Fresh Face: Izaac Wang Developed His ‘Dìdi’ Character As A “More Vulnerable, Immature” Version Of His True Self

deadline.com:

All smiles, perched in his gaming chair during our interview, Izaac Wang rattles off the fun things he does in his spare time, such as crafting theater performances at his fine arts high school, sharing memes on his secret Instagram account and playing popular online video games like Valorant.

He wants to avoid the notion that he’s the same as Chris, his on-screen counterpart in the film Dìdi, written and directed by Sean Wang (no relation).  “I’m very cool.” the actor says. “For the characters I play, I think of it as me, but in a multiverse—like Spider-Man.

Chris is just me, if I was less awesome than I am right now. He’s a more vulnerable, immature, younger version of me, going through a difficult stage in his life where he’s surrounded by a community of people that aren’t as accepting as the people I have around me right now.” In Dìdi, a mid-2000s era coming-of-age tale loosely based on the filmmaker’s upbringing, Wang’s character Chris is a complicated 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy trying to navigate the adolescent pitfalls of growing up.

Chris yearns for a sense of belonging as he listlessly winds down the last days of summer before starting high school. However, despite his best efforts to try and fit in, Chris’s deep-rooted insecurities cause him to constantly blunder in his relationships with not only his crush, but also his friends and family.