‘Boogie’ – Taylor Takahashi, from Assistant to Leading Man

Posted in Interviews, Movies, VOD/iTunes/DigitalDownload by - March 24, 2021
‘Boogie’ – Taylor Takahashi, from Assistant to Leading Man

Talk about dreams come true. Newcomer Taylor Takahashi has a lot to be grateful for, including his first lead role in the new film, Boogie.

From acclaimed writer, producer and restaurateur Eddie Huang comes his directorial debut Boogie, the coming-of-age story of Alfred “Boogie” Chin. He’s a basketball phenomenon living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. His parents are pressuring him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college. So Boogie must find a way to navigate that and a new girlfriend (Taylour Paige), high school, on- court rivals and the burden of expectation.

Taylor Takahashi landed the lead role without any previous acting experience under his belt. He met Eddie Huang at a pick up basketball game and the two became fast friends. Both having some experience as chefs, Huang asked Taylor to help him out with some catering gigs. It was soon after that Taylor became Eddie’s personal assistant. Huang’s mother noticed something special in Taylor and encouraged Eddie to offer him the lead role in his film.

In 2018, Taylor was given the screenplay Boogie to read by Huang. He’s the author of Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir, which was the basis for the ABC television series of the same name.

It was his first time ever seeing and reading a movie script. After reading the approximately 130 pages, Takahashi thought that he saw a lot of himself in the character. So Huang gave him a shot and when he landed the role, Taylor had only three weeks to prepare.

Now that the acting bug has bit, Takahashi plans on pursuing this new career and wants to fully immerse himself in the film industry as both an actor and a producer. He’s ready for any opportunities that come his way.

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Taylor Takahashi about his journey from assistant to leading man. She also spoke to him about his thought son the recent uptake of racial discrimination against Asians.

Boogie has been playing in limited theatrical run as of March 5th, and is available on VOD as of March 26th.

  • Release Date: 3/19/2021
This post was written by
Bonnie is a 25-year broadcast entertainment reporter currently on CH Morning Live and on her YouTube channel. She's heard weekly on Sirius XM as on the Ward & Al Show. She's interviewed more than 20,000 celebs, including Angelina Jolie, Barbra Streisand, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey,
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