‘Warrior’ star Chen Tang talks ’the most underrated show’ on TV right now, queer representation, and losing 18 pounds after ‘Mulan’

• Chen Tang joined the second season of Cinemax’s “Warrior,” which follows Chinese immigrants coming to San Francisco in the late 1800s.
• In a conversation with Insider held before the US presidential election, Tang spoke about the underrated gem, which is based on an idea from his childhood hero, Bruce Lee.
• Tang lost about 18 pounds for his role on the show by eating just one meal a day after finishing up Disney’s live-action “Mulan” in which he played Yao.
• “I’m really proud of ‘Warrior,'” Tang said of the show’s writing. “They really don’t just go, ‘Oh, it’s an Asian story.'”
• Tang also said he’s proud that the show portrays queer representation without putting it under a microscope, adding that the series doesn’t make a big deal out of people’s sexuality.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

One of the best TV shows that you’re likely not watching right now is “Warrior” on Cinemax. 

Based on a ’70s treatment from Bruce Lee, the Western follows martial artist prodigy Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) as he immigrates from China to San Francisco during the late 1870s as tensions between Americans and Chinese immigrants are at an all-time high.

Everything from the cinematography to the realistic fight scenes (for which most of the cast performed their own stunts) to even the catchy title theme are engrossing, making the show an easy binge. Now, in its second season, the series not only explores the conflict between rival Chinatown gangs and the Tong Wars of the late 1800s, but also the discrimination Chinese Americans faced from 1892’s Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese people from immigrating to the US for 10 years.

“I call [it] the little show that could. We’re small, but mighty,” star Chen Tang told Insider. 

Tang, who joined “Warrior” in its second season after his role in Disney’s “Mulan” as fan-favorite Yao, plays Hong, a lovable yet dangerous sidekick to the show’s lead characters, Ah Sahm and Young Jun, in one of San Francisco’s most powerful tongs or secret organizations. Hong’s quirky character brings some much needed humor to lighten the mood of the often violent and serious show material. 

"It's the most underrated show ever," Tang said when asked why people should tune into the series. "It's just f---ing good. What do you want me to say? I can give you all the kind of feel good answers. 'Yeah, It's representation,' and that's important too — believe me — but damn, man. It's just a good show. Simple as that." 

Insider spoke with Tang before the US presidential election about creating his character's look, the show's portrayal of queer representation and how it's setting a new standard in Hollywood, and how the show unintentionally draws some parallels to systemic racism in America today.

Joining 'Warrior' meant a lot to Tang because watching Bruce Lee was the first time he felt 'truly proud' to be Asian in America.

Insider: I'm going to be honest: I hadn't really heard of "Warrior" until recently. I started watching and fell in love with the show's choreography, fight scenes, and the journeys of Ah Sahm, Ah Toy, and Penelope. I wanted to start off asking what drew you into this show? I read that Bruce Lee was one of your heroes growing up. So I imagine this show must be particularly dear to you; this is a show he tried making many years ago.

Chen Tang: When I first heard about it I was like, Wow. OK. Just two words, plain and simple: Bruce Lee. Honestly, the first time watching him was the first time I felt truly proud to be an Asian in America. [That's] not to say I didn't have good experiences before, but I was like, Wow. OK.

When I found out I got the job I was just floored. It was a dream come true because this is my first series as a series regular and to be able to work with something that's a legacy, not [just] for me personally, but also, Shannon [Lee], his daughter, is our executive producer. To actually get to know her, and to be in this circle, it's something else. I had to like pinch myself. Meeting her, for the first time...I was just so emotional. I couldn't stop my tears. 

One of your first lines on the show that you said was: 'I'm just happy to be here.' I couldn't help but feel like that had a double meaning, knowing your love for Bruce Lee. Was that a bit of the case?

Triple meaning: As the character [Hong], I'm happy to be here in San Francisco. Two, [there's] the happiness with everything that it means to be with Bruce Lee's legacy. Three: Being in South Africa, everything that I'm experiencing as Hong, I'm experiencing as Chen in K-Town when we shot it, because I'm genuinely happy to be here. That scene was my first day on set, too. 

The show allowed Tang to have input on his character's appearance. So he lost 17-18 pounds after his role in 'Mulan.'

