When all six episodes of Hulu’s buzzy limited series The Season premiered on June 17, audiences were swept into a champagne-fueled world of Hong Kong high society, elite boating circles, hidden agendas, and razor-sharp betrayals. At the center of the intrigue stands Chris Pang — the versatile Asian-Australian actor who first captured global hearts in Crazy Rich Asians. Reuniting with those same producers, Pang delivers a career-highlight performance as Andrew Fong, a character he gleefully describes as “a massive asshole” with a prickly, unfiltered exterior and a surprisingly tender core. In an exclusive conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Pang opens up about the project that let him break type, the city that shaped his love of cinema, and the quiet, step-by-step persistence that turned an “impossible dream” from a corner of Australia into one of the most rewarding chapters of his career.
It’s been a whirlwind press tour for Chris Pang, but he’s not complaining — much. “You don’t get a break,” he laughs with Paul Salfen. “After this? Go get straight to Italy for a friend’s wedding.” The exhaustion is real, yet the gratitude runs deeper. “I don’t take it ever for granted,” Pang says, acutely aware of how quiet the industry can be for even the most talented actors. “Acting’s hard. This is a really, really tough career.” That grounded perspective has defined his journey from Melbourne to Hollywood — and now back to the city that first made him believe big-screen dreams were possible.
Growing up in Australia, Pang never had a single “Eureka!” moment where he declared, “I’m going to be an international actor.” The idea felt too unrealistic for a boy from “a corner in the city of the Corn City in the corner of Australia… a country in the corner of the world.” Instead, he took it one deliberate step at a time. A breakout role in Australia’s highest-grossing film of 2010 gave him confidence. The real turning point came with his move to Los Angeles in 2013. “Here you are,” Salfen notes, “and this show is so cool.”
What sealed Pang’s yes to The Season? The chance to film in Hong Kong. “I have this very deep affinity to the city of Hong Kong because I grew up watching Hong Kong films,” he shares. The golden era of the ’90s and 2000s — Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and the legends who filled the screen with charisma and cool — became his mirror when Western media rarely reflected his face. “Hong Kong was always a backdrop. So to film there was literally a dream of mine.”
The character of Andrew Fong gave him something else he’d been craving: a delicious departure from the “nice guy/best friend/rom-com comedic” roles that kept coming his way. “He’s a massive asshole,” Pang says with a grin. “He’s got this very prickly, abrasive outside character… Uber confident and kind of has that toxic masculinity vibe. He has no inside-outside voice. He’s just purely external.” Working closely with the creative team, Pang aimed for balance: “the guy that you love to hate.” The result is a layered anti-hero — abrasive on the surface, but ultimately insecure and craving love underneath. “He’s a softie inside and he’s quite cute,” Pang adds. “That makes him relatable.”
Filming delivered on every level of the dream. The production received unprecedented access — including becoming the first film crew ever allowed into the member’s area of Hong Kong’s iconic Racecourse. There were yachts, alleyways, local dim sum shops, and one unforgettable set inside Ocean Park’s aquarium, where a massive wall of sharks swam behind the actors. But the moment that truly stopped Pang in his tracks was deceptively simple: a quiet scene in a little dim sum shop in Central. Steam rising, extras flowing past, signs glowing, opposite co-star Yvonne Chapman (who plays his on-screen lover). “I remember just sitting there having these little xiao long bao — a good SLB — and it just felt so Hong Kong,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Hey, I did it. Filming in Hong Kong. This is the moment.’” He even has a photo of Chapman smiling back at him in that exact spot — pure joy frozen in time.
That authenticity feeds directly into the show’s deeper themes. The Season explores duality and the gray areas of life — the polished facades of the ultra-wealthy cracking to reveal very human problems. “It’s not really one of those shows that’s about ‘tax the rich and hate the rich,’” Pang explains. “It’s just the world that they existed in and they’re all human beings.” His character’s journey reinforces a simple, powerful takeaway: “You’re enough. Just be yourself.”
For aspiring actors watching Pang’s rise, he offers no sugarcoating. There is no straight path, no guaranteed degree or clear ladder. “You’re going to sit there day in and day out dealing with rejection, and then you’re going to be waiting a lot,” he says honestly. “It’s harder than anyone can describe to you. But on the flip side, it can also be more rewarding than anything you’ve ever done.” His advice? “Concentrate on just showing up.” Be proactive. When you’re not working on someone else’s project, create your own. That mindset has helped him navigate the brutal highs and lows — including the literal dream-come-true of eating soup dumplings in Hong Kong one day and facing unemployment the next.
One pivotal “go for it” moment came years earlier when Pang decided to pursue acting seriously. Instead of following the typical path, he headed to Beijing to learn Chinese and test the waters in Asian cinema. It didn’t unfold as planned — his Mandarin wasn’t local enough, and even his Wing Chun skills (both parents teach martial arts) were outmatched in a country of billions. But the detour led him to Hong Kong with just one contact name: Uncle John from Disney’s accounting department. That single introduction eventually opened doors years later, including work on the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel produced by someone he met on that trip. “Each one of those things kind of led to another thing,” Pang reflects. “And it all started with that one moment where I was like, ‘You know, I’m just going to give it a shot.’”
With The Season now streaming and generating conversation, Pang is already developing his next chapter — including a biopic on silent-era superstar Sessue Hayakawa with Sam Raimi’s company. It’s the kind of full-circle project that feels earned.
From a boy in Melbourne who thought Hollywood was “insane” to an actor savoring xiao long bao on a Hong Kong film set, Chris Pang’s story is proof that persistence, self-belief, and simply showing up can turn the gray areas of a career — and of life itself — into something extraordinary. “You’re enough. Just be yourself.” In The Season and beyond, that message resonates louder than any yacht party or racecourse glamour.
