By Mike McCarthy
You have seen actor Leonard Wu in bit parts on big network shows going back to 2009 with Veronica Mars. Now you will experience Leonard in a whole new way, kicking some serious ass in the second season of the Netflix hit, Marco Polo, which starts on July 1st. Leonard is a self proclaimed comic book nerd, just like we are, and we spent way longer on our interview than we put down here. Leonard will be making some guest appearances on our weekly podcast to discuss the big comic book transitions in the DC and Marvel universes including DC: Rebirth and Marvel’s Civil War 2.
Wingman Magazine: You are an actor, a martial artist…but I wanna talk about your artistic chops. I just saw a drawing you did on Instagram. How could you call that doodles? Your so called not so straight lines kill my straight lines. Is this a hidden talent?
Leonard Wu: When I was growing up and I always wanted to be an actor, but there was a moment when I was 11 or 12 when I wasn’t sure how I could explore that as an option. I thought I could be an artist because I loved to draw. I grew up reading comic books and stuff like that and I drew all the time. I call myself a dilettante artist because I didn’t have the discipline to become a true comic book artist. I dabbled in it a lot, but no means did I have the discipline to be, what would I call myself a professional.
Wingman Magazine: Do you still read comic books now or see the films?
Leonard Wu: I do…I am obsessed with the comic book movies. As for reading, I stick with the graphic novels. Right now I am reading a series called, Monstress by Marjorie Liu (You can check out our interview with her in our first issue). I am also reading East and West, it’s a post apocalyptic genre, a lot like The Dark Tower in a way. For more mainstream stuff I follow Scott Snyder’s run on Batman.
For the films, I am a sucker for Marvel, the way that the linked all of the worlds together. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Batman fan, especially Christopher Nolan’s run on the films. Talk about raising comic books to another level of amazing art. But as far as now, Captain America had everything that I could possibly want.
Wingman Magazine: July 1st…Marco Polo. Tell us about your character Orus…he’s new to the series but I am looking forward to see him.
Leonard Wu: The character is a very intense, passionate Mongolian warrior that has a strong drive to bring back old traditions to the people of Mongolia. Chaos and political intrigue ensues.
Wingman Magazine: what was the hardest part for you to get prepped for this kind of a time period role?
Leonard Wu: I have never done a period piece before, and the amount of elements that go into it is insane. You aren’t filming in a city or anywhere that is modern, so everything that goes into it is absolutely amazing. They built villages out in the middle of nowhere for the set. The costumes for this series, which were designed by Jo Korer are just phenomenal. Every little big, the hair, the makeup, the costumes just helps to inform that time. As a warrior, they made us train like athletes. It was an insane amount of training, working out, horseback riding, martial arts. We were training for about two months leading up to the filming so that we were in the best shape possible.
Wingman Magazine: When on set in other countries….do you find yourself wanting to try some of the local food or sticking to regular favorites?
Leonard Wu: Cuisine-wise, the food was great in both places, it was a nice dichotomy. When it came to training, some people had to eat a certain way depending on what their character would be like. The advice I got from the stunt coordinator, trainer and everyone was to bulk up and eat everything. I just kept eating for the months leading up to the filming.
Wingman Magazine: You were raised in DC…and you shot this show in Hungary, Slovakia and Mongolia. Are these the craziest places that you have filmed so far? Where do you want to film the most?
Leonard Wu: Unless you consider New York crazier, then yes. New York is it’s own beast. As far as locations, I have never shot in Europe or Asia and they were both amazing. I would love to film in New Zealand. There was a brief moment when there were talks that Marco Polo would film in New Zealand, and that would’ve been a dream of mine. The scenery there is incredible.
Wingman Magazine: Your film, Revenge of the Green Dragons…one of the greatest directors of all time Martin Scorsese was an executive producer. Did you get to interact with him at all on set?
Leonard Wu: He was there basically shepherding behind the scenes. As actors, we didn’t really get to work with him. We did get to hang out with him at the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival which was fantastic to be able to be with such a legend. The backstory for why he came onboard was because the director of Green Dragons also directed Internal Affairs, which is what The Departed was based off of, which was directed by Scorsese. So, since he borrowed the idea from that director, Scorsese came on and did a solid for him as well.
Wingman Magazine: When you aren’t filming, what do you find yourself doing? Besides reading scripts or preparing for a role.
Leonard Wu: I do like to draw and paint, it’s a nice way for me to decompress. I also have been doing some more volunteer work. Lately it’s been with some animal charities where dogs have been saved from Asian slaughterhouses. The group that I specifically work with is a group founded by Marc Ching and his charity is the Animal Wellness and Hope Foundation
Wingman Magazine: Are there any shows that you try not to miss on a weekly basis?
Leonard Wu: I think because of streaming, I don’t have the patience to wait every week. I am such a sucker for Netflix and before I went to film Marco Polo I bingewatched all of Daredevil in two days. And when I was in Malaysia I bingewatched all of Jessica Jones. Season one of True Detective I bingewatched the hell out of too.