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Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Vancouver actor Ricky He adds romantic comedy role to his resume
Article content 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. Article content '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.' Article content It's a point that's proven by the fact that he is almost always cast to play a younger character. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content '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. Article content Article content 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. Article content '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.'
Vancouver Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver actor Ricky He adds romantic comedy role to his resume
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. '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.' It's a point that's proven by the fact that he is almost always cast to play a younger character. 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. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I'm coming up on 30 this year but, depending on the situation, I oftentimes look at myself like, I feel like I'm still 16,' said He. 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. 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. '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. 'So, I think he, in his own kind of quirky, goofy, silly way, is trying to alleviate some of the pain in the world. And that's the only way he knows how to do it, is by being his own authentically goofball self.' 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. '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.' Before embarking on a fulltime acting career, He gave university a shot, But admittedly, he just didn't have his head in the academic game when he went to UBC over a decade ago. 'I was so in and out of school. I was missing seminars and lectures,' said He who studied psychology, history and English. He recalls the moment he knew that school wasn't his path. After staying up all night shooting a TV commercial, He headed out to UBC and caught a couple of hours of sleep in his car before a psych final exam. 'I think I just slept through it,' said He about his test performance. 'I woke up that next morning, and I was like, yeah, I think maybe I should just commit to one thing here.' That, as it turns out, was a good choice, A few years and a few small jobs later, He got a huge break when he landed a lead part in Disney Channel's musical Freaky Friday. 'When they flew me out to do the screen test down in Burbank, it was kind of the first surreal moment where I thought I could actually have a career doing this. This might really be possible,' said He whose resume also includes roles on the TV series A Million Little Things, Trial & Error and Arrow. But not all He's thoughts were about onscreen success. 'I got the job, and I was really excited, but there was almost the opposite feeling of oh my God, is this happening too fast?' said He. 'This is my first lead role; do I deserve this? All the impostor syndrome feelings were there.' Luckily, for He, each job brought him more trust in his ability. 'I was sitting across from Will Yun Lee, who plays my father on The Good Doctor, and we're doing a pretty emotional scene. I didn't have a whole lot of lines. It was just basically him monologuing to me and me being there for him,' said He. 'I just remember sitting across from him and feeling like, really, really moved. And I just out of like reflex, just started crying. The coverage wasn't even on me, but when we called cut, I just remember thinking that I can actually do this and I really love this.' He is currently expanding his show business skill set. He just finished writing, directing, producing and acting in a new proof of concept for a TV series that he's about to start pitching. 'What I can say is that it's a dark comedy, very, very loosely based on my own life. It's about a Chinese Canadian kid who grew up on the east side of Vancouver, but he enrolled in a drama program on the west side of Vancouver,' said He. He is also getting ready to head back to Nova Scotia in a month to shoot season four of From. 'I'm definitely very grateful and know I'm in a privileged position to be working,' said He, referring to the current TV/film industry-wide contraction that is going on right now. But when He does experience down times, he tries to keep busy by doing things like writing and taking part in physical activity. 'There's certainly a lot of ways,' said He when asked about activities outside of work. 'I get punched in the face — a lot. I train jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, and that's definitely an outlet that really, really helps me … You have to find different ways to try to remind yourself that there's other things to do.' Dgee@
