Gregory Woo – Interview

Actor Gregory Woo

Disney’s latest film production “The Sorcerers Apprentice” will be hitting theaters in less than a week. Based off of a poem, and loosely off of sequences from Disney’s masterpiece “Fantasia” – the build up to this summer blockbuster has been fantastic. With billboards, bus stops, and malls plastered with theatrical posters, and images from the film, audiences will be in for a rush when Jerry Bruckheimers latest creation hits the big screen.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with one of the stars of the movie, Gregory Woo; who will be portraying the Chinese sorcerer “Sun-lok” in the film.

For those who haven’t seen Gregory in his full costume to this point, the final product is intense to see for sure. The work that went behind it was just as intense, as the process was a herculean undertaking to say the least.

The brainchild of costume designer Michael Kaplan, who has won awards for his work on “Fight Club” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, and also designed for hit films such as “Star Trek”, “I am Legend”, “Pearl Harbor” and “Armageddon,” it is no wonder why the finished product is such a marvel.

Given the important role of fashion in costume design and execution, I was thrilled to have Gregory explain to the me the  process of literally “getting into character” for the film.

“The entire process took about three weeks” he said. As he showed up to the set, day one, and went straight into costume.  With a large team of experts by his side, sizing, cutting, pounding, building, and preparing all the necessary pieces for the character, no stone was left unturned in achieving the look needed to fit the part of Sun-lok.

Gregory told me about having a body mold done on the docks of Brooklyn, long plastic nails (that look akin to metal), and custom made shoes tailored for the part, it should come as no surprise the time it would take to get all the parts in place to bring the character to life.When I asked Gregory about the how most people would dress us to go to work, and how it seems like he would have to “dress down” and the mentality behind that – he had this to say “You need to be prepared to be naked. Outside of having a say on comfort, I had to be a blank slate, in order to make the character believable.”

Sorcerer Sun Lok

After we spoke about the costume process, I asked Gregory about the films premiere, his opportunity to dress as he pleased, and perhaps what he was planning to wear to the premiere. “I don’t know. (laughter) I hate dressing up. I prefer to dress casual, shoe culture, sneakers, jeans.”

Thankfully for me, this was the perfect segue to inquire about Gregory’s personal sense of fashion. He proceeded to tell me how much his 9 years living in Brooklyn affected his fashion sense.  The influence of Brooklyn’s style, from the garment district in manhattan, to the Zach Posen shows, to everything he saw around him, he would take it all in and “clean it up, to make it suitable for my body.”

This made me wonder, what about prior to brooklyn? Was he always “relaxed, and casual” or did that change occur later in life?

“I actually grew up in Roundrock, Texas – and didn’t move to New York till I was 18.” And his fashion style in Roundrock was? – “No jeans, never had a pair of jeans until I moved to New York. I thought I was really fashionable by wearing Banana Republic slacks, a button down t-shirt, and black shoes…Once I moved to New York, I got super casual. I was exposed to the craziest styles, and my own personal style evolved from within.”

When asked about his favorite places to shop, Gregory listed “G-Star” (as his favorite) and also “Opening Ceremony.”

Recently, Gregory has moved to L.A. – and when I questioned if there had been any celebrities he’s been mistaken for since being in southern California – he simply said “No (laugher)” Although he did refer me to a site that has found look-a-likes for another well know celeb.
http://lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com(pretty self explanatory)

And in case they happen to stumble upon this article (how great would that be!?) – he would love to work with actor James Franco, and Director James Cameron in the future.

As we wrapped up our interview, we spoke about any upcoming projects for Gregory in the near future – “I’m just trying to get acclimated to L.A and settle in for the time being.” Although there is a spin off of Planet of the Apes in the works “Rise of the Apes” (google it) that he’d love to be a part of!

Make sure to check out his latest film, The Sorceres Apprentice, it theaters July 14th 2010.

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