You mentioned on social media that you survived on boiled eggs and Nutribullets in New Zealand for 'Mulan.' What was your diet like for 'Warrior?'

Jonathan Tropper, our showrunner, and HBO, they're a dream to work with because they were like, 'Hey Chen, how do you want Hong to look? It's your role now. We'll meet you half way.' You want to be fat? Be fat. You want to be ripped? Be ripped.

I was like, 'No, you know what? I would like to be super skinny.' I dropped about seven or eight kilos. That's about 17, almost 18, pounds from 'Mulan' on to 'Warrior' because I wanted to be sort of like a stray dog. That's the image that came to me.

I basically just ate one meal a day, but because of that I could eat whatever I wanted and I had a protein shake after training.

Wang said more TV shows need to represent cultures and sexuality without putting them under a microscope in order to normalize them.

Speaking about areas where you had a say in your character, I know your character on the show identifies as queer. That's made a little more clear at the start of season two, episode six. Was that always a part of Hong's character or something that you had a hand in developing?

No, that was always part of Hong's character from the audition. I just loved it and it gave me so, so much of life and creativity to go from. Jonathan was like, 'It's kind of cool. We have a gay hatchet man,' but we never shined a microscope on it. He is how he is.

Exactly. I wanted to note that I especially loved the moment where Young Jun (Jason Tobin) stood up for Hong when he was being discriminated against at breakfast. His father, Jun (Perry Yung) walks in and says, 'What's going on?' Young Jun doesn't go into the details. He just says, 'Oh, it's just breakfast.' I love that this show embraces whatever form of love — no matter what it may be — without judgment, whether it's bi, straight, gay, or interracial. Is that something that stood out to you about the show as well?

To be honest, it doesn't stand out for all the right reasons. I'll explain what I mean: It doesn't stand out for all the right reasons because it really shouldn't. [Laughs] Why does it have to be queer representation? It's just the endgame. That's just another human being and that's the way they really wanted to approach it. They were like everybody is kind of gray on 'Warrior.' That's just their life and they don't shine too much of a microscope on stuff. That was really cool.

I like the way they portray it in the show in saying, 'This is just how it is.' You don't see it handled like that all the time. 

Yeah. I'm an honest guy. If I'm not on a good show, I wouldn't be like, 'Yo, our show's awesome.' I'm really proud of 'Warrior,' and I know a lot of us are and the reason is with the storyline and the writing, everybody kind of has a say. They really don't just go, 'Oh, it's an Asian story.' You can see why, Leary (Dean Jagger), feels how he feels about the Irish and hates the Chinese. I really, really enjoyed the fact that that they gave everybody humanity like that.

Wang speaks on the show's parallels to the current state of America: We haven't changed as much as we may think.

There's a line said in season two, episode two: 'We cannot allow anxiety and dread to become the law of the land.' I was struck by how relevant that line felt, along with another line where Mayor Samuel Blake (Christian McKay) says, 'Americans first.' With the election [upon us], what parallels, if any, do you see between this show and what's going on right now in the world? 

That's crazy. I think that you know the show better than I do [Laughs]. We were in such a different world when we shot [the show]. We didn't aim it for anything. These are not new problems. These are age-old things that just happened to be addressed now that...has more of a microscope on it.

A lot of people say, 'Oh my God, this is so shocking.' I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. This is not shocking. This is honest; straight up honest. People feel this way.

The only way that we can get closer as human beings is to address it, not to run, not to ignore the problem, not to push it away, not to bury it under things, but to be real with it. 

I'm in LA right now, but I'm from Jersey. I drove across the country with my brother at the end of 2019 to come out here. There are things people don't realize about the other parts of the country until you drive through them. It felt like we were living in several different countries instead of one. When things started happening this year, including the Black Lives Matter protests, we were not surprised at all. 

That's the great power of what you and I do. We're in media...This thing is real. We didn't set out to make [the show] timely, we were just trying to tell a story that was true to that time in a traumatized way, obviously. These things really happened. There really was a Chinese Exclusion Act. There really was that riot that we'll eventually get to the rest of the season. There really were people that died. They were hung up. We just told the story of the time. But these times haven't changed as much...There's a long way to go.

New episodes of "Warrior" air Fridays on Cinemax at 10 p.m. ET. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.