Meet Steve Jun | Actor & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Jun and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m originally from San Francisco but I did most of my growing up just north in Novato in Marin. Despite SF having a very large Asian American presence, growing up in Novato was pretty much the opposite experience. I was one of the few Asian kids at my school which gave a bit of a cultural disconnect in my youth. In addition, I was also one of the only queer kids which unintentionally made me feel like I was living on another planet. The combination of these elements gave me the drive to move to Los Angeles. My parents were immigrants and like them I was moving to a new place with no friends or family nearby so to speak. However, unlike my folks, I have a community of all types here in LA that make me feel at home. It honestly didn’t even feel like a big change when I moved here 10 plus years ago. My parents managed to carve out their dream here in America and I felt like I would be able to as well no matter where I went.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Interestingly enough, I never intended to be a creative. I had done performing arts to supplement myself but by the time I was going to college my biggest scholarship was for acting and I wasn’t really in a financial position to turn it down so that’s how I ended up here. During college there was a call for student written works so I took a day to write a little one act play and submitted in on a whim. To my surprise it was accepted, produced, performed, and was well received. From there I think began to think of myself as more than just an actor as far as how my creative career was going. During Covid when everything had stopped, I was playing a lot of video games and in that time I thought about taking a detour and even took a class in video game design. It opened my eyes that there are many avenues I can be creative. I was never a particularly ambitious person but I discovered that the creative part of me is more than just “actor.”

The biggest challenge is honestly my own perception of how my career is going. The entertainment industry tends to praise this hustle mentality of always working. I understand that it’s a competitive field and have many friends that are always creating or taking classes or reading technique books. I always felt like I was doing something wrong since I wasn’t necessarily investing 100% of my energy to my career. I’ve had to learn that taking a break or focusing on other projects or even just taking a part time job to pay my bills doesn’t make me any less an artist. While I am an artist, I’m a human being first and foremost and humans aren’t meant to hustle and grind all day every day. It’s important to enjoy life while we still have it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Luckily LA has a million places to go and see but there’s too many to list.

For food, I would say 1) Hanbat Shul Lung Tang in Koreatown 2) Tatsu Ramen on Melrose 3) Tacos El Chido tent at Santa Monica/Highland 4) The Waffle off Sunset/Highland

My go to drink spots are Guildhall in Burbank and Barcade in Highland Park.

Places and things to check out I would recommend the HMS Bounty in Koreatown, the Huntington Library in San Marino, the whale watching tour in Long Beach and the Paley fest panels at the Dolby Theater,

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly I would say the music and drama department of my high school, San Marin High. As a kid I was originally told to go into performing arts as a way to break me out of my shell as I was a painfully shy kid. By high school, music and drama was my extracurricular of choice to beef up my college applications. Though I was pretty much in almost every play and musical during my time there, I was aware that I was not the most talented person in any aspect. A little opposite of the “big fish in a small pond” experience, I enjoyed performing but I never thought I was as good as any of my peers. The arts program at my school always gave kids the opportunity to shine and standout however so I never felt like I was just being sidelined even though they probably could’ve had someone better than me do the part. So I would credit them with giving me the experience that got me to where I am today.

Instagram: @spiffystevie

Image Credits
Credits:
JP Siruno
Steven Depaz
Kelvin Han Yee
Taiwanplus
Marin Summer Theatre
A4S Podcast Studio