Stephanie Hsu always loves a cold plunge

Stephanie Hsu was waiting for the universe to give her a sign.

After Nanachika Khan, one of the creators of the TV show, pitched the show, she was already hooked on the “Raid'' setting. The story follows Ruby, a millennial party planner who learns that all of her ex-lovers are dying and must track them down. To her.

Then a writer's strike broke out, and director Hsu, who is nominated for an Academy Award in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,'' began to waver. That was until she met comedian Ali Wong, who co-starred with Khan on the sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” and asked her what she thought.

“The ants just stopped,” Sue recalled. I would recommend anyone to work with her if they have the chance. ”

That was enough of a sign.

In a video call from her home in the Los Angeles suburbs, Sue talked about things she feels strongly about, including New York City, white rice, and Adrienne Marie Brown's book “Emergent Strategy.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

asian food

When I travel to places that aren't well-known for Asian food, I really want to try it. There was a time when I was very healthy and vowed not to eat white rice. Then the pandemic happened and I thought, what an idiot I am. My ancestors have been eating white rice for hundreds of thousands of years. This is not a poisonous food.

farmers market

I worked on a farm during college and it changed my life. It taught me a lesson about abundance beyond monetary value. It's about how much labor it takes to grow radishes, and the care taken by farmers who are bucking the system and trying to farm in a healing and regenerative way.

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

It's just this beautiful book about the treasures your soul is guiding you to. And through all the loneliness and all the sacrifices you pay in the process, there is a blanket of protection around you.

“Emergency Strategy” by Adrian Marie Brown

I love this book so much that I bought several copies just to give it to people. Adrian is an amazing activist and author, and this is like a series of suggestions and guidelines on how to organize healthily, not just in political campaigns, but in communities as well.

Kim Krans' “Wild Unknown” Tarot Deck

It's a great way to step outside of your own mind and leave things to chance. You can also draw a card in case you need a little blessing in memory of a loved one.

friends/family

My friends feel like my chosen family, and they also feel like my lovers. I have been nourished by my friends since I was a child. I was an only child, growing up primarily with my mother, and school was always the best place in the world.

new york city

I lived in New York for 11 years and moved during the coronavirus pandemic, but a year ago I suddenly wondered what I had done. Especially as I became more immersed in the world of Hollywood, I began to really miss New York, the city that raised me when I was just starting out as an artist. I'm just saying that in L.A., you can feel like you're nobody unless you're somebody. And in New York, you may be nobody, but you're still somebody.

cold plunge

I have a club called Chilly Willies with some friends and we jump in the ocean or river any time of the year. I'm going to find the fire within myself to do it, even if it's January. Because I know that on the other side I will feel so powerful and good and refreshed and healthy.

synchronicity

When it comes to my career, it's a bit of synchronicity that has helped me make decisions about almost everything I've said yes to thus far. I was filming an episode of a show called “Nora From Queens” when I met Mr. and Mrs. Daniel (also known as Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, directors of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”). and they were my directors. I fell in love with them so much artistically that I followed them to LA without knowing anything. Within a week of arriving in L.A., they called me and said, “We're working on a movie.” Is that something you are interested in? That was “Everything Everywhere.”

I'm not good at technology

It's pretty well known among the people who receive my phone number that I hate texting. My dream is to have a landline phone.