Amy Hill’s Hollywood Shuffle
December 5, 2003
One of the best known Asian Pacific American actresses in Hollywood, Amy Hill, stars in The Cat in the Hat as the snoozy babysitter, Mrs. Kwan. She talked to AsianWeek about the role, her work and life behind the scenes.AsianWeek: What attracted you to the role of Mrs. Kwan?
Amy Hill: Basically, a job! I have a three-year-old now. … What attracted me was the ability to be able to improvise a character that was not dead — ’cause she falls asleep within moments. The interesting thing was that it was written for a large Taiwanese woman, so I thought to myself, ‘Who else could play this? Are there any other large Asian American women?’
AW: Did you base Mrs. Kwan on anyone you know?
AH: I went back to San Francisco and remembered several older women I knew in the community. There was a woman who used to work at the Chinese Culture Center who wore these big, round glasses and I loved them! So, those glasses are a tribute to her.
Then you know, because she’s asleep and I have to justify her sleeping, I believe she has a very busy nightlife, that she gambles a lot, that she’s been up all night partying. Now ya see, you know that’s true.
AW: Did you ever feel uncomfortable on the set?
AH: No. They were pretty respectful. I was just bored to tears most of time — because I had to wait for Mike [Myers]. He didn’t have to show up till 10 o’clock. Then he did three hours of makeup and then maybe he’d have lunch. I have no idea. But I was there, and I had a crappy contract.
I was telling somebody, Hollywood is such a weird place. You don’t know if you’re being treated poorly ‘cause you’re Asian American — a person of color — or just because they treat everyone poorly, who’s not a star.
AW: After doing this film, which do you believe more?
AH: My gut feeling is that they do dismiss people of color more easily than they do white folks. I don’t know if they think we’re not going to raise a stink.
Here’s my gripe. I’m not in the press kit and I’m one of the co-stars of the movie. Why?
Then when I was invited to the premiere, they gave me a parking pass; they expected me to schlep from the parking lot. So, I called my agent and said, ‘Maybe I’m just being sensitive but I think I’m supposed to have a car.’
I’m not a huge star, but I’ve been around long enough and this is not the way to treat people, especially when you’re prominently featured in a film. But the reviews have been horrible, so I’m glad they didn’t talk about me so much. Thank you!
AW: Did you make enough money to set you up for awhile?
AH: No. Because they’re paying so much money to the big star, they give you a flat fee. Originally, they thought I would only be working 20 days. I ended up working 60 with no overtime. Not only was I not getting paid, but I was paying for a babysitter, while waiting for Mike to get to the set.
It was so hard at the premiere because people were asking me, ‘What was it like working with Mike?’ And I said, “greaaatt.” He wasn’t annoying except for the fact that the world revolved around him. He had to stop after every take and take a look — and do it again. But before he did it again, he had to get back into character, breathing, a lot of low shallow breathing, breathing through the nose, breathing through the mouth, actorly kinds of things.
I’m just like, ‘if you didn’t stop and look at the tape so much, you’d stay in character and we’d move along much faster.’
The difference was that when I worked with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore [for the upcoming movie Fifty First Dates], they were on the set all the time. There was a large Asian American cast and they were so respectful of everybody. I had such a great time, I’m hoping the movie is good. Pleeaazze, dear god!
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