We caught up with the SNL star to chat all things The Wedding Banquet – his latest silver screen venture – and Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s seminal 1993 queer comedy.

He’s Glinda’s best pal Pfanee in Wicked. One half of a maybe-love-interest for Benny in everyone’s favourite Overcompensating. Co-host of Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers, and an SNL staple serving up character after character with delicious chaos. In case you hadn’t noticed – Bowen Yang is everywhere.

And we’re certainly not mad about it. From the silver screen to our social feeds, the American multi-hyphenate has emerged as one of the most compelling voices in comedy working today. Now, he reunites with Fire Island director Andrew Ahn for The Wedding Banquet – a modern reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 queer cult classic, starring Han Gi-chan, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran.

In town for the film’s London premiere, we caught up with Yang to talk all things Wedding Banquet, on-set bonds, playing commitment-phobes, and what’s next on his ever-expanding universe. Keep reading…

Tell us a bit about the story and where do we find your character.

The film is about two modern gay couples who live together – one couple is two men, the other is two women. The women are struggling with IVF treatment and can’t afford another round. I play a commitment-phobe named Chris, who turns down his boyfriend’s marriage proposal. His boyfriend, Min, is the heir to a massive conglomerate in Korea and a huge fortune.

So, Min offers to pay for the lesbian couple’s IVF treatments if they agree to help him stage a Cham wedding, because his homophobic grandmother is coming to town. From there, it turns into a full-blown comedy. And that’s just the halfway point. There’s a whole other half that unfolds in a really wonderful, emotional, but still very funny way. It feels like a warm hug. And it’s an amazing ensemble cast.

When did you first hear about the project? When did you guys film this?

We filmed this last summer, but I first heard about it a few years ago. I was working on another film called Fire Island with the same director, Andrew Ahn. At the time, he was still working on the script for this project, just trying to make it all come together, and it sounded interesting to me. I never thought I’d end up being involved, but then Andrew sent me the script. I read through it and loved it.

It was the first time I’d worked directly with his writing, and he just made the whole process so easy. I feel really lucky to be one of those actors who gets to build ongoing working relationships with directors. That’s such a huge opportunity, one I’d never pass up.

Was it any different for you to approach this film as a re-imagination, rather than creating a story from scratch with a director?

It felt pretty liberating. I didn’t feel particularly beholden to the original, since these were all new characters and mostly new situations. What excited me most was the chance to distribute the weight of the story across so many different people. This really is a six-person movie, in terms of how the story is balanced.

I feel like we were all approached with the same love and care that Andrew brings to all of his projects. He’s really carving out a space for himself in the industry as someone who’s incredibly sensitive and careful with his work, but also manages to make it immediately entertaining and appealing, while still being deeply artful.

And having worked with him before, would you say it was easier to step onto set with that existing familiarity with him and his approach to the work? Did it feel a bit like a homecoming?

I think so. By that point, there was a kind of shorthand between us, you know? It’s like when something ends just as you’re getting used to it, that’s how a lot of films feel for me. I felt like Fire Island ended right when I was finally getting comfortable, like I was just getting the hang of things as it was wrapping up.

So, to go from that to getting another role with someone I really admire and work well with, that felt like a real career gift, something I never thought I’d get. It was especially helpful to me when I realised that he had a lot of mouths to feed on this set. And any time his attention wasn’t squarely on me in a scene, I completely understood. Because of the way he worked with me in the past, I knew it wasn’t personal, it was just him doing his job, trying to be as accommodating and present as he possibly could as a director. It’s a job that’s emotionally demanding, but also incredibly liberating.”

And how was it working with such a heavyweight cast? Do you have any favourite memories from your time together?

There’s a big wedding scene in the movie, and that was something everyone in the cast was involved in. It was an emotional day on set for Andrew as the director, because he realised in that moment – while there were people in wedding outfits and traditional Korean garments and rituals – that he was kind of working towards that himself in his own life. Like, he wanted to throw his own career and wedding for his parents, and his parents came to set.

That was a favourite memory of mine, because it was something we shared as a cast and crew. We all got to rally around Andrew and support him through those emotional moments, and it was very beautiful.

Working with this cast was pretty incredible in terms of the intergenerational aspect of it. I’ve worked with a lot of people close to my age, but this was different. There were people up and down the age spectrum, and that was really edifying.

Improv is such a big part of what you do – especially at SNL. In a film setting like this, did you have space to explore that side of your craft? Was there room for that kind of creative exchange with the director and the cast?

Totally, yeah, there was definitely room for improv. Lily Gladstone is a really good improviser, and Joan Chen is so quick on her feet. But it feels less like improvising than it does just collaborating, really. You’d throw something out during a take, and then Andrew would say something like, ‘Leave it out,’ or ‘Keep it in and expand on it this way.’

Improvisation usually feels very off-the-cuff, but in this kind of environment – where the director, like Andrew, becomes a kind of seedling for your ideas – it’s really the best of both worlds. That kind of process transcends traditional improvisation. It becomes supplemental in a way you wouldn’t think was possible unless it was rooted in real collaboration and encouragement.

Was there any part of this character that felt particularly challenging to you?

This is a character who doesn’t think highly of himself. Who doesn’t see himself as worthy of love or of the relationship he’s in. That’s why he turns down the proposal at the beginning of the movie.

And I think that’s something we all experience at times – a feeling that comes in flashes depending on the situation. But holding onto that mindset for an extended period, like you do when playing a character, really challenges you. It forces you to check in with your real self and remind yourself that your own sense of worth isn’t the same as the character’s, even though it can be hard to separate the two when you’re sitting with it for so long.

So that was probably the most emotionally tough part. But otherwise, it was one of the most sublime, present, and lovely experiences I’ve ever had on a set.

You had such an incredible year, especially with Wicked release. So I’m curious, what’s next for you? And what excites you about the future? It really feels like the world is your oyster right now.

I have no vision for what’s next – and I think that’s kind of exciting! I feel like I’ve checked off boxes I didn’t even know I had. I’ve just always been along for the ride, and I can’t believe this is the rollercoaster. I never thought I’d be on this path. I’m really just taking it day by day, moment by moment – and I’m so grateful. I finally journaled for the first time last week after a crazy month, and even just trying to localise the time, I found myself writing about how this was never even in the realm of possibility for me. And the fact that I got to experience all of these things in such close succession is just amazing.

More than pride or joy, what I feel is gratitude. And I think that kind of gratitude is hard to come by these days. I don’t take that lightly. So yeah, I’m just really happy and grateful that it’s all happened this way.