Charlyne Yi Talks Paper Heart

08 February 2010

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For most people love is something that just exists, no questions asked. But for 24-year old actress, comedienne and writer Charlyne Yi, it was a subject of mystery.

Here she talks to Georgina Farrer about how her latest film, Paper Heart, uncovered that mystery and why sneaking into college lectures inspired her to move to LA.

With regards to Paper Heart, you were obviously inspired by your attitude towards love, but your attitude change at all once you started filming?

Going into the film I had an idea of love but although I was playing myself, I did play more of a character than how I really felt. I don’t think I was as sceptical in real life but I was more sort of like - ‘how do you know it’s love, how can you truly be sure, even if you’re with them for 50 years? Or if you break up with someone can you be sure what you experience was true love at all if it didn’t last?

Do you think you learnt a lot from the filming?

Yeah definitely. I think talking to all the different people that I did. Beforehand I actually didn’t think I was going to learn anything!

But I think a big part of life is learning through your own experiences, before other people’s, which is what the  character did. But I definitely did learn a lot from the film.

My friend said sometimes we re-write history. For example if you were with someone for 50 years and it didn’t work out and you were like hurt or bitter, it still could be love I suppose but it just didn’t work out. You shouldn’t disregard the moments you thought of it as love

I think my insecurities about love surround the fact that ‘how do you know that it’s going to last?’ But then I realised that you’re not sure whether anything in life’s going to last, even with friendships with your friends, whether your job is going to last, but I think now that you  just have to accept that and just enjoy what you have, rather than panicking and worrying about what’s real and how longs it’s going to last.

Is that your ethos - live for the day?

Well sort of but I can be a little bit neurotic and plan a lot. I do always make sure I have a schedule and make sure everything’s done on time, things that are important to survive - like bills etc -  but I try not to be over neurotic on social events and future plans.

What was the response like from the people majority of people you approached to interview in the film?

I was actually really surprised at how open everyone was. Everyone was so happy and proud of their love stories. People wanted to talk about it. But as an interviewer I was so nervous!

So much more nervous than what they were on camera and they were so much more natural. Everyone was so calm to interview, they really took the reins of the interview, it was great.

How did you find playing yourself?

It was very strange. I’d never really acted much except for on stage and that’s much different. I am a person who has loud gestures and that is how I am but in the film Nick (Jasenovic) actually asked me to tone down my gestures in order to seem more realistic and that was strange - to play a lower key version of myself.

So where did you get the idea to mix a documentary with fiction?
It originally was just going to be a documentary. I had the idea when I was 19 and I was performing in comedy clubs at the time and I was hanging out with 40-year-old men who were single.

I remember going home one night and turning on the television to see this reality show with people my age dating and there was one guy in a jacuzzi with two women and I remember feeling disgusted and thinking is that how people hook up?! If it is I thought I am so out of the loop.

I went straight from high school to performing and getting two jobs and I was in total shock. I was performing in a bar one night in front of some strangers and someone opened up to me about their love story and it was really interesting.

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