Joseph Chiu is the heart of ‘Every Year After’

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Kacie Mei: When Every Year After was released, I kept seeing fans edit TikToks of your character saying that he has chemistry with everybody. Articles have popped up calling you the fan favorite. Marie Claire has said that they’re part of the Jordie fan club. What's it been like seeing this reaction to the show and to your character?
Joseph Chiu: Oh, it's been incredibly validating. One thing that I really try to do as an actor is just from what I've learned in drama school: the best acting comes from (pouring) your attention on the other person, and just really listen and receive what they're saying, but that only works if the other person is very generous in what they're giving. If somebody is very wooden and doesn't really give you anything to react to, that can also be a struggle in terms of character relationships and dynamics. 

The thing about chemistry is I don't know what chemistry is. I really don't know because you either have it with somebody or you don't. I think it's an energy exchange thing, but I just tried to make myself as present as possible by doing yoga in the morning in my trailer. I had a scent that I would smell before every scene that I associate with Jordie.

KM: Ooooh, what did it smell like?
JC: It was this Thai balm thing that my mom gave me, but it was very spicy and it would just wake me up. I've lost it unfortunately [Laughs]. But yeah, that was really surprising to me to hear that Jordie has chemistry with every character. I would've never imagined that being a thing. 

KM: I remember you saying that in your producer session for Jordie you just tried to be yourself. Can you tell me what that session looked like?
JC: The producer session was done at 11:30 p.m. my time [Laughs]. The whole day, I had been stressed. It was the first time my parents had visited Toronto because I was graduating. So my mom, dad, and my brother, who's 8 years old, 7 at the time. My brother was staying with me. Having a 7-year-old brother, he just wants to play all the time, and I had a script in my hand that I needed to memorize. So I would sit on my balcony and just run the lines as I'm playing Stumble Guys with him on my iPhone [Laughs]. Then, when it came around 9 p.m., I had to really lock in, so I got my mom to take him back to the hotel. 

I think because I didn't have too much time to overthink, I really just showed up as myself in the sense that I used to be in drama school.

Ken, my playwright/professor/acting teacher, said, "You young actors always feel the need to be doing more, but actually that's not true. Just be yourself." So that was the lesson that I tried to remind myself as I was going into the session for Jordie: just be myself. I will say I did try to lower my voice a little bit because Jordie's 28 and in my head at 23 years old, I thought a 28-year-old man should have a lower voice. But then once I started the scene, it just went back to my normal pitch, so I couldn't even control that [Laughs]. 

KM: I wouldn’t have known [Laughs]. After the positive reception of you as Jordie, playing a romantic interest, has it made you more interested in going out for more romantic roles?
JC: I would love to do more rom-com roles. I think I would also like to do an action comedy or a musical—either the Mirvish Theater in Toronto or hopefully one day Broadway. I was in K-pop training when I was 14, so I was trained in acting, singing, and dancing. I learned a little bit of Korean, but my goal is just to try as many things as possible because I'm still so early in my career. 

KM: Yes, you’re 23 [Laughs].
JC: I'm 28. I'm 28 in the show! [Laughs]

KM: I think I'd be remiss if I didn't ask a followup question. Who would you like to star alongside in a rom com or an action comedy? It could be somebody that you’ve worked with before or someone you’d like to work with in the future.
JC: I really liked Normal People. Daisy Edgar Jones, I would love to work with her because her energy's special, just watching her on screen. I had a big crush on Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, so Emma Watson. Or even I think my friend Corteon Moore, he's currently in from Overcompensating. He's also on my basketball team. We want to do an action comedy together because if you want to see real chemistry, me and that guy [Laughs] are like the new Rush Hour, basically.

KM: It’s been great that the show has been renewed for a season two. Would love to know, out of all your wishlist items for Jordie for the next season, what’s on the top of the list?
JC: I would love to see him have more of a backstory—his past, how his family dynamic shaped him. And then also when he was young doing the AU circuits in basketball and making friends, maybe him trying to flirt with these other basketball players [Laughs]. I'd also like to see him come out of the motel. I think the motel environment is very depressing for him, and I'd like to see him cope through life without some sort of physical exercise for the first time. I'd like for him to struggle even more. I love Anton Chekhov. The way he writes his characters, they're always struggling so badly, but it's so human and I want to see that side of Jordie. I don't want him to just be flawless the entire time.

KM: He needs more flaws cause everyone is in love with this character—
JC: [Laughs]

KM:  You’ve talked in other interviews about how when basketball players get injured, they usually become a content creator, a coach, or go into fashion. If you weren't an actor, would you rather go into coaching, influencing, or modeling?
JC: I like creating content. I used to have a YouTube channel. I make TikTok edits of my own basketball team. I would love to be a coach. I coached volleyball when I was 17, and I coached basketball when I was 18 in Hong Kong. I coached mainly 8 to 10-year-olds.

KM: There is so much to your lore [Laughs]. With the show finally being released, your character being so well-received, and doing the junket circuit, what's the most shocking thing that's happened since the show has come out for you? I’m curious about it.
JC: So in New York, I stayed at the Crosby Hotel. My sister had just graduated high school and came from Brussels just for two days. On the way back from our morning coffee, I saw Larry David and Adam Sandler playing basketball in the lobby of our hotel. My parents are big fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'm a big fan of Grown Ups by Adam Sandler, but also Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry David.

But being in New York, I remember the first day of press, when we came out, people wanted an autograph or a photo, and it was just like, oh my god, “This is insane.” You think your whole life's going to change. It doesn't, but it's just more people that want to take photos with you and that's the best feeling in the world. If they've actually watched the show, it's really, really cool.

KM: And being in Toronto, are you getting recognized in Toronto too?
JC: Yeah, we actually have a competition going on because my basketball team in Toronto is called The Callbacks, and it's full of Toronto actors, directors, photographers, and designers. Every time we hang out in a group, at least one of us gets recognized, so I'm keeping a tally in my head because I think friends are inherently competitive of who gets recognized more by the end of the month.

KM: It’s good to know there’s good community. With so many TV shows being filmed in Toronto and Vancouver, I wonder “Oh, do all these actors know each other?"
JC: We really do. Toronto's a small crowd and you either know of the other person until you eventually meet them because you will work on something together.

KM: Last question. Every Year After is coming off the heels of Off Campus and is coming out during a time where audiences are really embracing young (and new) adult romance shows. What are your thoughts on the rise of these romance shows? Do you think we need more of them?
JC: Yeah, I think it's extremely important. I think book adaptations are really hot right now. I know that Amazon acquired a bunch of IP, so did Netflix. I think it's great. Also, having an 18-year-old sister that's read everything, she tells me what she really likes, what roles I should be going out for. It’s really cool just to see, I guess, readers of the book imagine their version of the character and then project it on an actor because they really believe that this actor is capable of portraying it. I think it's great. I think it's great for the business of acting.

I would like to see the authors more involved with the book adaptation process because I think the studio system, I'm not too sure about the politics of it, but I think it's really important for the fans of the book because those are the initial mass viewers of the show. It's important to do some fan service, and I think we'll be in the sweet spot of whether it's going to be season two or future book adaptations. We're in this new phase of just learning and adapting. We just really hit the golden era of book adaptations.