Some characters will have you channelling your inner Troy Bolton. Some will have you beaming down from your spaceship to a town full of zombies and werewolves (which you’ll befriend). And some will be derived from something entirely real: so exquisitely and intricately real, that only you can emulate it. A character is only as good as its performer, and even the weakest lines can be convincing if uttered by the right actor.
Terry Hu crashed down on our planet some 28 years ago, growing up in America with strict but kind immigrant parents. They nurtured Terry’s intelligence while allowing a bit of room for hobbies, with a stable future in mind but a happy child at the forefront. They ended up bagging a Neuroscience degree, but ultimately succumbed to their true calling, and started putting more time into their dreams of becoming an actor.
Terry then continued proving their expertise, even winning competitions, and most impressively: convincing their parents they had a good shot in a competitive industry, despite the tough climate for POC and LGBTQ+ actors. Terry’s early (and still early) career started off with commercials and short films until they started appearing on bigger projects like Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. By the time they were 25, the young star had already checked a Disney gig off their list.
To any reader of Terry Hu’s biography, it all might sound quite breathless at first. The entertainment industry leaves no room for breathing after all; it reserves no mercy for the burnt-out and those that can’t keep up momentum, even if they do have experience. But Terry is a dedicant of their passion that knows when to rest.
As I sit down with the actor on a call one afternoon, I immediately sensed their gracious and relaxed aura. One can only imagine how their supportive system and healthy mindset has nourished their qualities; it’s a breath of fresh air to see, when so often we see too many talents tire themselves out with nothing – or no one – to fall back on for support.
“She’ll always keep me humble,” Terry says of their mum, with a sentimentality to their tone. It’s no wonder the carer that kept them grounded while keeping the spark of childlike dreams alive causes so much warmth to bloom in the actor’s smile.
Terry’s most recent projects, Prom Dates and The Girls on the Bus, led the actor to speak with a giddy aura as they recalled seeing a huge billboard on Sunset Boulevard. The latter has a bit more drama than their latest project, with Terry teasing an unexpected arc for their character throughout the series. And while both differ from each other pretty greatly, they couldn’t bear to pick a favourite.
“I think there’s something uniquely saucy about both, like, Prom Dates is more lighthearted fun and stuff: that tone of comedy. But then [in] The Girls on the Bus, I like getting into the more nitty gritty. Even if those aren’t necessarily my scenes – maybe there are a couple – I like being a part of that world too. It’s hard to choose.”
“I love that word you use, saucy.” I chime in.
“Yeah, it’s saucy,’”Terry laughs. “That’s what I think of that, because you can apply it in different ways.”
Terry Hu: a bright and zesty personality that could spill to eternity if given one of their passions as a prompt. Such bold and driven characters are magnets to others, and leaders in our social climates. In today’s scene, doors are slowly opening up to minorities. But it can always be better.
Certain strong-willed individuals throughout history have fought for equal chances to be given to everyone, and Terry, a queer Asian, is an ember in that blaze. While they admittedly choose not to bear the burden of a hero, they dance passionately amongst all the other flames, grateful for the opportune slices they’ve received.
I ask if they think they’re quite a fighter.
“No, I’m not. I mean, I don’t know. I took boxing for like, one month and I got cocky. Literally,” they admit with a laugh.
Terry, with their wide grin and neverending energy, is a sunny being with a secret. Beneath the warm layers is a blaze, roused up by a sincere protective nature. They teased their ability to be angry when the situation calls for it; one such provoking moment struck amidst the recent series of violence in New York, when an older Asian man was being harrassed. The actor hinted at taking the frightening situation into their own hands, verging on being a hero before playing one in a role.
“It’s just very triggering, y’know, and I’m sure it would be for anyone. It was just like a natural sense. […] But I stepped forward, because they were literally like, twerps. Can I say that? They’re twerps!” the actor laughs.
“I think there’s been a lot of violence in New York lately, especially against female people and stuff like that,” Terry continues, “I don’t know if you’ve heard there’s so many women getting punched. There’s one guy going around literally punching women. So wild. But my girlfriend’s like, ‘You never know if someone has a weapon’. So I know, I know. I’m not thinking from a place of reason, I suppose. I’m just like, ‘I’ll die for the cause!’ It’s just like, 34th Penn Station Platform is not where you’re gonna die for your cause. There’s better ways to go about this. So, fortunately, it de-escalated. But I think it was scary.”
Just as those with a fighter’s spirit need a calmer soul to help keep their head screwed on, a young actor needs someone to rely on in the industry: an oasis in unpredictable territory. Terry praises Amy Chozick and Rina Mimoun for being “such sweethearts”, and helping to forge a comfortable environment for cast and crew on The Girls on the Bus, especially with it being a female-led project. Terry also gushes about their best friend, Natasha Behnam, and who their chemistry massively boosted their dynamic on-screen.
“We’re love interests, so we’re hooking up. I think we both had to have a moment of, like, ‘Okay, we’re both so giggly around each other and silly, but we just have to lock in.’ I mean, at the end of the day, we know this is a job and we’re professionals about it. But I think it really helped, mainly because it can be intimidating to do an intimate scene and stuff like that, and like to lock in. So I think there are unique challenges in knowing this person and kind of already being friends with them, but then also feeling so comfortable being like, ‘Hey, actually, give me a second.’ […] I think we just really supported each other. That was really lovely.”
The actor’s time at Disney was miles different from their days working on projects where they could go back to their brother’s apartment at the end of each day of filming.
“Disney’s just different, y’know?” Terry muses, unpacking the bittersweet moments they realised this exciting set was nothing like the homelike environments they’d worked in before. “I was around that world all the time. […] I love being on set and being in that bubble as well, but I think it made me aware of like, oh, it’s nice to stay grounded, because otherwise you can easily get swept up in the bubble of things.”
With all these shiny roles under big production companies, Terry’s success is a cinch. So it might be surprising to hear that their favourite piece that they’ve worked in is none of the above. There is a gleam in Terry’s eye as they talk proudly about the one they can’t forget about.
“I feel very much excited to be at the beginning of my career. There’s a huge range of projects that I would love to do. But so far, honestly, something that popped out to me is this short film I did, at the very beginning of when I was starting out. It’s called Americanized.”
Americanized presents the turbulent mind of a youth stuck in some limbo between communities: neither fully accepting. Terry plays Eng in the short, who waltzes into school in cornrows and a pseudo-confidence, trying to appeal to her basketball teammates. On the other side, Eng is belittled among other Asian students for essentially “not being Chinese enough”. The short ends with no resolution but the peaceful comfort of a caring close one.
“It’s like being split between two worlds,” Terry elaborates. “I really, really loved that project. I think my heart tends to lean more dramatic. I like drama and stuff like that. I loved working on a lot more lighthearted things too, but I think Americanized stands out a lot. It’s also special because it was one of my first projects. But there are things I’ve liked about every single one.”
Works of art like these, that exist to remind us to accept our differences on this lonely little rock in space, have more soul than half the blockbusters on our watchlist. It’s not surprising to hear the actor cares about their older project so much. With so many stunning acting gigs and impressive feats achieved already, we’re convinced Terry really might be onto something.
“Support yourself. You don’t have to be such a struggling artist to be an artist,” are the final words of the person whose book we should all be taking a leaf out of. This world is violent, it’s oppressive, but it can be so lovely too: if we all learn how to find our balance.
Prom Dates and The Girls On The Bus are out now. Terry Hu can be found on Instagram here.
