Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career is kind of how I want to create my career. He's very involved with his recording and production company and also worked on some really great projects.
— Ross Butler
I'm not that much of a singer.
When I started acting, one of the first things I learned was - especially in Hollywood - was branding. I'm a tall guy. I'm like, 'Yeah, that's probably going to be my foot in the door,' because that's my impression on everybody. I'm an athletic guy, and I think, because I grew up disliking jocks so much, that became, like, the character for me.
I know I play a lot of jocks, but I'm actually a really big board game and video game nerd. It's one of the most interesting fields of entertainment because you get to create your own role and create your own rules. Some people get so creative with it, and I'm also super competitive. I'm a really big nerd.
My acting technique is a combination of a lot of different ones. A lot of it is Meisner.
Honestly, I love Ruth's Chris.
With social games, I bring my friends, and maybe they'll bring a friend or two, and when you're playing a game, you don't need to focus on trying to come up with things to talk about.
I'm allergic to cats, so I'm psychologically wired to associating kittens with itchy eyes and popping Claritin.
I've played a jock a lot, but pretty nuanced jocks.
There's so much diversity on TV. It's actually reflecting American culture.
I wasn't bullied or anything, but I didn't really fit in.
There are no Asian leading men in Hollywood. There's not an Asian Ryan Gosling or an Asian Brad Pitt.
There's so many Chinese or Asian Americans that were either born in another country like I was and raised in America or born in America and raised in America. They're normal Americans, and they just happen to have a different heritage.
I will say that 'Riverdale,' yes, is a little more sensationalized. It's based on comics, and it is a little bit more dramatic and a little bit more made for TV, made for teens. For '13 Reasons,' we tried hard to make it as real as we could, as close to reality as possible. No corners were cut; everything was very raw and very real.
I'm actually a really big board game and video game nerd.
In my head, I'd love to go on a vacation to somewhere exotic and far away and in the middle of nowhere. But then I think about the effort it would take to book a flight and a hotel, etc., and I just end up staycationing.
I like something with a really great storyline, characters, and concept. I like doing things that are new and cutting edge.
'Mulan' is an iconic story for the Asian American community.
When I was younger, I had no idea that I would be an actor. I had an interest in it, but I never actually did it. I didn't really expect it to be a career path.
Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe - these leading men. These are the ones I grew up with. And Hugh Jackman. I love everything that these guys are doing. It's kind of been my mission to be an Asian-American version of that.
My mom just wanted me to do anything that was academic, whether it was become a doctor or be a lawyer. Engineering suited her... then I dropped out. It was not what I wanted to do at all; it just felt so unnatural, and I couldn't put my finger on why. I just knew it wasn't for me.
I like to say I was a creature in high school. A weird creature who had my hands in a lot of different things.
I'm trying to bring social games into the zeitgeist.
I don't really use emojis. Is that weird? In the time it takes for me to even find the flexed-arm emoji, I could just type that I'm at the gym.
Growing up, my favorite movies were 'Forrest Gump,' 'Shawshank Redemption,' 'Gladiator' - none of them really had Asian leading men.
I told my team, 'I don't want to go out for Asian roles anymore.'
People in high school either feel like they're with the cool kids in a clique, or they're isolated - there's no in-between.
As a community, we're fighting for Asians to play Asian roles. And then there's the other battle, which is Asian Americans playing roles that aren't written for Asians, and I think that's something that completely should happen; Why can't an Asian American male just play a leading cop figure... or the Matt Damon roles?
My full name is Ross Fleming Butler; it's very British-Irish.
I want to inspire Asian kids to become more artistic and creative rather than feeling that they have to be academic or whatever.
I have a lot of random hobbies.
Zendaya is really chill and cool.
Eventually we got to a point where 'Riverdale' came along, and it was a character that was originally written white, and I saw this as an opportunity to take a classic American character and make them Asian.
Everybody's gone through high school; everybody understands that dynamic. Some people have a great time, and some people don't have a great time. My high school experience was not the greatest. I wasn't necessarily bullied, but I was one of those guys that just goes along, and I didn't really feel connected to many of the social cliques.
Weirdly enough - if I make enough money one day - I want to open a board game bar.
If I didn't mind having a quarter of my car payment going towards a gym membership, I'd definitely go to Equinox.
I don't want to be super aggressive, but I think it's an issue that the population of America isn't reflected accurately in a lot of movies. I'm just disappointed that there isn't an Asian leading man or an Asian leading woman. There's an obvious gap that should be filled.
If everything could be like 'Forrest Gump,' I'd be happy.
If someone offers me a hot plate of Penne Arrabiata, fageddaboutit.
When I was growing up, my mom didn't let me watch a lot of TV. She said I couldn't watch 'Friends' or that era of sitcoms.
All of our actions have consequences whether we know it or not. We never know what people are going through until something tragic happens - if they don't talk about it.
I'm not the Asian kid of 'Riverdale;' I'm Reggie, and I just happen to be Chinese.
I had a lot of friends, but none of them I felt super close with. Now that I'm older, I can look back on my teenage self and kind of see the things I did wrong and the things I did right, what affect they had on me, and what affect they had on other people. I can look at it in a much more conducive way to storytelling.
As actors, we have to take characters, and we have to feel for them and ultimately become them, and share that on screen so that audience feels that.
I've played lacrosse players, football players, basketball players. I think that's just because of how I'm built. I look young, and I'm also a big person.
I don't think I have any guilt or embarrassment about any of the TV shows I watch. Maybe the fact that the shows I can watch over and over again are cartoons like 'Bob's Burgers' and 'American Dad' and 'Rick & Morty.'
