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You
can see it in a person's eyes. By looking at the eyes of an
individual,
you can tell how determined a person is. The eyes of actress
and model, Mia Crowe, you can tell she is determined to make
things happen and that time is now.
She's
currently stars in "SUPERSKIRTZ" which is part
of TNN's traveling talk show "POP ACROSS AMERICA" where
she and three other cohorts challenge the ideas of what
it means
to be a real "girl" in America today. Mia
writes, produces and performs wild antics and provocative
skits
in a different city every week across in America.
Looking
at her biography, you can tell that she's prepared to take
on
a variety of roles. She has garnered a fan following for previous
roles such as hosting the #1 videogame magazine review
show
"GAMEPRO MINUTES"and appearing in different film and
television roles including the punk rock cult Kung Fu Films
classic "THAT DARN PUNK" which she is often recognized from.
It helps to be part of such films since Mia is also a musician
and a member of the punk rock band "The Honeys".
Aside
from the crazy antics and the punk rock music, there is
much
more to Mia Crowe. She's a model who has graced the runway
and print magazines. Another interesting role is being
a hand and
foot model. Her hands and feet have graced print ads for Lux,
Visa, Loreal, Neutrogena and many more.
Mia
is involved with theater andhas a BA in Communications
from
the University of California, San Diego. She is currently a
student of the martial art - Kung Fu San Soo and volunteers
for the "Children of the Night" organization,
is pitching several ideas for television shows as a producer
and finds the
time to relax, hang out with friends and play several videogames
on her Sony Playstation.
She's
determined to make things happen and at the same time,
her visibility
is helping break down the barriers that exist for Asian Americans
in the entertainment industry. She's simply not just talking
the talk, she's making things happen.
I
recently had the opportunity to interview Mia Crowe.
DENNIS:
Before we get into questions about your involvement in entertainment,
let's get to know a little about Mia Crowe before she became
an actress and model. Where were you born and raised?
MIA:
I was born in Georgia but we moved two weeks after I was born.
I guess you can say that I'm not from anywhere because I moved
every year or every couple of years in my life. Sometimes I
like to ask people where they are from because I may have either
lived there or been there before.
DENNIS:
I'm assuming that the reason you moved around a lot is because
you have a parent in the military. Was it difficult to adjust
each time you moved to a new area and always having to start
over with your life?
MIA: Yes, my father was a pilot.
He was an officer in the military. You know, it seemed very
natural growing up. It wasn't always fun to be the new kid but
I loved meeting new people. But there were different times in
my life that it was troublesome.
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DENNIS:
What kind of trouble did you experience?
MIA: For example, when we
moved to Tokyo, I remember meeting a few girls and telling
them I was half Korean and I remember in the first day
of school someone said I was the new girl and I didn't
like Japanese people.
DENNIS:
Ahh...I see. with the culture problems from the past between
the Japanese and Koreans, it must have been a surprise.
MIA:
I was shocked by that and I asked what they meant by that
and they said that since I was Korean, that I didn't like
Japanese people. I never knew the history between the
Japanese and Koreans.
DENNIS:
In previous interviews you have talked about being half
Caucasian and half Korean. Being hapa (note: an accepted
term for people who are half Asian), did you ever feel
pressured to choose a side?
MIA: My mom raised us that everyone
is different and unique. My mom would always tell me that
we were unique
and that we should be ourselves. I remember
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growing up and Asians would say I didn't look Korean and Caucasians
who didn't think I look Caucasian. How does it feel when people
would say that you don't look like them? I remember taking a
state test in 2nd grade in Washington State and asking my Caucasian
teacher which box to pick and she told me to just pick "ASIAN"
because as she would say "that is what your mother is".
I mean, what is that supposed to mean anyway? I dealt with that
growing up. I remember one time in my life when I received a
scholarship to go to Korea and I was in a Korean program with
many other Korean Americans and some guy from Boston University
told me that I had to choose a side because when I was there,
I had more Asian friends than Caucasian friends. He told me
that I had to choose. And that was the first time in my life
someone ever said that to me. How can anyone choose what ethnicity
they are when they are a person of several different ethnicities?
DENNIS:
Did you move around a lot even in high school?
