Arden Cho has come a long way. The Hollywood actress flew in from Los Angeles to attend the House of Love, Bonito Launch Party in Singapore on Thursday, March 14. One of the faces of the brand-new Signatures collection, she shared how thrilling it was to shoot the entire campaign in L.A.
READ: Arden Cho on shooting the Love, Bonito Signatures Campaign
"You know, a lot of people have asked me if we shot this in New York. I was based in New York while I shot Partner Track, so that does make sense. And I feel like Love, Bonito looks very New York sometimes, but we shot this in L.A. It was a wild shoot, we shot everybody, we got a lot done, it started raining but we made it work. It never rains [in L.A.], but guess what? We are ready to live, and we shot it in the rain—we had like five minutes, but we made it work!"
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Honing in on the brand's new tag line #ReadyToLive (not just #ReadyToWear!), co-founder Rachel Lim asked Arden how she defines the phrase. "Ready to live for me means being ready for anything," the Avatar: The Last Airbender star began. "We almost didn't make it here today. Luckily, I'm here! A few days ago, I had a little tumble—literally faceplanted in the concrete, chipped a tooth and I have a couple of boo-boos here. But there's makeup, and there's bandages, so I'm here!" she said, making light of the situation.
"I just can't smile! I feel really bad because there's one thing about me: I really to smile, like *huge*. People always tell me, "Don't smile on the carpet! You have to vogue and look chic." But I always smile because I feel like I want to be happy to be there! Who cares if you get eye or cheek wrinkles, I like smiling. I have never felt so trapped because I literally can't smile. I can smize, so I'm not mad or not happy to be here. I'm internally smiling...but at least the girls said I look cool."
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Arden turned up to the party dressed in the chic Rachel blazer (sure to be a fan favorite!) and we even got her to select a piece perfect for the Cosmo girl:
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Read: Arden Cho's exclusive interview with Cosmopolitan Philippines
We also had some one-on-one time with Arden to chat about Asian-American representation in Hollywood, her dream projects, and more!
At the heart of your projects is a determination for better Asian-American representation. As a producer and singer-songwriter, what is your dream project?
"I feel like there's so many? It almost depends on when you ask me. On certain days it's going to be a really killer action film with an Asian-American female hero, but then on another day it might just be a really fun rom-com or something very relatable and sweet. Even a show like New Girl, where it's very relatable and fun. I feel like these days, I'm always looking for a really great story, looking for something that feels fresh, interesting, challenging, but also very relatable. So it's hard to say what the dream project would be—I feel like I just love it all."
What type of soundtrack would be its main theme, and who would you give the recording opportunity to?
"I would love to do some sort of super cool action story with a female vigilante! I would love for the soundtrack to be done by Billie Eilish. I *love* Billie Eilish and I just feel like she would crush it. It'd be so fun, very dark and edgy and cool. Is our hero a bad guy? Maybe, to some people, but she's probably a good guy. And I feel like it would just be right up [Billie's] alley."
Which films or TV shows have inspired you recently?
"I've been watching a lot of old '80s and '90s films, doing a lot of research right now developing some projects. We're slowly trying to grab some inspiration from older films. My Best Friend's Wedding, When Harry Met Sally, Beautiful Mind...sort of all over the place...trying to spark that creative inspiration."
What advice do you have for those who are too afraid to seize the moment and take on a new challenge?
"It's like cold water. You just gotta jump in. You can't tiptoe in there, you just gotta jump. You have to go for it and you have to be willing to take that shot. Don't be scared if you miss it, don't be scared if you fail. I have to say, looking back at the last 30-something years of my life...more than 30, I'm in my late 30s *laughs*. Looking back at all those years, I will say: I rarely remember the highlight moments or the good moments."
"I remember a lot of the failures and a lot of the challenges and a lot of the adversities, but those are what made me who I am today, and those are what have helped me become the woman I am and shaped a lot of my character. So I'm not afraid of failing anymore. I feel like with each failure, I learn something so meaningful. Failures and imperfections, they just make you who you are, and I think it's very beautiful."
You’ve played the lawyer and a sister of a doctor. Growing up did you witness or experience expectations of being the "perfect (Asian) daughter"? How did you overcome that, and what advice do you have to share?
"Of course, I feel like I still struggle with that! I remember when I worked as Ingrid on Partner Track, I got to send my mom Ingrid's fake Harvard diploma and she was so happy and proud her daughter finally went to Harvard—even though it was fake."
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"I feel like I still feel that pressure all the time. I think being a minority artist, we still have a lot of pressure even from our community. This unspoken expectation that we have to represent. So I feel like there's a lot of pressure, but but I try not to focus on that as much, and just try to stay true to myself and what I think is most important for me, for what I love."
"Your parents eventually come around. I feel like my parents were always against the arts, not because they didn't want me to pursue what I love, but because they were scared of uncertainty and an unstable life, they just want security and for us to be safe."
"So I always tell young people, "If your parents don't believe in you or are against what you want, then you show them. You work hard and you show them that you're capable, that they don't have to worry about you. You also have to believe it yourself for them to believe you. I think a lot of times people don't really believe that they can do it until they do it. So I feel like believing in yourself first is the first step. And then you convince everyone else to believe in you as well. I think if you love what you do...hopefully it's easier than it is difficult."
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