Vancouver actor Ricky He adds romantic comedy role to his resume
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Ricky He is kidding around again. The Vancouver actor plays a fun-loving, high-school senior named Blake in the new romantic comedy Worth the Wait.
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'I thought playing high school was behind me, but I guess Blake proved that door was still wide open,' said the 29-year-old He with a laugh. 'I just have one of those faces, I guess.'
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It's a point that's proven by the fact that he is almost always cast to play a younger character.
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A few years back, he was teen Kellan Park in a recurring role on The Good Doctor. And, recently, he has been seen as Kenny, the early 20-something deputy sheriff in the hit Russo Brothers-produced TV sci-fi horror series From.
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Landing in time for Asian Heritage Month, the Maple Ridge-shot Worth the Wait premieres on May 23 on the streaming service Tubi. Directed by Tom Shu-Yu Lin, the film follows eight different Seattle-area couples at varying stages of their relationships, good and bad.
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He's character, Blake, is a prank-loving teenager whose mother died a few years earlier, leaving his older sister as his guardian. Blake is dating another high-school senior, Riley (Ali Fumiko Whitney). Their love story is a bit of a star-crossed situation as Riley's uncle (Sung-Ho Kang) is not thrilled when he finds out that Blake is dating his niece.
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'Blake is kind of all over the place,' said He about his online content-creating character. 'I think at the end of the day, at the heart of it, he's a kid that's trying to stay optimistic in light of all of his circumstances. I think that he realizes that as hard and as difficult it is for him to stay optimistic, he realizes that the world must have an equally difficult time.
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The film hits a lot of emotional buttons. There's young love, long-distance love, familial love and, of course, heartbreak in its many forms.
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'When you kind of get into the meat and potatoes, you realize, oh yeah, this is a little bit more complex … It really is a story with a lot heart. It's certainly a story with lots of heartbreak, but it doesn't kind of lose that rom-com sensibility,' said He. 'I thought maybe this would be something that I could just kind of waltz in and have an easy, breezy time in terms of emotional prep. Then once I read the script, it was, oh yeah, we got our work cut out for us.'
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The Province
a day ago
- The Province
Star of Vancouver-shot Stick Owen Wilson talks golf, gambling and the Grouse Grind
Vancouver experience a hole-in-one for Sticks cast Owen Wilson, Marc Maron and Judy Greer Marc Maron and Owen Wilson play a caddie and washed up golf star in the Vancouver-shot Apple TV+ series Stick. The 10-part comedy premieres on June 4. Photo by Justine Yeung / Apple TV+ Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. For a few months last summer, there seemed to be daily Owen Wilson sightings in the Lower Mainland. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Photos of Wilson riding his bike, hiking the Grouse Grind, or out enjoying a meal were everywhere. The Wedding Crashers, The Royal Tenenbaums and Midnight in Paris star was in Vancouver filming his new 10-part series Stick, which premiers on the streamer Apple TV+ on June 4. 'I felt like people sort of would almost go, 'Oh god, there he is again',' said Wilson during a Zoom interview with his Stick co-star Judy Greer. 'It certainly felt, by the end of five months, that it wasn't, you know, how it felt in the beginning. When people are a little bit excited you're there.' As for the Grouse Grind, Wilson said he was a regular on the challenging hiking trail, clocking his best time of 53 minutes just before the series wrapped shooting last September. 'I don't know if there's a more beautiful place, you know, certainly in the summer,' said Wilson about Vancouver. 'I was so happy we shot there, because for a while it was going to be in Atlanta, which is nice. But Atlanta in the summer, it's hot, a totally different experience.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Greer too was quick to jump on the Vancouver-is-great bandwagon. 'I've worked there so much over the years. I love it,' said Greer (Ant-Man and The Wasp, Adaptation). 