‘Worth the Wait’ brings an all-Asian cast to the ensemble rom-com

“That's actually what drew me to it initially,” Whitney tells me when I compare Worth the Wait with the 2003 British holiday film. “I remember Dan (Mark) and Rachel (Tan), our producers, who this is actually based off of their love story, that was how they were pitching it to people. It's Asian Love Actually, which is pretty crazy that in the year 2025, this is the first time we've seen something like that.” While Worth the Wait includes characters and actors from all different cultures, the film isn’t even about the fact that they’re Asian, she adds. “We're watching these human beings exist, and they just happen to be all these various types of Asian people, you know what I mean?” Whitney says. “But that's the most special part about the project, for sure.”

He, her romantic counterpart in the film, agrees, adding that he’s been part of many ensemble projects before but this was the first time where he walked in the room and he wasn’t the only Asian person on set—a sign that they were making something special that represents our communities.

Condor and Butler, who play a couple trying to do the long distance thing (after just one date, no less!), also note the significance of working on a film with an all-Asian diasporic cast. “Ross and I would chat and when we're working a lot of the time, it's one or two Asians, either in front or behind the camera, and that's it,” Condor, who is also He’s older sister in the film, says. “And a lot of our crew were Asian Canadian. It was just really an incredible community to be a part of and to feel like we all knew the mission and had a common understanding of what we were doing and trying to portray. And I think it really worked.”

In addition, Butler describes Worth the Wait as “ethnically Asian, but culturally universal,” and says you could feel the Asian American DNA throughout the whole filming process. “It was just so organized,” he jokes.

Films that make us feel good

Both Condor and Butler have a history of starring in rom-coms—she most notably in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before film series, he in the film Love in Taipei—so I was curious to know what their favorite thing is about the genre.

For Butler, it’s the tropes and after watching these types of films his whole life, seeing the new spins on them. “Rom coms are just known for their gimmicks. There's always something that sets them apart from everything else that's usually a little quirky. You see the same tropes over and over again, and that becomes the running meta joke,” he says. “The longer you live and you watch these movies, you see little winks and nudges here and there.”

When asked what his favorite rom-com trope is, he says he loves a good enemies-to-lovers story. “When you get the unlikely pairings, and then when you're watching, the mystery is like, ‘How can these two possibly like each other?’ But then you see that small glisten at the beginning, and that's when you can call it out,” Butler explains. “That's what I mean by when you watch the movies, you understand the meta, and you see two characters that are just going at it from the beginning, you're like, ‘Those two, they're gonna end up together.’”

Condor says she loves performing in rom-coms because she loves making people feel just a little bit better after watching her work. “That's been a priority for me, and I think that this genre is really conducive for that. I really want to make people believe in love and have people believe in hope and second chances,” she says. “It's a really big privilege that I get to use storytelling as that vessel. Helping maybe even one person believe a little bit more in love would be a win for me.” She also loves watching rom-coms because she loves the nostalgia of it and that they make her feel good. Condor loves love and says in this day and age, when a lot of what you see in the media doesn’t make you feel good, it’s brave to want to put some positivity out there.

To be young and in love

While Condor and Butler try to make it work with her in Seattle and him in Kuala Lumpur, Whitney and He navigate first love as two teens in high school. Their biggest obstacle is Whitney’s character’s uncle Curtis. Played by Sung Kang, he fairly exudes “intimidating parental figure,” as he blatantly disapproves of the relationship. “I've always said that I wanted to be the dad or uncle in Bad Boys when the prom date shows up and they give the prom date a hard time, but unfortunately, in the film, I'm the prom date,” He says. Fortunately however, unlike Blake, He has had good experiences when meeting parents. “We're a pretty charming, affable dude,” he describes himself with a smile. Though he admits he could still relate to Blake as it’s scary the first time you meet your partner’s parents.

Whitney can also relate to her character in a few ways as she remembers being a “young lovesick girl, who was just a little boy crazy.” Also like Riley, Whitney admits she was always trying to hide from her family who she was talking to or which boys she was seeing. “I think Riley's character is super relatable for anyone who is wanting to have that first love, but also has really strict parents,” Whitney says. “Really strict uncle Curtis, who has the ‘no dating’ rule. I think a lot of people probably will relate to the whole, ‘No dating till you're married.’”

Food and forever friends

Because shooting an all-Asian cast film was such a special experience for Condor, Butler, Whitney and He, I asked them to narrow it down to what stood out the most about the experience.

“My favorite moment was watching Lana eat durian for the first time. Because I grew up eating durian, I know the reputation it has. I also know that when you have it fresh, it's even more pungent,” Butler says, referring to a scene in the film in which his and Condor’s characters eat the infamous fruit while in Malaysia.

Condor’s first time ever trying the fruit is the scene in the film, since that was the only time she did it. Needless to say, she wasn’t a fan. “It was less the smell and more the texture. It's creamy, but it's also fibery. I don't get that,” she says, shuddering at Butler’s description of durian, which includes terms like “garlic undertones” and “floral notes”—much to mine and Butler’s amusement.

He’s response is also food related. Like Kang in the role he’s best known for—the always snacking Han from the Fast and Furious franchise—Blake is also always eating. “I don't know if it was planned or if it just ended up being that way, but I feel like indirectly, he has passed the torch onto me, because Blake cannot stop snacking in this film,” He says. “In my own head canon, it's like, ‘Oh yeah, because he’s Sung Kang, and Uncle Curtis will give me the approval, but I already got it.’ That's, that's my own little favorite Easter egg.”

Whitney is a little more sentimental in her response. “It's not always the case that you walk away with a forever friend from working on these film sets,” she says. “But Ricky and I really bonded so quickly that it was so much fun getting to go to work every day with him, and it was such a positive, fun set to walk onto every day.”