A chat with ‘The Brothers Sun’ breakout star Justin Chien
Knockout star
Debuting straight to number one on Netflix Malaysia’s Top 10 on 5 January, The Brothers Sun has quickly become the talk of the town. From its Asian-led cast (starring the likes of Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh) and high-octane action sequences to a thrilling mafia plot, the Netflix original series has plenty going for it to excite audiences.
While Yeoh shines as the matriarchal figure of the Sun family’s crime empire, it was Justin Chien’s knockout performance as Charles Sun that brought the gangster action-comedy to another level. Starring as the eldest son who leads the Sun’s shady business in Taiwan, the stone-cold and menacing fighter must go to America to protect his mother and oblivious younger brother when their family’s legacy is under attack.
The Brothers Sun marks Chien’s mainstream acting debut on a global platform, having previously starred in short films and smaller projects in Taiwan. For the burgeoning star who had been to countless auditions, this was the breakthrough he hoped for. Despite the time difference between Malaysia and LA, Chien’s demeanour was cheery and his smile infectious over our Zoom call—worlds apart from the intimidating brother he had to portray on The Brothers Sun.
“I’m really happy that the show is doing so well because so many people worked hard on it—I worked really hard on it,” he shared when asked about how he’s taking the success of the show in. “I’m just happy that the show is resonating with a lot of people are resonating. It feels rewarding knowing that the hard work has paid off.”
Ahead, we speak to Chien on his inspiring journey from rejection, working with Michelle Yeoh and landing his dream role in The Brothers Sun.
Chasing the sun
For Chien, the journey to becoming a part of The Brothers Sun was not an easy one. Firstly, it was a gruelling audition process that took seven to eight weeks. At the time, the actor was doing most of his audition in Taiwan and recalled the huge time difference. “The audition took place at around 5 or 6am, so I would wake up at 4:30am every day to get a workout in, shower and get into character.”
The other much bigger reason was that this audition could not have come at a more important time for Chien. “I had a rough year career-wise,” the 26-year-old actor reflected candidly and also recounted the hundreds of commercial and TV auditions he had done in LA that did not come to fruition. Due to this series of rejections, Chien allowed himself to be cautiously hopeful about landing the role of Charles Sun and carried the pressure himself in case it didn’t work out. “The last audition was in person in LA and I didn’t tell anyone about any of this during the entire process.”
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Then came the day the casting director and creators of the show finally gave him a call. They thanked him for all the hard work during the seven to eight weeks process. “It sounded like a call of rejection and the whole time, I was getting ready to get my heart broken all over again.” But as they said the words that Chien longed to hear, it began to sink in that this story would not end like the others.
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“They told me I got the part and I just started to cry,” the actor said, looking visibly emotional. “I just remembered feeling like it wasn’t for nothing. All the auditions I’ve been on for TV, film and theatre; all the classes I joined; every workout I did; it finally helped me to get to the breakthrough I was hoping to have.”
Becoming Charles Sun
While he’s rough around the edges and prefers to talk with his fists, viewers of the show will realise that Charles Sun is a much more complex character beneath the surface. It was this multi-layered aspect of the role that drew Chien in. “This was, by far, the character that I’ve been the most excited about out of all the auditions I’ve been to since I was in LA.”
When asked how he wanted to portray Charles, the Taiwanese-American actor stated that it was important for the character to be someone audiences would empathise with and named Tom Hardy as one of his inspirations. “A lot of the characters he played are these menacing, hulking figures that have a broken or vulnerable side to them. I find that to be the most captivating for me to watch and the most compelling for me to attempt to portray,” he shared.
When you pour so much of yourself into a character, you’re bound to see yourself in them, reflected like a mirror—and such was the case for Chien. “Charles is my spirit animal in many ways,” he revealed. “It was not hard to become him because most of him come from me, in terms of what we care about and how we see the world.”
Flying across the screen
Part of the joy in watching Charles in The Brothers Sun is his many fighting sequences. In every episode, you have Chien in at least one big fight scene which can be physically demanding even for any veteran. But the actor took it in stride and challenged himself to do as many of his own stunts. From taking down an eight-foot giant to handling three masked men mid-bake, Chien delivers a knockout performance with ease and grace.
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After all, the actor has a background in Muay Thai and Jiu-jitsu and relished in preparing for his martial arts-heavy role. “I love training and how it makes me feel, how it challenges my mind and the camaraderie you build,” Chien smiled. “We were filming a fight scene every week and for a TV schedule, that can be pretty intense but I loved the pressure of it. I definitely felt myself improve as the season went on. It was the best time.”
The actor also acknowledged the team behind the show’s impressive fight choreography which was led by three trainers and performers from the original John Wick film. “Stunt people are some of the hardest-working people out there. They care so much about their craft and it’s inspiring to be around them.”
Family for life
For an action-comedy mafia show, the heart of The Brothers Sun is very much the familial bonds between the titular Sun family. The series hinges on the relationship between Charles, Bruce and Mama Sun, and by the end of the season, all three come together like a well-oiled family unit. The strong bond translated off-camera with the cast as well.
When asked about what it was like working with the iconic Michelle Yeoh, Chien could only gush about his on-screen mother. “She was everything and more. I was definitely nervous and starstruck when I first met her.” He also recounted a particular instance that stood out with the Oscar-winning actress. “I remember we were at a restaurant and she had a cap on with sunglasses, classic celebrity style. But she just floated around the whole room greeting everyone and she had this warmth. I’ve been in LA for a while now and came across all sorts of people, but there was this genuine warmth about her.”
Chien also praised Yeoh’s humbleness, which eventually transformed the mother-son dynamic into a long-lasting friendship. “She’s a friend now and I’m really lucky that she’s mentored me along the way and sowed into my life her kindness and advice. I don’t take that for granted, she’s really special.”
On the rest of the main cast which includes Sam Song Li, Highdee Kuan and Madison Hu, the chemistry was “easy and smooth.” He elaborated, “When you’re with people for that long under a lot of pressure, you either love them or hate them. Luckily for us, it was all love.”
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“We play pranks on each other. We also chat and get to know each other’s backgrounds which really helped especially in the later episodes when we had to showcase our bond.” Here’s to hoping we get to see more of this lovable (and intimidating) squad back again in season two!
The Brothers Sun is available to stream on Netflix here.
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