which ones you're talking about. Well, these, I mean, yeah, you have illegal aliens. Yeah, you got illegal aliens. Yeah. You got some other ones. Right. All right. How you got it?

Right. So there's acts coming out. There's legislation. What's legislating against intergalactic aliens? Well, I think the idea is to open the door for whistleblowers There's legislation. What legislating against intergalactic aliens? Well, I think the idea is to open the door for whistleblowers to come out and be able to have a protected conversation with Congress so Congress can then have a conversation

with the American people. I think that's really what this is about. And certainly, I think there are certain people in Congress. By the way, for the first time, this is a bipartisan issue. You've got both liberals and conservatives on the Hill, can you believe it, of all things UAP? Right? No, see that's the most thought-fetched thing you've said. I know, right. That is not. Who would have thought? I believe aliens, but this, there's no way these guys are working together.

They are. I swear to God. I can't say who they are, but their names have already been, I think, in the press quite a bit. But on both sides, they are taking this topic very seriously. A lot of these folks have military backgrounds. Why don't they just let it out? Just let the news out. Just tell people, just show them the freaking, show them the photo of the alien selfie with the president,

and then let's get it out there and let's handle it. We've spent many decades backing ourselves into a corner on this conversation. And the government has said publicly what its position is. Now it's in a situation where it's having to unwind that conversation and say, look, folks, we haven't always been completely forthcoming and truthful with you. And that's a hard conversation to have. What are you talking about?

There's aliens. Have the conversation. There's aliens. There's aliens. There's aliens. All right. Well, can we stop them? Have the conversation. There's aliens. There's aliens. There's aliens. I don't know what... All right, well, can we stop them? Well, I don't know.

I mean, that's not a question for me. That's a question for me. It's kind of a question for you. I think you're the only one who can... Because it sounds like your attitude also seems to be like, yeah, they're here. I've seen them. They have capabilities beyond our understanding. And nothing much we can do about it so you know keep watching Paramount Plus. I think look I personally think Americans can handle the truth

about this topic I think it's it is I mean we can joke a lot about it but the reality is is that these things whatever they are wherever they're from this is real. These are real? Alright. Yeah it They're f***ing aliens. This is real. Yeah. These are real? All right. Yeah, it's real. Whatever it is. Okay, well is there a chance that if the government

tells people aliens are real and shows them, we'll unite together in a global effort to defeat them and pull the side out? You know, there was a famous speech by Reagan back in the 80s where he said... By Bill Pullman in Independence Day. And him. Yeah, that's right. Where they said that if the truth of this came out, it would probably unite the world,

but the reality is... Yo, we need it now. Let's go, aliens. Aliens, let's go now. This is the time. The reality is... This is the time. We got a lot of shit going down now.

Aliens, come. Aliens. Now I'm down for aliens now. Okay. If we... Look, uniting Congress is already a big enough challenge. Let's get these folks on the same sheet of music. Let's get the briefings they need and then let them have a conversation with their constituents.

You're talking about paperwork. I'm talking about aliens. Okay, but the government survives off of paperwork. It is a bureaucracy, unfortunately. So we have to, look, there's a, I've always said, there's a right way to do things, and you can do also it right now, but they're not necessarily the same thing. Doing things right and right now may not be,

you know, the same thing. What do you mean? There's aliens, and you want to go through bureaucracy and try to unite Congress before you can fight the aliens? No, fight the aliens. Get the aliens out. I think there's opportunity here. In the last seven years, I think we've come further on this conversation than we. Get the aliens out. I think there's opportunity here. In the last seven years, I think we've come further on this conversation than we have

in the last 70. There are elements now in the government that want this conversation to occur. They want the American people to know, look, this is the worst kept secret at this point, probably in the U.S. government. I mean, it's pathetic. The fact that so many people now in our militaries, our intelligence communities, even in some cases come up close and personal with these things We work. Yeah

Okay, this is okay. This is crazy. Anyway, imminent is Eminent is available now. I wish we could we could talk for hours about this thing Explore more shows from The Daily Show Podcast universe by searching The Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount+. Paramount Podcasts.

As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free,

starting September 26th with a 48 hours plus subscription on Apple podcasts.