Questions For: Liam Oh
Liam Oh, my cousin, is in "Boots." It’s a new show on Netflix. The Guachada Review thinks you should watch it!
This interview has been edited for clarity / to make both of us sound smarter.
Name: Liam Oh
Occupation: Actor.
Star Sign: Sagittarius, with a Cancer moon and a Taurus rising.
Why should people watch Boots?
I actually haven’t done many interviews for this. This is good. I need to come up with my answers. Here’s what I’ll say. I think it [Boots] is a queer coming-of-age story that does not center queer trauma. (...) Yes, the main character is gay, and yes, (...) it is a defining aspect, but it is not the defining aspect. It is a story about someone finding themselves and finding strength in a place where he has to hide the central part of his identity, but he ends up finding strength and brotherhood, and [doing things] that he never thought he would be able to accomplish. And it’s really fun, and it’s really campy, and there’s lots of cute boys in it. That’s my pitch.
Would you consider yourself one of the cute boys on screen?
I’ll say that’s for the viewers to decide. (...) I guess the internet will let me know.
Is there anything you don’t want audiences to know about Boots?
It was like 110 degrees out when we were shooting this show in New Orleans in the summer, so what I don’t want them [audiences] to know is just the smell. Luckily, this is not a 4-D experience. (...) I think if they were able to pump the smell from set into the viewers’ homes, Netflix would go bankrupt. It would be shut down immediately. It was truly horrifying at times.
As you may know, you had to shave your head for this role. Did staring at your very bald head day in and day out make you worried about the future of your hairline or do you think you wore it well?
Actually, in a weird way, it was a therapeutic process. (...) Because growing up as a young boy, you like to push the needle and say, “Mom, what if I just shaved my head?” And my mom would always say, “Okay, you can, but remember that Shel Silverstein poem?”
She would always read us this specific Shel Silverstein poem that went something along the lines of “Johnny always thought his hair was wavy until he cut it all off. And then he discovered his hair was straight and his head was wavy.” And there was this [illustration] of a kid with this wrinkly, pruned-up head, and my mom [would] basically be like, “You don’t know, your head could be this horrific, wrinkly, disgusting thing.” And it always kind of stuck with me. What if my head’s really fucked up? What if there are lumps and warts and all these things on it? And then I cut it off my hair, and my head is actually, I’ll say it, pretty fucking smooth. So I felt it helped me process some trauma, and I learned to love my scalp in a way I’ve never had before.
You picked up pottery while filming this series in Louisiana and I think it’s really important to note that I don’t have any yet. When am I getting a Liam Oh pottery piece?
Whatever you want. Truly, Fi... people are already sick of me. I have too much stuff, and I just need people to take it away from me. I don’t have space. [And] you can commission something, I’ll make it for you. What do you want, man?
I would like a small espresso cup with a handle.
You want a little saucer to go with that, too?
Whatever you think is best.
Done. And next time you’re in New York, you’ll peruse my room and take whatever you want.
What is your message to casting agents?
You do the work no one wants to and I appreciate you guys for watching so many self-tapes. But, maybe, for a first audition, don’t send us 20 pages of sides when you’re only going to watch the first minute anyway. (...) Most of them are pretty good about it, but sometimes you’ll get a side that’s 20 pages, and you’ll have a day and do it. Give us five pages. We can do that. That’s my main thing. I’m lazy. I don’t always want to memorize a lot of lines.
A bonus message to the readers of The Guachada Review:
My message to you, the readers of The Guachada Review, is that no matter how she seems, Fi is just so much cooler than you would ever think. No matter how she appears, by all, you know, external markers, she is actually super cool.
Even with the endless articles about stamps?
That’s actually like the coolest thing that a girl can do.
Boots is now streaming, be sure to watch it! Or just play it on mute while you do something else. Or watch it once and let it play on mute another time. Lots of options to support our favorite Liam Oh. Let me know which one you choose!