Interview DJGeneral

DJGENERAL is back with another Degrassi interview, this time with Shannon Kook-Chun, who plays Zane on the show.

How are you like the character Zane, and how are you different?
We both smile a lot, but I think Zane is a lot more zen than me. I’m a chill guy, but Zane is, and I’m quoting this from Degrassi, “like the best guy ever”.

You’ve stated before that you were friends with Argiris Karras (Riley) before you had a role on Degrassi. What was it like when you found out you two would be portraying a romantic relationship?
I think Argy and I are both unusual guys. I’m pretty comfortable with Argy. But whether I’m put into a romantic relationship with Argy, Lady Gaga or my high school sweet heart, I’m trying to experience moments of truth – real moments, snippets of life. Truth is universal so it shouldn’t matter where you come from or who you want to kiss. So you may not see Ziley, you may see yourself, maybe someone you know.

I can’t narrate what your experience is when you watch us on screen, but I can try and make it as real as possible. If there is something truthful on there it might say something to someone, shed light on yourselves or those you know. Or not – maybe you’ll just be entertained, or when you’re jogging on the treadmill in gym it’ll just be something pleasant to look at on TV.

For me as an actor, how far the camera sees into its subject is partially dependant on how far I, the actor, am brave enough to go; how far I allow the camera, tagged with thousands of viewers; to see.

That’s what I’m trying to be in character on screen, which is a push and pull experience when you’re surrounded by lights and make-up and a TV set hustling to get the shots done in time.

It’s always a cherry on top finding out you get to shoot with someone you already know.  With friends, the tricky thing is how much of your own relationship do you put aside and how much do you bring to screen.

You had a small role in season 9, and for the first half of season 10, you were seen much more prominently. Will we see you a lot again in the upcoming fall episodes?
With Degrassi I only find out about new scripts around a month before they’re shot so I’m pretty much in the dark just as much as you are.

You recently went with the cast on a trip to India, was it how you expected it to be?
It was and it wasn’t, but how can one know what to expect. I’m still digesting my experience there. It will always sit with me. It definitely layered my perspective on things and I will always cherish my time with the cast there.

Some days the whole cast was just so shaken by what they saw that it was a cast full of tears. It really hit some of us. I’d say many of us had moments of climactic realizations and questions, but then you return to your warm bed and tap water and it’s so easy to bottom drawer all those thoughts and questions. Things like WE DAY were great to uproot those things.

There is a lot to this world that I am unaware of and it is really ‘safe’, as a lifestyle in North America, and it is ‘privileged’ to be able to drop into a heavily disadvantaged community like that, who welcomes you in, then fly home and be able to never have to face it again. It certainly raises questions on how I conduct my life.

Even through all that though, I found the people of India to be very happy. They would run up to our car and always say hello. Here we have ‘stuff’, but we’re often moaning about this and that and sporting a long face. It’s hard to be satisfied. There is always the NEXT thing I DON’T have. I learned from the people of India. And I learned from the cast, seeing how they each processed the trip individually.

India is a fond, fond memory, and it was a shock to the senses. The sight, smell, touch, sound and TASTE! Yum!  Until we got sick and our bellies couldn’t handle it. I won’t lie though, I would LOVE some paneer, roasted veggies, lentils and roti right now!

I still have to edit all the amazing shots I took over there too!

How is Degrassi different from the other acting jobs you’ve had in the past?
The family of the cast and crew is really different. I mean this show has 10 seasons under its belt not to mention the other 20 before that. It’s a family when you walk through that set. The crew is a mean green machine and lovely vibes and smiles and the cast is just a puppy pile of love. But when I’m not shooting I’ll be going from wardrobe, to producers’ offices and to publicity chatting away and distracting them. I feel really fortunate to be a part of this family.

After you are done on Degrassi, do you plan on furthering your acting career, or do you want to do something else?
There are all sorts of mediums like dance, photography, directing, writing, martial arts, music and just pretty much art I want to explore. Just life really. I am an actor though. It’s not just some hobby. It’s how I get by. I am very much doing what I want to be doing right now though and I feel very lucky.