'A great crew. Everyone I've ever worked with there from small-budget things to big-budget things — everyone in production there is so talented.' In Stick, Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, an over-the-hill, ex-pro golfer whose career prematurely missed the cut 20 years ago. After his marriage to Amber-Linn (Greer) fails and he gets fired from his sports store job, Pryce discovers young-gun golfer Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager) and manages to convince the troubled 17-year-old and his single mom (Mariana Treviño) that he can help him make it to the show. Pryce convinces his former caddy and longtime friend Mitts (Marc Maron) to come along for the ride. Well, actually supply the ride in the shape of a motor home, to ferry the newly formed rag tag team of misfits toward golf greatness. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stick kind of defies a straightforward label as it successfully combines the family dramedy, road trip, buddy comedy, coming-of-age and comeback genres. 'Someone mentioned it reminded them of The Wizard of Oz, about this group of people who were travelling together that all had an empty space that they needed to fill. A hole they were trying to fill, something they were trying to get. And they were going to be together and try to get it,' said Greer. 'I thought that was really, really beautiful.' Owen Wilson, left, and Peter Dager play a washed up golfer and young hot shot in the new Vancouver-shot Apple TV+ series Stick which premieres June 4. Photo by Justine Yeung / Apple TV+ While the story could have used any sport, show creator and showrunner Jason Keller chose golf because it offered him a slate upon which to draw the human condition. 'A lot of people are struggling, you know, with emotional baggage,' said Keller over Zoom. 'When I see golfers, especially at the elite level, out there alone on a golf course, that's what I see. I see someone who is very cut off from everybody around them, struggling with their mindset, hoping to sort of get it right on the golf course. Both those worlds kind of seem to fit together.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For the golfing sequences, the production tee'd up a handful of golf courses in the Langley and Surrey area before wrapping up the show with the Pitt Meadows Golf Club standing in for a PGA event. Lots of locals were put to work as actors, golfing doubles, background actors and, of course, crew. Included on that list was Richmond teaching pro and former PGA Tour Canada golfer Nathan Leonhardt, who was the golf consultant for the series. 'I just like the guy a lot. We came to rely on him a lot,' said Keller. 'I really empowered him to speak up when he thought we weren't getting the golf right. He was key to the entire production, all the way through postproduction.' Leonhardt worked closely with Wilson. And, when the cameras weren't rolling, they could be found making some friendly golf-related wagers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Not surprisingly, he won money from me. But it doesn't take much for me to sort of want to bet on something,' said Wilson. 'So, in between takes when you're filming on a golf course, you got plenty of opportunities to bet. I'm just glad I didn't lose more money … I felt like I beat Nathan by just losing as little money as I did lose.' Losing only a little money to a pro is impressive when you consider Wilson headed into this job having only played games with his family and completing just one 18-hole round. He left the shoot, he figures, with a 14 handicap and is now eagerly trying to lower that number. 'I had never thought that I'd become a golfer. I thought I'd kind of missed that boat. Both my brothers are good. (I thought) they're too far along. I can never catch them. But I've learned that, oh yeah, I can catch them,' said Wilson. 'The idea that I got to sort of be a part of this show and tell this story and learn to play golf, in a way, kind of makes it one of the best creative experiences of my life.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Maron, a veteran standup comedian, actor and author, and the host of one of the original and still very successful podcasts, WTF with Marc Maron, didn't have any history with golf. Luckily for him, his role only required him to talk a good game. 'The first thing that went through my mind was, why me? I don't know anything about golf, really,' said Maron when asked over Zoom if he was a golfer. 'But you know, when it became clear that my role was not essentially about golf, that it was about the emotional counterpart to a friendship that has gone on for decades that was not necessarily strained, but definitely has had its ups and downs, and that these are a couple of guys that have been through a lot in life, on their own and together, I thought that was a very interesting dynamic, and something I wanted to be part of and to explore. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Also, I'm not that unlike the guy.' Lilli Kay, Mariana Treviño, Judy Greer and Marc Maron star in the ensemble comedy Stick. The show which premieres on June 4 tells the story of a washed up golfer played by Owen Wilson who discovers a teenage phenom and sets about helping him make the PGA. Photo by Justine Yeung / Apple TV+ For Keller, Maron was indeed like that guy. 