Adette Weiman
full name adette johanna song-weiman professional names adette weiman
송지은
song Jieun
nicknames aj, ada (by family) date of birth june 3, 1982 / 32 hometown fort lee, nj residences silver lake, ca & seoul, south korea occupation Actress, former model
full name adette johanna song-weiman professional names adette weiman
송지은
song Jieun
nickname aj, ada (by family) date of birth june 3, 1982 / 32 hometown fort lee, nj residences silver lake, ca & seoul, south korea occupation Actress, former model
adette weiman wants you to woman up november 1, 2014 New Jersey native Adette Weiman never imagined that she'd end up halfway around the world, living and working in South Korea. With a stroke of luck, Weiman found herself in a crowed metro stop in Seoul holding the business card of a local fashion editor. When she was 15, Weiman took a chance and set a meeting. That summer, Weiman made the decision to transfer to an American school in Seoul to pursue a modeling and acting career. She modeled for Ecole Magazine for several years before a commercial for Samsung made her wildly popular.

Weiman found early success with her second film, My Sassy Girl, which to this day remains the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time. Despite her incredible success in the Korean market, Weiman announced her exit from Korean film and television in favor of more international opportunities. She became the second Asian American lead on a drama on American television as the titular character in "Nikita." She has since then gone on to star as Tori Wu in the Divergent series and is the new voice of Go Go in the new Marvel/Disney cartoon, Big Hero 6. Weiman has also been added as an unnamed character in the new Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Audrey spoke with Weiman about her role and her journey navigating the Korean, American, and now international film industries.


Audrey Magazine: Big Hero 6 looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Tell me about your character and how you got the role.

Adette Weiman: I play Go Go, who is this girl power, badass genius. She's all about speed, all about female empowerment. Well, I never thought I'd do voice acting, but my agent told me Disney was casting for a new cartoon and they wanted a diverse voice cast to match the diversity of the characters in the movie. After I read the script, I didn't know what I wanted more - my own Baymax or the part of Go Go! I wanted to do something cute for my little nephews and nieces, so I did everything I could to make sure I had a part of this movie.


AM: How did you convince your parents to let you move to Korea?

AW: I'm not sure I ever really convinced them.


AM: You've now worked in two film industries. What would you say is the biggest difference?

AW: Well, I think they're really different. In Korea, all the characters are Korean so I can go out for anything I'm interested in. I might not get the role because I didn't fit their image or I wasn't good enough, but it isn't because I'm Korean. In the US, I get stuck a lot. It's almost a challenge to convince them to cast a biracial actress for a character that was supposed to be Caucasian. On some days, it's a challenge that I look forward to. On other days, I just want to throw something at the wall. I mean, that's not to say things were easier in Korea.

It's funny because there were times in Korea when I didn't get roles because I was too German looking for a Korean girl. Now in the US, I sometimes don't get roles because I"m too Korean looking for a German girl. You can't really win. Both industries have their own problems and rewards.


AM: Despite your challenges, you've had some incredible milestones. You were the second Asian American to have the lead in your own TV drama, and My Sassy Girl was even adapted into an American film because it was so hugely popular in Asia. What's one advice you'd give to another Asian Americans trying to break through the bamboo ceiling in acting?

AW: Be resilient. Be unapologetic. Be relentless. You will hear more nos than you'll ever want to hear, but most importantly, when I figure it out, I'll let you know. I don't think I've got it figured out at all.


AM: In Korea, you were always known as the sweet, innocent girl-next-door. Now you're always the tough, asskicking woman. Do you prefer one over the other?

AW: Yeah, that's weird, isn't it? I've never seen myself as tough. I didn't start doing martial arts until I did Mission Impossible. I guess people see whatever they want to see. I prefer the asskicking. I like that I don't have to simper or be cute just to get my next role. That's annoying though, isn't it? That Asian women pretty much have to be one or the other no matter where in the world they are - Korea or the US, it's all the same. There aren't enough nuanced roles out there for women specifically, but even more so for Asian women. But if you're going to make me pick though, I'm going to go with the Nikitas [of "Nikita"] and Tori Wus [of Divergent] of the world.


AM: Who are your greatest inspirations?