What kind of music do you like? Any favorite artists/songs right now?
I’m listening to Mumford and Sons right now and was listening to Justin Nozuka and The XX earlier.  I tend to gravitate to more R&B, and also beats I can dance at party to. Jason Mraz and Justin Nozuka are among my bread and butter though.
I like to dance so if there are good beats like ‘Dynamite’ (Taio Cruz), LMFAO, Far*East Movement then we’re in for a good time.

Eminem speaks some heartfelt stuff to me too. You’re all welcome to suggest your favourites to me on twitter to expand my horizons! I will listen to it.

Do you have any time to watch any TV series? Any you enjoy that you would recommend?
I loved ‘Heroes’ Season 1 but I am SO behind on TV these days, AND movies.
I have ‘The Wire’, ‘True Blood’, ‘Mad Men’, ‘Vampire Diaries’ (shh! Nina said “Baaaad FRIEND!” when I last told her this – I’ll just get the box DVD set), ‘Summer Heights High’, ‘Californication’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘The Misfits’ on my list right now. OH! And I must catch up on ‘Entourage’! It is definitely one of my favourites.

I’ll also be checking out Hawaii Five-O. I love that there are finally some Asian leads – Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. We need more of that.  I was killing myself watching ‘How I Met You Mother’ last night. I also love ‘Friends’, ‘Family Guy’, ‘Just for Laughs Gags’, ‘SYTYCD’.

I’m a regular on Season 3 of Durham County coming OCT 25th though, so I will for sure be watching that in addition to Degrassi.

Who is your favorite Degrassi character, past or present?
Definitely Adam as well as Craig’s character. Jake Epstein and I were in Theatre School together but I never saw his work on Degrassi till after that.

If you were a producer, what is a storyline you would like your character to go through?
That’s a hard question but the first thing that came to mind is I’d be interested in Zane dealing with racism because it’s something I deal with, not just overt racism but the subtle stereotypes we all carry around.

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You are a fan of singing and dancing. Is that something you like to do alone, or would you be interested in heading to Broadway?
No plans for Broadway yet. I am a little shy singing and dancing as a performance in front of people, but I was in a Musical last year called The Forbidden Phoenix where I played The Monkey Prince ‘Laosan’. It was a Western Musical fused with Peking Opera and Martial Arts.

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DJGENERAL gave his twitter followers a chance to ask Shannon questions…here are some of them below.

Why did you decide to move to Canada as opposed to say Hollywood or New York? Was it because you had family there?

Canada is one of the best places to live in the world!

Are there any actors/actresses that you look up to for inspiration?

Many yes! But none in particular mention because there are so many with different reasons why I admire them.
I was thinking when I woke up in bed this morning that my Dad is really awesome. I look up to him. He has put himself aside for me and my family to a great extent,and whether or not he has an advantage or not he gives it his best. I was lying there wondering if I had what it takes to be as brave as my Father, and to be as generous and resilient.

As an actor or performer we all come with different assets. How we make use of what we have and how much heart we put in. I respect and look up to that.
I am also a keen believer in growth and doing things to become and learn more. A lot of actors out there have had to bust it out and didn’t just roll over to where they are.

It looks pretty on magazines, but these guys are focused, driven, hard working people at the top.

What was your most embarrassing moment on set?
I don’t get embarrassed very easy so that is a tough question. It was pretty funny when I had to do pull ups in the gym scene because I had to do it throughout the scene when the camera was on me, Argy, Luke and Daniel, and we all needed our own turn with the camera. So yeah…I had to do it a bunch of rounds and I was in the background with my eyes crossed trying to squeeze in pull ups and make it look easy but it definitely didn’t feel like it looked like that. Plus, my wrist has been injured since last November from dance and gym, and that episode I had a strain in my foot from a jazz dance class so was limping in my cleats running during football scenes and always trying to hide my limp just simply walking in scenes. Kicking the football kinda messed up my recovery time too. I’m still seeing the Physiotherapist.

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