'Marc is the only person I wanted for the role. I met him for coffee, and I think he was really sizing me up when we met,' said Keller. 'I think he was sort of wondering what kind of collaborator I would be with him. And I think I was very upfront with him, and I was throughout the development and shooting of the show, that I wanted his input. He's a very smart guy. He has a really interesting point of view, very funny … that character developed certain colours that weren't on the page because Mark gave his input.' When asked about the perils of being a comedian faced with other people's writing, Maron said: 'My policy is that, if the joke fits the character and it's not there just to sort of button a scene, I'll work with it.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And if he thought the jokes didn't work? 'There were definitely times where I thought that the jokes didn't fit the character, or were not really necessary,' said Maron, who just taped his latest HBO comedy special a few weeks ago. 'It's something that I thought about a lot when reading the scripts, because Mitts was a supporting character. In order to keep him real, I would opt for fewer jokes. And Jason and Chris Moynihan, we would talk about it, and we would sort of navigate that when there was an issue. 'Because I'd rather play it for the emotion than the joke. Because I don't think it's really that type of show. It's not a joke show.' While shooting Stick, Maron like Wilson, was spotted around Vancouver including onstage at a Jokes Please! show back in July. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fans of Maron's WTF know he is less than happy about what has transpired politically in the U.S. and has made it clear that he's open to making a move north. He has set the wheels in motion for gaining permanent residency in Canada. 'I'm waiting. I just heard from my guy today,' said Maron when asked about his PR status. 'The world is falling apart a little bit. I just hope that I have that option. I love Vancouver. I had a nice time up there. That was definitely the longest time I'd spent there. I did a lot of comedy.' And he also did the Grouse Grind with Wilson. 'I did it once,' said Maron. 'Owen didn't tell me that he had done it a lot. So, he had already adapted to it … he's just kind of going right up it like it was nothing. And I hike a lot, but that's hard. 'I was very mad at Owen for pretending like (he'd) never done it before.' Dgee@ Read More
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Universal Language,' ‘Wynonna Earp: Vengeance' top night 2 of Canadian Screen Awards
An absurdist dramedy set in an alternate-reality Winnipeg and a TV movie about a demon-slaying gunslinger dominated the Canadian Screen Awards on Saturday. 'Universal Language,' directed by and starring Matthew Rankin, led the film categories with five wins at a gala dedicated to the cinematic arts — one of several weekend ceremonies honouring the best in Canadian film, television and digital media. Among awards the French- and Farsi-language film nabbed were best casting and art direction. At a separate bash for scripted television, Tubi's 'Wynonna Earp: Vengeance' — a movie special reviving the cult supernatural series that wrapped in 2021 — led the pack with six awards. The production took home honours including best TV movie and best lead performer in a TV movie for Ottawa's Melanie Scrofano, who reprises her role as sharp-shooting heroine Wynonna Earp. Jasmeet Raina's Crave dramedy series 'Late Bloomer' also impressed in the television categories, picking up four wins including best writing in a comedy show, while Family Channel equestrian drama 'Beyond Black Beauty' grabbed four trophies including best youth fiction program. 'The Apprentice,' a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production exploring the early years of U.S. President Donald Trump, had a strong showing on the film side with three awards — notably best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong's portrayal of attorney Roy Cohn. 'Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,' which led all nominees overall with 20, won two awards: best writing in a drama series and best sound in fiction. Montreal's Jacob Tierney took home best direction in a comedy show for the series finale of Crave comedy 'Letterkenny.' Vancouver's Marie Clements won best direction in a drama series for CBC/APTN historical drama 'Bones of Crows.' Winners in major categories — including best film and best TV comedy and drama — will be announced Sunday in a live CBC broadcast hosted by comedian Lisa Gilroy. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025.
CTV News
25-05-2025
- CTV News
Second annual Rick O'Brien Joint Forces Jamboree
Vancouver Watch Family and the forces came together for the second Rick O'Brien Joint Forces Jamboree in Maple Ridge on Saturday.
