At the A/PGF movie night in February filmmaker Edward Gunawan screened two of his Asian-cast gay-themed short films, the Planet Out prize-winner Just and Laundromat, which was publicly previewed for the first time. Both co-starred handsome up-and-coming actor Keo Woolford, who has chalked up some impressive credits including a long run in The King and I in London and one-man shows in Los Angeles. He is also a talented hula performer.

RL:     I understand you grew up in Hawai'i. What was it like to grow up there?

KW:      Wow, where do I begin with that question? Hawai`i will always be my home. There are so many things unique to Hawai`i, especially because it's part of the United States. It's the place that has the most mixed marriages and mixed-race people on Earth. It has pristine beaches and lush green rain forests, and it also has skyscrapers, crime and homelessness. I could go on forever about Hawai`i and what it is was like there, but the main thing is that it follows me wherever I go. 

RL:     I assume you live in the L.A. area now. Did you leave Hawaii for career reasons?
 

KW:     Yes, I left Hawai`i initially to pursue a solo pop music career. Throughout the years I have returned to live in Hawai`i for years or months at a time. I go back home for work a lot, especially after my solo career pursuit fell through on the mainland. I moved back and joined the Hawaiian boy band Brownskin for a couple of years. I also spent a lot of time there working as a co-producer and as part of the subject matter in the documentary, Na Kamalei: Men of Hula, and recently did a tour of my one-man show I Land there. I'll eventually retire back in Hawai`i, but right now the work that I do kind of requires me to be away from home. 
 
RL:     At what point in your life did you become interested in the hula and Hawaiian music and decide to study them in depth? Talk about the significance of these in your life.

KW:     I started dancing hula in high school thinking it was going to be an easy credit. Boy, was I wrong! It was so intense and required lots of studying, discipline and hard work. When I saw my cousins dancing hula (the real hula) for the first time when I was a kid, I couldn't explain what happened to me. It was visceral and spiritual and mind-blowing. Hawaiian music was always a part of my life as a kid. My uncles and aunties would sing at backyard lu`au, or it was on the radio, or I would go to Hawaiian music concerts. 

    It's been ingrained in my being and I am a better person for going through what I did and the lessons I learned from dancing hula. It was that discipline and respect that I believe made me better able to do close to 400 shows as the King in the King and I in London's West End and only missing one single show. 

RL:     How did you get into acting? Was it always a goal or did you set out to do something else?

KW:    Acting sort of fell into my lap; I never thought I would ever be an actor. When I was growing up I rarely even watched movies and never went to theater. I never even understood why there was a drama class in our high school; I was so disconnected from the whole thing. When I moved to Los Angeles most of the friends I made were actors, good ones, and people would think I was an actor, too. When my music contract fell through, a friend of mine suggested taking an acting class to get me out of my depression. I resisted but he told me it would be good for me and I finally relented.  

    It was a short summer intensive with Howard Fine and I loved it! I still didn't think that it was something I wanted to do, though I did some commercials and print modeling and a little of bit of theater, but still wanted to do music. It wasn't until after I had moved back to Hawai`i and took a break from being in the boy band that I booked the King and I gig in London and that changed my life. That's when acting became my passion. I moved to New York after London and studied with William Esper who taught me a true respect for the craft. While I was living part time in New York and Los Angeles I began studying with Ivana Chubbuck who taught me a whole new side of acting. And now acting is the only thing I can see myself doing. 

RL:    You have already had some distinguished credits, such as your run in The King and I and your one-man shows. Please talk about these and other accomplishments.   

KW:    I was very lucky to have booked the lead in the King and I with such little acting experience in such a prestigious venue and for so long a run. It was the longest-running Rodgers and Hammerstein revival in history. I don't take these things for granted. I think that it's part of how my one-man show came about: the dearth of work for actors who look like me. I am fortunate to have met Roberta Uno who really pushed me to do a one-man show. Again, this was something that I resisted, but after taking on the task it has been such a blessing in my life. 

    It had a great run at East-West Players here in L.A., another great run off-Broadway with Ma-Yi theater company, and now it's on tour. I was nominated for an Ovation Award and the response has been incredible. Another highlight in my career was being a part of the recording team from Hawai`i that wrote and produced the Island Warriors CD that was nominated for a Grammy Award. I have continued writing songs for artists in Hawai`i and Japan. Again, I feel so blessed to be doing what I love and am passionate about.

RL:     What are your ultimate career plans?

   

KW:     I have so many things that I want to do in my career. I have had such a wonderful run in theater and music and would like to see what I can do in film and even TV. I love independent films. I have learned from doing my one-man show to so many people in so many places, and also the reaction to the documentary I co-produced. With the projects that I have a hand in creating I want to say something meaningful and want to break boundaries and push the envelope.

RL:     What advice would you have for young actors just starting out?
 

KW:     I am the last person who should be giving advice to young actors because I still don't know what I'm doing myself! I just don't think about it, I just do it. So I guess that would be my advice: Just do it. See, I told you I shouldn't be giving out advice. That just sounds like a Nike commercial.

A LITTLE HOLLYWOOD HISTORY - ANSWERS  Submitted by  Jon Longworth