Sung Kang poses with a car called ‘Lola’ – a Rocket Bunny Toyota AE86 powered by an LS3 V8 – used in his directorial debut, Drifter.Adam Hendershott/Supplied
The Fast & Furious franchise, which is celebrating its perhaps unbelievable 25th anniversary this year, might run on the grease-stained sweat and monosyllabic grunts of its leading man, Vin Diesel. But for the series’ long-time fans, the heart of the Fast-verse belongs to the actor Sung Kang.
As Han Lue, the impossibly charming, constantly snacking wheelman who was introduced and then killed off in the franchise’s third entry, 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift – only to stick around ever since thanks to some time-warping continuity antics – Kang has developed an intense following among the global Fast family.
Although the actor cannot boast the screen time of Diesel or the pile-drive power of Dwayne Johnson, Kang brings a unique soulfulness to the role of Han, a modern-day cowboy forever searching for his final ride off into the sunset.
Sung Kang at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto on Feb. 18, where he debuted the first few minutes of footage from his forthcoming directorial debut, Drifter.Autoshow/Supplied
And away from the screen, Kang has committed himself to the nuts and bolts of car culture in a way that only Fast’s other genuine gear-head, the late Paul Walker, could match. Kang looks so naturally cool behind the wheel of Han’s prized Mazda RX-7 precisely because the actor grew up around cars, from watching his childhood neighbour fix up a 1963 Impala to learning the finer points of tuning Japanese models alongside his university roommate.
It is a passion that Kang has only doubled down on since experiencing life in the Fast lane, whether it’s restoring classic cars (including one that was handled so well it ended up becoming a Hot Wheels model) and working with high-school shop students to teach them the fine art of stripping down cars before rebuilding them back up.
All of which made Kang the star attraction during a visit to Toronto late last week for the Canadian International AutoShow, where he debuted the first few minutes of footage from his forthcoming directorial debut, Drifter.
Kang has developed an intense following among the global Fast family.Adam Hendershott/Supplied
Set in the working-class California town of Barstow, the film follows a loner named Tree (Kang) who seeks escape through drifting, a Japanese style of driving emphasizing style and precision over speed. Stacked with real professional stunt drivers but independently financed and far more street-level than the globe-trotting Fast movies, Kang’s film was born partly out of passion, partly out of a kind of hope-tinged desperation.
“Hollywood has never been what I thought it was going to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s changed my life, being part of that franchise. But I just felt like I had so much more in me as an actor, as a storyteller,” says Kang, holed up in the depths of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre as dozens of AutoShow attendees pause to snap photos of the Toyota AE86 Corolla he drives in the new film. (Selfie-seekers include CBC star Andrew Phung and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.)
“I would wake up hopeless so many days. You start to question like, what is your purpose on this Earth while you’re here? Is it just to be leaning up against a car and eating snacks? That’s cool for five minutes, but then you’re like, there’s so much more of me to offer.”
Unlike some of his more notoriously testy, ego-driven Fast co-stars, Kang exudes a pervasive air of ultrachill, forever-humble calm. While the Fast films – which have grossed more than US$7-billion worldwide – provided him with a level of exposure that any actor would kill for, his career outside of the franchise has proven trickier to navigate. Simply put: Hollywood hasn’t quite figured out how to harness the actor’s unique on-screen charms.
It is a situation that is regrettably familiar to some of Kang’s co-stars, a diverse assemblage of high-charm performers (Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, even Diesel to an extent) who have been boxed in by the industry. Which is why Kang decided to take his career into his own hands with the independently produced Drifter, whose low budget and down-to-earth action is a world away from the excesses of the studio system that fostered Fast.
“It’s all relative. I didn’t come to town to become famous and make money,” Kang says. “But there was something that I needed to say as an actor, as an artist, and when that’s not fulfilled, you do start to feel like you’re never going to quench that thirst, right?”
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Kang joined the Fast-verse when Justin Lin, who directed him in the 2002 indie thriller Better Luck Tomorrow, campaigned for the actor to become part of the cast. Kang brought an inimitable sense of style and wit to the production – Universal executives never saw test-screening audiences respond so well to a character – at the same time as his mere presence broke boundaries. It wasn’t often that a big summer movie cast an Asian-American actor in such an explicitly heroic role, so stuck was Hollywood in reinforcing cliches of the Asian nerd or moustache-twirling villain.
And as audiences kept demanding more Han, Kang sought to immerse himself further into all the elements of blockbuster production.
“I got to surround myself with some amazing artists, and learn a lot about what to do and also what not to do. It’s been years and years of film school, where I got to be a fly on the wall,” he says. “That’s where Drifter came from. I knew I needed to write my own scripts, I needed to learn how to direct. And then I’ve been blessed with amazing people I met through the car community, who have come together to support this crazy dream I have.”
Han (Sung Kang) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) in F9, co-written and directed by Justin Lin.Photo Credit: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures/Universal Pictures
Drifter isn’t designed as some crass Fast knockoff, either, but a grittier, more intimate story of how some people do more than live their lives a quarter-mile at a time: They refuse to see past the next turn. The road simply never ends. And it is those ride-or-die drivers who came together to help make Kang’s dream a reality. Cars were donated, parts sourced, stunt pros booked.
“Being part of car builds over the years taught me something, which is that the car community will embrace you as long as you say who you are and don’t try to be something you’re not,” says Kang, who is aiming for Drifter to hit theatres later this year. “I’ve never claimed that I’m a master mechanic. That I’m a professional driver or drifter. As long as you approach it with sincerity, people will open their doors for you. The car community is always giving me a seat at the table, or maybe the clicker to the garage.”
As for the future of Fast – a long-awaited sequel is expected in March, 2028 (part 11 for those keeping track) – Kang seems comfortable going, well, wherever the road takes him.
“They don’t talk to me about any of that stuff, you know? I spend time with Vin and know him as a team captain, he’s always listening to the audience and trying to serve what they’re hungry for,” he says. “I know it’s his life mission to end the franchise on a positive note. But that’s above my pay grade. I have enough things to worry about with Drifter. If it happens, it’s great, if it doesn’t, then it wasn’t meant to be.”