With 'Easter Sunday', Jo Koy puts spotlight on Pinoy representation in Hollywood

MANILA, September 1 ------ As he returned to the Philippines to promote his film, Filipino-American standup comedian Jo Koy knew he has fulfilled a promise he made to himself a long time ago.

Jo Koy – whose given name is Joseph Herbert Sr. – arrived in the country bringing with him the first-ever Filipino film produced by a Hollywood studio, “Easter Sunday”, a dream he had since he began his journey as a comedian in 1989. In a press conference at S’Maison Director’s Club in Pasay City, the comedian revealed that he wanted to return to the country – where his mother Josie came from – with a special present. “It’s a dream come true. I didn’t want to come back unless something like this is gonna happen. I didn’t want to come back to the motherland unless I have something like this to present,” he said. “This was my main goal since the beginning of my standup career. I started 1989, this was a dream of mine. When I was a kid, I used to envision coming to the Philippines with something like this. There were times I wanted to quit. Thank God, I didn’t.”

But aside from the laughter his movie is set to showcase in Philippine cinemas beginning August 31, Jo Koy focused on the significance of having a representation in Hollywood. He used a popular Filipino food “bibingka” as an example to discuss the importance of being represented in a country like the United States where racism remains to be a major social issue. “To have an identity is so important whether it is just one little person saying ‘bibingka’ on TV. Just imagine being in America when you’re not even recognized, not even appreciated. So if you hear one Filipino word in a movie, it’s something you want to show to everybody,” Jo Koy explained. “It means so much to somebody to be represented as something as small as bibingka.”

And if there’s someone enjoying being recognized as a Filipino in the US, it is Jo Koy’s mother, a constant subject in the comedian’s comedy routines. “I love the fact that she can enjoy that. The representation … Now she’s really soaking it all in. But not just her, but every Filipino in America. Right now, they’re just on cloud nine. That feels good,” he said. But the Hollywood journey of Jo Koy was not easy, as he had to overcome multiple rejections in the industry despite having a good material. Jo Koy admitted that the digital streaming giant Netflix, where he has released three shows already, initially declined his pitches. His output for “Comedy Central Special” was also cut off from airing. “I thought it was an incredible routine. I was hurt because they didn’t even air it. They shot all these specials and for some reason, mine just got buried,” he shared. But ultimately, Jo Koy remained resilient. “I’m in love with standup comedy …To this day, I will go up anywhere. I don’t care where it is — if it is in front of 10,000 people, 28,000, or four, I will go up because I love standup comedy,” he added.

“Easter Sunday”, Jo Koy’s love letter to the Fil-Am community, follows Jo Koy’s character returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous family that has Pinoy roots. The movie, distributed by Universal Pictures, also features an all-star cast including Jimmy Yang, Tia Carrere, Eva Nobleazada, Lydia Gaston, Eugene Cordero, and Lou Diamond Phillips. It is directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by Ken Cheng.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com