Q&A with Lily Mariye

Actress Lily Mariye is best known for her role as nurse Lily Jarvik on the NBC television series "ER" but fans can see her in an upcoming episode of Showtime's new series "Shameless" airing early next year.

 

Lily, who is married to recording artist Boney James, has in recent years, earned several honors for her work as a writer and director.

 

Her screenplay for The Shangri-la Café was accepted into the second round of the application process for development in the Sundance Feature Film Labs, has won Best Screenplay in the Ohio International Independent Film Festival, the Gaffers Film Festival, and is the basis for her short film endeavor, which won her a grant from the AFI Conservatory's prestigious Directing Workshop for Women, 13th Cycle.

 

She has also directed four short films for Instant Films, an independent film project held every two months in which eight short films are written, filmed, edited and screened in 48 hours.

 

Lily recently answered a few questions for Examiner.com:

 

 

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. When I left to attend college, there were more people in the UCLA Theatre Department than there were in Las Vegas. Now, it’s the fastest growing city in the U.S. Every time we go back to visit my family, my husband says, “You drive, you know your way around here.” And I say, “I don’t recognize ANYTHING.”

 

When my parents moved to Nevada, they opened a restaurant in the 1950’s called the Shangri-la Café. We’re of Japanese descent, but in those days, eating raw fish was unheard of, so they served Chinese food.  But the Chinese food wasn’t even authentic, it was what Americans thought of as Chinese food: chop suey, etc. To avoid the hostile post-WWII racism of the time, if people assumed they were Chinese, they pretended they were.

 

At the same time, Jim Crow laws were in effect in Las Vegas, which was the last city in the Western U.S. to desegregate, so they were forced to serve their African American friends in the kitchen. Finally, my parents got fed up with it and served everyone in the front of the restaurant, an extremely brave act at the time. By the time I was born, they had sold the restaurant and my father was a gardener at the Flamingo Hotel. My first short film is called “The Shangri-la Café,” to honor their memory, based on my parents’ experience.

 

 

I started dancing when I was 10: ballet, jazz, tap. I figured I would end up in a dance company somewhere and eventually open a studio or something. I realized that if I wanted to be a dancer, I could probably get more work if I learned how to sing too. And to interpret songs better, I needed to take some acting classes. I studied everything as a kid: hula, baton, piano, acrobatics. I can even play the drums. If I were growing up in Las Vegas now, I always say that I probably would have run away with the circus, as in Cirque de Soleil.

 

I didn’t have a lot of role models in those days. But of the few we had, I loved Miyoshi Umeki and Nancy Kwan.  Other actors of color inspired me too, because there were so few prominent Asian faces.  I really loved Cicely Tyson and Nichelle Nichols.

 

 

I have a B.A. in Theatre Arts from UCLA. I also studied acting with Joan Darling, Stuart Robinson, Andy Goldberg (improv). I studied voice with the great Ron Anderson. I studied dance here with Tanya Everett, Hama, Dennon and Sayhber Rawles and in NY with Anne Reinking.

 

 

I got my SAG card with my first movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” We spent six months rehearsing and filming. I thought, “Wow, is this what every gig is like? This is great!” Then I realized, “Oh, now I have to audition A LOT.”

 

 

NOW (National Organization for Women) is an incredible group. I had one of the most inspiring experiences of my life at the conference. I made friends that I still hold very dear.

 

I feel like I haven’t stopped directing. I’ve directed four short films for Instant Films, a 48 hour short film project. I’m also a screenwriter and have won several awards for my scripts. If 80% of acting is about auditioning, getting an agent, meeting casting people, getting headshots, going to classes, staying camera ready, then 99% of directing is about developing your next project and getting your next gig. But I’m addicted to directing now, so there’s no turning back.

My next project is my first feature, based on my script, “Model Minority,” which is in the final round of the application process for the Sundance Feature Film Labs. I plan to start pre-production early 2011. It’s a very low budget indie about a half Japanese American, half Caucasian teenage girl dealing with a dysfunctional family, drug dealers and inner city Los Angeles.

Tell us about your recent role on Shameless.

My three favorite actors to work with in the world are William H. Macy (whom I had the honor to work with on ER), CCH Pounder (also on ER) and now, Joan Cusack. I play a nurse, hired to help Joan’s character deal with her agoraphobia. She was one of the kindest, most generous actors I’ve ever worked with. Funny and sharp, she made me stay on my toes the whole time. And, like with Bill and CC, there were moments when I was so mesmerized by her acting that I forgot where I was and that I had lines to say. What a wonderful actor. And I got to work for John Wells’ company, my old home, my old boss from ER. So all in all, it was a terrific experience.

Do you have any advice for aspiring actors?

I will say what my first acting teacher, the great Lenore DeKoven from the Actor’s Studio, told us on our first day of class.  If there’s anything else you are interested in, go do that now. Because being an actor is hard. I will also paraphrase what Kevin Spacey says about acting: there is no “there” as in “when I get THERE,” meaning when I get my series, make lots of money, am on the cover of People magazine, I will be happy. I had just as much fun waitressing during the day and performing in Equity Waiver theatre for free at night as I did on my 15 years of being on ER.

If you don’t love acting, if you don’t enjoy the process of being an actor, being famous or having lots of money won’t be enough. Go to classes, go to workshops, do free readings of screenplays and plays in people’s living rooms. I’ve gotten gigs from every one of those places. Perseverance is the only thing you need to be an actor. That, and a passion for acting so strong that nothing deters you.