Ami Park shares journey to ‘Alaska Daily’: ‘It’s definitely not been overnight’
“It took over 250 auditions and 20 years of training to get to my first series regular. It’s definitely not been overnight.”
– Ami Park
Ami Park seemed to burst onto the scene last fall playing reporter Yuna Park on the ABC drama “Alaska Daily.”
“The second half only gets richer and that much deeper. I’m so excited,” Park said ahead of the show’s return for the remainder of its first season, which concluded at the end of March.
“Alaska Daily” is the first time she’s billed as part of a main cast. After years of navigating the Los Angeles acting circuit, it’s a feat Park doesn’t take lightly.
“There were so many tears when roles I thought were mine didn’t come my way,” Park wrote in a 2022 Instagram post before the show’s series premiere.
“There were so many endless nights wondering why it hadn’t worked out,” she continued. “Frustration overload not being able to see more AAPI talent on screen, and months of just patiently praying, releasing limiting beliefs, believing in myself, staying true to my vision + manifesting the right role to align with me.”
She found the role she sought for so long in Yuna. And she’s made a point to ensure her character stays authentic. While filming the pilot, she asked the show’s creator, Tom McCarthy, if Yuna could speak Korean in the show. The writers then included Korean dialogue in an episode centering on Yuna’s pursuit of a story.
At a time when Asian American representation on screen has increasingly come into focus, we wanted to know more about the person behind Yuna: who is Ami Park?
We caught up with her to learn more about her beginnings, what she’s learned so far through her role, and the advice she has for Korean and Asian Americans who want to pursue acting.
You’re a series regular on Alaska Daily, and you portray a Korean American journalist. What does that mean to you?
Oh my goodness ... it means everything to me. I’m beyond honored I am part of something so much bigger, and that our show can help bring light to the MMIW crisis. It’s been a truly humbling experience. As a Korean American, I’m so grateful to be portraying a full character on screen who has arcs and opinions and I don’t take this experience for granted at all. I’m still pinching myself!
Let’s go back a bit. Tell us about your acting journey. How did you get started?
My acting career started with my first Sears commercial at 8 years old. I always knew I wanted to be an actor, and I’m very grateful my family was so supportive of that decision since I was young. I remember taking acting classes in middle school, taking the train from Jersey to New York during weekdays and doing homework in between and coming home around midnight just to wake up at 5 or 6 for school the next day.
Looking back, I honestly don’t know how I did it, but I’m so glad I did. My training started in theater, which then led me to graduating at Boston University with my BFA in Theatre and moving to LA straight afterwards.
It took over 250 auditions and 20 years of training to get to my first series regular. It’s definitely not been overnight.
What drew you to “Alaska Daily” and your character Yuna Park? What made you want this role?
To be fully honest, I had no idea I was going to get a callback for this role! The initial audition for this role was not something I’m usually called in for, and I didn’t think twice about it after I first auditioned. It was when I got the callback that I knew it was mine and gave it my all.
I really love Yuna’s deep yearning to do her best as the newest reporter at The Daily Alaskan and explore her kind but strong-willed heart. You can tell she really cares about everything she sets her mind to, and I wanted to explore the depths of her professional and emotional arcs.
I’m actually from Anchorage, Alaska, and so I’m paying a little closer attention to the show. What was your preparation like for your role? Did you research anything about Alaska or its communities beforehand?
Oh my goodness! How incredible! Anchorage is such a vast yet intimate and beautiful place. Hilary Swank (Eileen Fitzgerald), Pablo Castelblanco (Gabriel Tovar), Jeff Perry (Stanley Cornick) and I were able to go down to Anchorage during the initial pilot in October 2021 and to see the city itself was incredible research. I spoke with fellow Korean Americans living in Anchorage, as well as many Asian American journalists and reporters beforehand, and that was instrumental to how I learned about Anchorage, the people and the Indigenous community there as well.
An episode that caught my attention was when Yuna had to navigate telling a story that hit close to home, about the death of someone she knew. In a somewhat small town like Anchorage with only so many journalists, that can happen. How has portraying a journalist given you insight into that world, that profession?
Kyle Hopkins, who is part of the writers team in “Alaska Daily” and also a reporter at Anchorage Daily News, has been one of the biggest assets in helping us put together the world of the show, while being able to tell these stories accurately. I spoke with Kyle on the phone when I was preparing for this scene and he told me this was actually something that happened to him when he first started reporting, and it shook him to the core, which is where I believe the idea to have Yuna see someone derived from as well. It definitely gives you the weight of what many journalists go through on a daily basis. It’s given me so much respect for them on a whole new level.
Lastly, as a Korean American actress, what’s your advice for other Korean Americans or Asian Americans pursuing acting and what do you wish you would have known when you were getting started?
If you are interested in film work, I highly recommend just getting your feet on set to feel the energy and the vibe of how everything works! I did a good amount of background work back in the summer of 2014 in NYC, and that was very helpful — even better if you can stand in for actors because you’ll quickly learn the terminology that’s being used with the cameras, etc. I also highly recommend not only acting classes but audition classes as well because they are actually different, and I wish I had known that sooner when I first moved to LA.
I also believe that your environment that you surround yourself in is pivotal. Hang out with genuine people who want to support you right back, and who are excited about doing the work alongside you.
Photo courtesy of Ami Park.