AW: My sister is superwoman. She's so smart and capable. We didn't have a lot growing up, but she found a way to make everything work in her favor. My oppa in the Korean industry really helped me out when I first moved to Seoul. He helps keep me focused, and he's so good with what he's doing with his work. It's hard not to be inspired. I like surrounding myself with people who give a damn about the kind of person they are.


AM: When you aren't working and traveling, what do you do for fun?

AW: Taekwondo, boxing, scuba diving, snowboarding. Right now, I'm teaching myself French. I'm going to try Mandarin or Spanish after that. If I've got time, I'm visiting my brothers and sister. They're spread all over the place. Or... no, I'm usually traveling. I hate staying still for too long. I like trying new things and I like to stay active.


Big Hero 6 hits theaters nationwide on Friday, November 9, 2014.

filmography (2015) avengers: age of ultron ... dr. cho / claudia kim's role (2015) insurgent ... tori wu (2014 - present) "marco polo" ... khutulun (2014) big hero 6 ... go go (voice) (2014) divergent ... tori wu (2012) eden ... eden (2011) suckerpunch ... amber (2010 - 2013) "nikita" ... nikita (2009) dragonball evolution ... chi chi (as jieun song) (2009) blood: the last vampire ... saya otonashi (as jieun song) (2008) a man who was superman ... song soo-jung (as song jieun) (2007) hwang jin yi ... hwang jin yi (as song jieun) (2007) live free or die hard ... mai linh (as jieun song) (2006) mission impossible iii ... zhen lei (as jieun song) (2006) family ties ... chae-hyun (as song jieun) (2005) "super rookie" ... lee mi-ok (as song jieun) (2005) april snow ... seo-young (as song jieun) (2004) a moment to remember ... su-jin (as song jieun) (2004) "full house" ... han ji-eun (as song jieun) (2003) the uninvited ... yeon (as song jieun) (2003) "all in" ... min su-yeon (as song jieun) (2002) lover's concerto ... shim soo-in/gyung-hee (as song jieun) (2001) my sassy girl ... the girl (as song jieun) (1999) white valentine ... jung-min (as song jieun)
web shorts (2015) "power/rangers" ... kimberly hart / pink (2014) "what's eating steven yeun?" ... song jieun (sandara park's role; 3 episodes - one, two & three)

modeling (1999) samsung my jet printer commercial ... jun ji-hyun's role (as song jieun) (1997 - 2001) ecole magazine ... jun ji-hyun's work (as song jieun)

personal » goes by the german pronunciation of her name (ah-det-uh yo-hahn-nah vei-mahn), but has long given up on fixing people's misprounciations and often uses the americanized "uh-dett wy-men" as her professional name

» is half german, half korean; she's a second generation american - her father emigrated from germany in 1971 and her mother from south korea in 1966

» personality: eccentric, extroverted with most, standoffish specifically with journalists and fans, more than tinged with bitterness and distrust than she'll ever admit, dislikes people who take themselves too seriously in the industry, honesty and loyalty above all else, tendency toward defensiveness and bruised ego

» has a genuine disinterest in pursuing critical acclaim and award bait work; she only cares about playing a nuanced character in a fun and interesting setting

» her relationship with her parents has steadily improved, one that deteriorated with her decision to move to korea

» loves languages and was raised a polyglot, speaking english, german, and korean in the home; gifted in the art of mimicking accents even when she doesn't speak the language

» began taking marial arts classes in 2005 when she filmed mission impossible iii

connections
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sister-in-law
nephew
niece
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» by 2005, she was listed as one of the top ten of korea's most bankable stars

» because of her experience in korea and the difficult of finding work in the us, adette is very outspoken about the treatment of and the lack of opportunities for women and more specifically asian american women in the entertainment industry

» though born and raised in the us, adette was discovered at a metro stop in seoul and spent her first eleven years in the asian film/tv industry

» is largely considered an asian celebrity as she has very little name recognition in the american market

» she formally left the korean film/tv industry in late 2008 after the release of her last korean movie. her decision generated a good deal of backlash from korean media, but adette made the decision after feeling the abuse of overzealous fans and overly critical media regarding her physical appearance, weight, and dating life

» held a reputation as the quirky girl-next-door in korea due to overmanagement by her agency; her image shifted when she began to do international films and she was able to free herself from the intensity of korean management rules