MIA: No. That was the one promise that
my dad gave to me that I could go to one school which was high
school, without moving.
DENNIS:
So, back in high school. What kind of student were you? Were
you the cheerleader? The popular girl? The person you would
find in the library or find smoking in the restroom?
MIA: In highschool, I always had
a boyfriend which I advise all teenagers is a bad thing. It
took attention away from developing more of my talents at that
time. I was a cheerleader and participated in many different
clubs. I also had jobs like working at the Mall one summer or
after school at a local deli. I did a lot of baby sitting.
DENNIS:
You are involved with a non-profit organization, "CHILDREN OF
THE NIGHT". Can you tell us more about the organization and
how you got involved with them?
MIA: In Los Angeles, you see a
lot of homeless teenagers and a lot of teenage prostitutes.
I saw them often and wanted to help these kids but didn't know
how I could. I remembered that as a teenager I was very rebellious
and I always thought I knew what was best for me. So I knew
that I couldn't just role up on these kids and tell then how
to be. I felt that I could help them and could teach by example.
I thought about it and I realized that the only way I may be
able to help these kids was to show them who I am and what I'm
doing and maybe inspire them to follow their dreams. Meaning
"average girl follows dream". if I could do it, they
could do it. Whatever
that "it" was. I just knew they were better than prostituting
their bodies and living on the streets.
DENNIS:
Aside from your parents, was there anyone in your life that
influenced you?
MIA: When I was growing up,
one of the people that influenced me a lot was this woman
named
Kirie Pederson. I was in an accelerated program in school called
"Gifted and Talented" where kids from different schools were
bussed
to classes once a week to learn at a
more accelerated rate. The
teachers assistant was
Kirie and she was this bohemian type
woman who read us poetry, taught us Spanish and told us about
her
experiences traveling in Spain. She encouraged me to do creative
writing assignments and stretch my imagination. She was an
adult
that was so different from any adult I had ever met. A person
that was definitely doing her own thing. So different from
the
stodgy adults that I had always encountered.
DENNIS:
And this influenced you to help the kids for "CHILDREN
OF THE NIGHT"?
MIA: The
teacher I mentioned influenced me by showing me that she was
an individual that danced to the beat of her own drum and I
felt that if I could volunteer my time to these teenagers at
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, and not preach to them or tell them how
to live but just show them who I am and how I live, I might
inspire somebody to follow whatever dream they might have. Whether
it is to be a nurse, a painter, or whatever. I followed my heart
against the odds and I thought if they saw that a girl like
me who could do it, they could do what they want too as well.
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| PHOTO:
Mia with Jerry Springer. |
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DENNIS:
When you were younger, what did you want to grow up to
be?
MIA: I always said I wanted
to be an attorney. I liked to debate issues and have discussions
on different topics. I always stuck up for myself or anyone
else when there was a problem. It was rare that I could
just stand by and watch somebody being verbally tortured
by another kid at school. If someone was calling somebody
a name or teasing them I would always step in and ask,
"Why are you saying that?" I also wasn't past threatening
them. My mother always taught me to stand up for myself
if I was being teased or treated unfairly. So people
would
say, "Isn't she going to be a great lawyer?" So, that
is probably where that dream came from.
DENNIS:
So, how did you end up becoming an actress?
MIA:
I always watched television and wished that I could be
on it. I just didn't put it together that it was possible
because I never saw anybody who looked like me on television.
When community theatre tryouts for "Sound of Music" came
around, I tried out and I thought I did great!
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I thought I would of course be cast as one of the kids. When
I didn't make it, I cried. Somebody from the theatre production
went up to my mother and told her to bring me back for "South
Pacific". In college, I took acting classes and really got
the bug. I didn't pursue acting for a few years after coming
to
Los Angeles, but then I realized that I had as good of a chance
as anyone else making it as an actor.
DENNIS:
Now, how did your parents react when they found out you wanted
to pursue a career in entertainment?
MIA:
Even up until last year, my mother would still say, "Well, there
is always law school!" They did not react very well. I went
to UCSD and they had hoped I'd pursue a career as an attorney
or businesswoman of some kind. My mother was an actress in
Korea
and she knew how hard it was to pursue this career.
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