Searching star John Cho feels people want to see more Asians on screen

The social media hashtag #GoldOpen, inspired by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu's description of his hit romcom as a "movement", has been encouraging fans to go to the cinema to make the movie a resounding commercial success.

Taiwanese-American Chu and British-Malaysian leading man Henry Golding then decided to enlarge the movement and include Searching, the new thriller starring fellow Asian John Cho.

To that end, they each bought out a theatre in the US on its opening weekend and encouraged all fans to attend for free.

Both men were following the lead of digital media mogul Bing Chen, who bought out more than 100 screenings of Crazy Rich Asians.

In Searching, which has earned US$54.2 million (S$74 million) worldwide and opens here tomorrow, Cho plays David Kim, whose 16-year-old daughter Margot (Michelle La) goes missing.

When 37 hours go by without a single lead, he decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today - her laptop.

The story is told totally via smartphones, laptop screens and surveillance footage, as Kim must trace Margot's digital footprints with the help of the case detective (Debra Messing) to solve the mystery of her disappearance.

Cho's starring role in Searching makes him the first Asian-American actor to headline a mainstream contemporary thriller in Hollywood.

When asked about whether there is a barrier for Asian actors in Hollywood, the 46-year-old Korean-American actor said at our meeting at the London hotel in West Hollywood: "People think, 'Oh, I don't know if the audience would buy so and so in this role because it hasn't been done.'

"I frankly think that is incorrect thinking. I think we vastly underestimate the American public and the worldwide public.

"It is the people who invest money who are worried and don't like to sway from patterns that have proven to work in the past. But in terms of what people want, I think it is the opposite reaction."

He referred to the Harold & Kumar stoner comedies co-starring Kal Penn that have so far defined his career.

"When I did those films, part of what set us apart was the goodwill people had, because they said, 'I want to see the Korean guy and the Indian guy. That is different and I like it.' It carried us through three films.

"To this day, the thing I get called on the street most is Harold, and I think it's because people have an affection for the casting of that movie in large part."

MEANINGFUL

Searching premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and Cho was taken aback when he saw it there for the first time.

He said: "I was so surprised how impactful and meaningful it was for me to see a whole loving Asian-American family on screen. I am usually the only Asian in the film... so to see that was one of the things that makes being a part of this movie so special to me."

Cho's thoughts on the use of technology are mixed.

"I think the devices amplify all of our inclinations, be it dark or light. There are so many good things that happen through our devices, so many connections.

"I think back to my childhood and we moved around a lot. Often, I felt alone and like I was the only Asian kid in class. The computer assists in finding a lot of people peers they can't find in their classroom and in their town, and that is a beautiful thing.

"On the other hand, there is a maliciousness that can happen online that is frightening. I just feel like the movie is a reflection and an admission of how much we are existing in these things."

Cho feels his 10-year-old son has already surpassed him when it comes to digital knowledge. Cho and his wife, actress Kerri Higuchi, also have a five-year-old daughter.

He said: "I used to change the clocks on the VCR for my parents, I was the cable box guy and then I was the computer guy. I was the first one in my family to have a computer. And then my son just went zip right past me and he is never looking back. I am always going to be behind him, no matter how much I try."

And like his Searching character and any father out there, he worries about what his child gets up to online.

He said: "Even if I think I know, I know I will never know. In terms of keeping our children safe, it's not about keeping up step by step with them, but it's about preparing them to taking care of themselves."