Brenda Song has been performing for most of her life, starting off as a model at age 4 before branching into acting. The actor, who will receive Variety’s Virtuoso Award at the Bentonville Film Festival on June 20, never wanted to do anything else. She had managed several tricky pitfalls of the profession despite not having many Asian-American actors in media to look to growing up. She even seemed to navigate the challenging transition from Disney child star on “The Suite Life With Zack & Cody” to mature prestige projects like “The Social Network.” But a couple years ago, she found herself at a crossroads after the birth of her second son with longtime partner Macauley Culkin. “I just found myself wondering where I fit,” Song reveals. “Maybe the best of my career is behind me and you know what? I’m OK with that. My priorities have changed so much and maybe this is just not right for me anymore.” Simply put, Song says, she chose to “let go of expectations and allow myself to be open.”
Shortly after that revelation, director Gia Coppola reached out to Song about playing a Vegas dancer in the Pamela Anderson vehicle “The Last Showgirl.” Song took the meeting but was skeptical, noting, “I remember thinking: no one ever think of me for indie films.” The pair ended up speaking for two hours about so much — including motherhood and wondering where their creative paths were headed — and by the end, Coppola asked her to join the film. “I have never gotten emotional about booking roles,” Song says. “But I was so emotional because it meant so much to me that she was trusting me with this character and this world that I’ve never gotten to delve into before.”
About a week later, Song was asked to meet with showrunners David Stassen, Ike Barinholtz and Mindy Kaling about a role in their upcoming Netflix comedy “Running Point.” Based loosely on executive producer and L.A. Lakers owner/president Jeanie Buss, the series stars Kate Hudson as an underestimated woman put in charge of her family’s basketball empire, the Waves. It was a dream come true for the longtime sports fan Song. “After talking to them for five minutes, I would have done anything,” she says. “I was willing to be a PA, I would have been happy to pull cable.”
Even better, Song was there to discuss the role of Ali Lee — chief of staff to the Waves and the kind of funny, smart, tell-it-like-it-is friend to Hudson’s character that everyone dreams of having. Lee is based on Linda Rambis, a longtime friend of Buss’, wife of former Lakers great Kurt Rambis and the executive director of special projects for Lakers, who Song immediately connected with. “This woman is incredible and the more they told me about her, the more I wanted to say, ‘Stop telling me because if you don’t hire me, you’re breaking my heart.’” Fortunately, Song was offered the role — and didn’t even have to move any cable.
In addition to being a dream role with a cast and crew she adores (it’s already been picked up for a second season) the job may have helped Song make inroads on her real dream. “I’m just doing all this so I can get into sports,” she jokes. She grew up watching the Chicago Bulls and became a Lakers fan in 1996 when they drafted Kobe Bryant. More recently, Culkin turned her onto football, specifically the L.A. Rams. So Song was thrilled to recently record a humorous video announcing their schedule that aired to a massive response in May. “It’s all part of my plan,” she says with a joke. “Like, all I want to do is be on ‘Sports Center.’”
Tipsheet
WHAT: Brenda Song receives Variety’s Virtuoso Award
WHEN: Fri., June 20
WHERE: Bentonville Film Festival
WEB: bentonvillefilm.org
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