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October 29, 2007 - 12:58AM
Actor Cho pursues balance
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It’s been a busy fall for John Cho. As he sits on the set of CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother,” he’s already completed guest stints on “ ’Til Death” and “Ugly Betty.”
He already has the 2008 release “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” in the can. And, less than two weeks after we sit chatting on the show’s McClaren’s bar set, Cho is going to be cast as Sulu in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise.
Cho’s “How I Met” episode features the “American Pie” veteran as Jeff Coatsworth, recruiter for the evil corporate law firm that attempts to lure Jason Segel’s Marshall from his more altruistic legal dreams.
“I’ve been on a little streak and I’m a bit worried that people are seeing deep into my soul,” Cho says of the role.
Although he’s been able to dance between film and television work, he admits it’s hard to find balance.
“It’s just here, there and everywhere,” he says. “With any actor, the periods of nonwork are exaggerated in our heads. Two weeks feels like an eternity, like we’re never going to work again and our families are going to starve. And then two weeks of working straight, it’s like ‘When are they gonna give me a friggin’ break here?’ It never feels really balanced, but you do what you can.”
Part of Cho’s availability to do guest work has stemmed from his difficulties getting new shows on the air.
“This is going to not sound like a great lesson, but the lesson I take from it is to not look too far ahead and to not fret about things you can’t control and to have a good time the day-of and not worry about show night or how the episode turns out, because even that is kind of out of your hands. I feel like the point is to come in and have a good time acting,” he says.
Another point would be to learn things from every set you find yourself on.
“ ‘Betty’ has a very unique rhythm, and they have just an unbelievable cast and it’s always fun to just hang around really good actors and you always take notes,” he says.
He isn’t going to tell me about getting ready for a big-budget studio blockbuster. He does give his read on the second “Harold & Kumar.”
“I just feel like we would have let people down if we didn’t do another one,” he says. There was just so much interest. It’s a social responsibility. I did it for the people and I did it for America. I’m a patriot. In these difficult times … now more than ever.”
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