Randall Park wants to "make the world great" for his daughter — even if he loves playing evil

"We know how cruel and harsh the world is" is not necessarily a statement you'd expect to hear from Randall Park. In a career spanning from the YouTube cult classic "Ikea Heights" to a breakout cameo on "The Office," through "Fresh Off the Boat," "Always Be My Maybe" and his recurring presence as Agent Jimmy Woo in the MCU, Park has consistently proven himself one of the most reliably affable actors in entertainment.

And in the twisty new Netflix whodunit series "The Residence," he brings his trademark light touch to the role of a flummoxed FBI agent trailing in the shadow of the world's greatest detective, played by Uzo Aduba.

But off camera, Park is also a serious creative artist — he's a founder of UCLA's Asian American theater company, the director of 2023's acclaimed feature "Shortcomings" and a passionate advocate for people with invisible disabilities — like his daughter.

During our recent "Salon Talks" conversation, Park discussed how raising a daughter who's on the autism spectrum made him understand "the problem isn't her" and inspired him and his wife to put their attention not on changing her but on making the world "a better place" for her to grow up in. Park, who isn't on social media, explained that imperative means cultivating the positive. "I'm not immersed in the vitriol," he said. "That's kind of useless."

Watch my "Salon Talks" with Park here on YouTube, or read below, to learn more about the "camaraderie and celebration" of his Asian-American acting community, the iconic historical figure he'd most love play and his surprising new dark turn as Moriarty on "Watson."

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Talk to me about "The Residence." This show is very Agatha Christie, very "Knives Out." A million characters. One place. One mystery. And you. 

"The Residence" is an "Upstairs, Downstairs" screwball murder mystery set in the East Wing, the residence wing of the White House, during an Australian state dinner. It's about the people who run the White House every day throughout every administration, the ones who stay and keep the White House afloat, and a murder that takes place. The greatest detective in the world, Cordelia Cupp, played by Uzo Aduba, comes in and is hired on for the job, and the FBI agent Edwin Park, played by me, is assigned to assist her.

This show has had many fits and starts. You were halfway through shooting it, and then…

The actors strike, the writers strike. A death in the cast. The great Andre Braugher was originally cast as the character A.B. Wynter. [He] shot half of his stuff, and then the strike happened, so we were delayed there. Then Andre passed away, which was just such a shock for all of us and so tragic to lose one of our greats, for everyone. So we had to reshoot those scenes with the great Giancarlo Esposito, who was close friends with Andre. It was a very beautiful thing for him to pick up what his friend started and do it in honor of his friend. The whole process took a couple of years just because of those things.

You are a funny guy, but here you're the one who is watching everybody else. It's a very restrained part. Is there a backstory for your character? Are you thinking about how to get jokes in?

In the story, Cordelia Cupp is very hard on Edwin, especially at the beginning, because she is the greatest detective in the world. She knows she is, and she resents the fact that this guy has been hired to help her, because she could do it on her own. Edwin Park is very aware of her reputation and very respectful of Cordelia because of it. He genuinely wants to help, and he also wants to learn from her. A lot of what he does throughout the show, standing there, just being there, and occasionally throwing some things in, really shows his commitment to solving the murder. 

You founded a theater company at UCLA for Asian Americans, you have been part of that community of elevating other Asian American voices throughout your whole career. Did you have that when you were coming up in the world and you were starting out as an actor? 

Not on a national or international scale, but on a local scale, yes. When I first started, I was involved in an Asian American theater company that branched out from the college theater company. I was always working with great actors and then, it's just how my career has evolved and continued forward. It's great fun to work with a large group of talented people. Really, any show, it's a team, and everyone plays their part. I just love going in there, and giving what I give, and bouncing off of other actors. It's a great blessing. 

What does it look like for you now in the Asian American community of actors, producers, writers, checking each other out, helping each other? Is it the same, or do you feel any of that Hollywood competitiveness getting in?

No, and I never really have because we were such a small community in the entertainment world when I first started, it still felt very supportive. As we've changed and grown and all these great projects sprung, we all know each other. It's still a small community, and, at least for me, it is one of camaraderie and celebration. Everyone wants "Everything Everywhere All At Once, "Crazy Rich Asians." These are all wins for all of us.

You are the a son of immigrants. We are now in a very different era in our country where immigrants are being targeted, children of immigrants are being targeted.

Diversity and inclusion are being targeted.

That also includes people with disabilities, people with invisible disabilities. 

Yup. And my daughter. 

You and your wife have been her advocates for so long. One of the things you said that strikes me is, "When she first got diagnosed and we first found out, I wanted to fix her." That has changed for you, but there are a lot of people who still want to fix people. 

When she first got diagnosed on the spectrum, we obviously didn't know much about autism. Immediately upon diagnosis, it was like, "OK, well, what do we do? What do we do?" Because we know how cruel and harsh the world is, what do we do to get her ready for this world? The thought was, "What do we do for her specifically?"

Over time, growing with her, and seeing her grow, and just loving her so much and realizing how perfect she is to us, it became clear to us that, no, the problem isn't her, it's the cruel world that she's growing into. So, what could we do to make the world a better place for her, as opposed to putting it all on her? My wife and I joined a charity called Kulture City, which is focused on inclusion and acceptance of people with invisible disabilities. We're very passionate about that organization and passionate about making sure the world is a better place for her. 

When we are now living in a culture where anti-science is so accepted, and "Vaccines cause autism" is somehow back on the table as a conversation point, what do you, as a parent and as an advocate, want to say when you see things like this happening or when you hear that discourse? 

I clearly don't believe the same things that a lot of people are saying. There is a constant barrage of opinions and counter-opinions. Everything becomes this binary in today's culture, where everything becomes a point of division, but I don't concern myself too much with that. I'm not on social media. I'm not immersed in the vitriol. I just love my daughter, and we want to do what we can to make the world great for her. I love my community. We just want to do what we can to make the world better for people in my community. I love all groups of people and doing what we can, as opposed to engaging in constant arguing. That's kind of useless. 

You've said that, for a long time, you would get cast as the Asian friend or the Asian coworker. What does that look like for you, and how do you avoid being typecast?

I see it as a part of the job, and I don't think it's an exclusively Asian thing. All actors, especially when something connects and does well, people see them in that way and want to cast them for other similar parts. I mean, I get it, that's just how the industry works. I'm happy to just work. I still have that working actor mentality where any job is a great blessing, but I also love the idea of branching out. 

As I've progressed in my career, I've gotten more opportunities to branch out here and there. I'm playing Moriarty in "Watson," and I played Kim Jong Un of all people. There are always opportunities to do something different, and I seek those. At the same time, I do not begrudge anything that's more how people see me, and I'm happy to do that. 

Your executive producer on "Watson" said that it would be fun to cast the friendliest man in the world in this role. Is this something you're looking for, to get to be the bad guy? 

There's some evil in me. There's a little bit of evil there that I get to put out there and explore. There's good and bad in all of us, so it's very fun to indulge in those sides of me and to get to do something different. 

Moriarty is a classic, iconic baddie. Is there a role, villain or otherwise, that you still want to take on?

I'd love to play Genghis Khan. A villain in many ways, but also very complex. I'm obsessed with Genghis Khan and the history of the Mongol Empire. It's very fascinating to me. Very complex person. That would be really fun.