With the release of The Tiger’s Apprentice earlier this year, Dorkaholics was invited to speak with Bowen Yang who voices Sidney the Rat in the animated feature.
Neil Bui: Throughout The Tiger’s Apprentice, we see that the Chinese zodiac animals have a wide diversity of powers and personalities. If you can pick one animal out of the zodiac that personifies you, which one would it be?
Bowen Yang: Is it a cop out if I say my own real life one? Okay, so I’m a horse through and through. My mom has really ingrained that in me, and my dad, everyone’s ingrained that in me growing up. And I moved into these two places and she bought me like 10 horse figurines. I just collect horses and that is like an Asian experience that we haven’t really talked about yet, but I identify as a horse. I do now have this extra dimension. I think I might be a rat moon or rat rising. I don’t know if the eastern zodiac works that way but I do have this affinity towards rats now, especially after playing Sidney where it’s like you’re resourceful, you can navigate in spaces that others can’t and that feels very relatable as well. My mom is a rooster and I’ve always loved that sort of idea in my head too, like I’ve probably inherited rooster qualities. And my sister gets to brag because she’s a dragon and this is her year. She always reminds us that the dragon is the best one, that’s up for debate.
Catch the rest of the interview below, including questions about superstitious beliefs, the joys of an animated production compared to live action, as well as Lunar New Year wishes. And be sure to watch The Tiger’s Apprentice out now on Paramount+.
