Ian Chen is best known for his role on the ABC comedy “Fresh Off the Boat.” He plays Evan, the youngest member of the Huang family. But this summer, Ian entered the DC universe by starring in the superhero movie “Shazam.” He stared alongside Zachary Levi and Asher Angel. (Shazam is now available to buy on iTunes.) YEM spoke with Ian about his part in “Shazam,” his staring role in “Fresh Off the Boat,” and what’s ahead for the young star.

YEM: Our readers know you from the show “Fresh Off the Boat.” What can fans from the upcoming season?

Ian: A lot of cool storylines are coming up! Keep watching!

YEM: You play Evan on the show. Do you have a lot in common with Evan?

Ian: I feel like Evan and I have a lot of similarities and differences, and a whole lot more on the differences than the similarities. He’s more attached to his mom and really upright. It’ll be really interesting to see him go into his teenage years.

 Courtesy: ABC

YEM: Evan speaks fluent Mandarin. Do you speak Mandarin? Did you speak it before being cast on the show?

Ian: I speak a little Chinese, in fact, my grandma is a Chinese teacher who has been teaching me since I was three.

YEM: The show takes place in the 90s. Did you know a lot about the 90s before being on the show?

Ian: Haha, not at all. All the things we either had to search up or people would tell us about on set.

YEM: You’re also starring in “Shazam”! What was that like?

Ian: Filming Shazam was a really amazing experience. We had so much fun filming it, I would definitely do it so many more times again.

 

Photo by: Steve Wilkie & DC Comics

YEM: Are you a fan of superhero movies? Do you have a favorite superhero?

Ian: I actually wasn’t a big superhero fan before Shazam, but now I’m hooked. Besides Shazam (of course,) it would probably be Batman. I like him because he’s quite clever and has all the cool gadgets.

YEM: Can you tell us about your character?

Ian: Eugene Choi is a gamer, and part of the Vasquez foster family. He doesn’t play those roleplay “baby” games, oh no… he plays the most action-packed (and sometimes bloodiest) games of them all. To keep his energy up the whole time, he guzzles down soda and sometimes plays from the break of dawn to the set of the sun.

YEM: How is working on a tv show different from working on a movie?

Ian: Filming Shazam vs. Filming FOTB was very different. One of the main differences was how much closer we were on Shazam. On Fresh Off the Boat, everyone primarily lives in LA, so after filming, we just seperate our ways and go home. Not on Shazam, however! We all lived in the same hotel so the fun didn’t stop when the director yelled “cut!”