BB Exclusive: James Chen Talks his CBS Show, FBI, The Walking Dead & More with BB
For two seasons, FBI has taken audiences by storm on CBS. The Dick Wolf created show follows a team of FBI agents who are tasked with solving some of the biggest crimes in New York City and around the United States.
James Chen plays analyst, Ian Lim who has helped out the team on numerous cases over the past two seasons. We had the chance to chat with the actor about his role in the show, being a fan of Dick Wolf, The Walking Dead and so much more. You can see our interview below.
Tell us a little about your show, “FBI”, and the character you play on the show?
“FBI” follows the hard-working field agents, special agents, and their support team, who use any and all resources at their disposal to track down perpetrators of federal crimes like terrorism, cybercrime, etc. I play Ian Lim, who’s been with our team from the beginning as an analyst with a specialty in computer analysis. Ian applies his expertise to any and all technical analysis, from hands-on salvaging of crucial data from destroyed cell phones to hacking into a car’s low jack… all to get us one step closer to catching a suspect. He’s very passionate about his work and takes great pride in his abilities which go hand in hand with his wry sense of humor.”
Were you a fan of Dick Wolf’s shows before joining “FBI”?
“Not even joking, ‘Law & Order: SVU’ was my favorite show growing up. That amazing, catchy, iconic music… those adrenaline-fueled cases! I love a great mystery, and Dick Wolf and his team have mastered that story telling art form. Plus I think as a native New Yorker, I just love and appreciate the authenticity of all the street smart, unflappable, tough detectives… and being able to see the amazing city of New York in the show.”
How did you get to be a part of the show?
“It was like any other audition that had come through my agents. I’d known the casting director, Jonathan Strauss, for years from my days working on ‘L&O: SVU’. The session went great, and a few days later I was called back to make an adjustment, which we put down. And a week or so later, I was meeting Missy and Zeeko and Jeremy for the first time shooting the pilot. Great times!”
You play an FBI analyst on the show, but is there a chance we could see you showing off your martial arts skills in an upcoming episode?
“I like to think that anything is possible! Who knows how or when someone will move within the ranks of the FBI? Ian’s a hard-working, ambitious person, and I think it would make sense for someone who’s so left brained and meticulous to love to apply all that to something as technical as fighting arts. Would be a great balance to see of brains and brawn!”
You can check out the rest of our interview with Chen under the jump. FBI airs Tuesday nights on CBS.
Photo credit: Ryan West
Did you do any research to help you prepare to play Ian?
“I did. I had a chance to chat with our on set, FBI expert, a retired agent himself, and another technician who was familiar with the circuit board work Ian was handling in the pilot. I peppered them with questions from everything about their day-to-day on the job, to the training they received, to the various protocols the Bureau may have towards working with crime scene evidence. It’s always great to be able to get access to that first hand knowledge.”
How does this show differ than “The Walking Dead” or other roles you have played on screen?
“Well very much from the sweltering outdoor July heat of post-Apocalyptic Georgia that’s for sure. We live much more civilized, high-tech lives in the Joint Operations Command… with our databases and facial recognition softwares, climate control, on the upper floors of 26 Fed. Kal on TWD is a hardened survivor and warrior with many walker kills under his belt using close quarter combat, and I love how different he is from Ian… the chance to play and explore that range. I’ve also had the recent pleasure to play a billionaire on an episode of Madam Secretary complete with my actual joy-riding race car and Fendi suits, not at the same time thankfully. It’s part of the craft and job that I really love.”
Speaking of “The Walking Dead”, what is to come for Kal?
“Kal has proven himself a fierce and loyal member of his community. There has been much change in the world and lives of our Survivors over the past couple season alone, and I think like all people in the Apocalypse, you evolve or die, you sleep with one eye open, and you’re very mindful of who you can trust.”
You have appeared on film, TV, theatre and lent your voice to audio recordings, do you have a preference?
“Tough question! They’re all so different in different ways… the process of doing it, the amount of time you have to prepare, and I love them each for those different reasons. The pace of TV is very fast and really gets you to lean in to your first instincts for most things. With film, what I really enjoy is in-depth character and relationship conversations with the director and/or writer… to see what else we can explore and seek to understand about this person. Similar to theater as well. With audiobooks, while you’re alone in a dark booth for 6 hours at at time, you also have the creative breadth to interpret all narrative aspects of a book — the voice of the narrator, the voice of the protagonist, but also the myriad of other characters that invariably populate a 200-300 page book.
What is to come for James Chen in 2020?
“Currently working on an exciting project that you will hopefully get to check out in the new year! Can’t talk too much about it other than it’s something you haven’t seen me do before, and I’m really looking forward to it. Also an audiobook in early 2020 called “NEW WAVES” by Kevin Nguyen” – set in the NYC tech world where a heist goes wrong and a young man … so it’s basically Ian Lim in an audiobook haha!
I’m also preparing to do a theater show at Portland Center Stage this summer. It’s an incredible new play by playwright and my dear friend, Lauren Yee, called Cambodian Rock Band. It’s an amazing story about family and friends set during the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath. And it has a lot of live music! So I’m putting in time to learn the bass guitar. If you’re in Portland this June, please come by and check us out!!”