In The Wedding Banquet, Andrew Ahn directs a contemporary reimagining of Ang Lee’s groundbreaking 1993 film. The original tells the story of a gay Taiwanese man and a Chinese woman who agree to marry to satisfy his traditionalist parents and help her secure a green card. Chaos ensues, however, when the groom’s parents decide to fly to America for the wedding. Ahn’s remake retains this core premise but broadens the narrative by focusing on two queer couples, played by Bowen Yang and Han Gi-chan, alongside Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran.

The film is a comedic showcase for the young actors, but it’s Joan Chen’s hilarious performance that truly steals the show. Playing May Chen, the overly-supportive mother of Kelly Marie Tran’s character, the role gave Chen the opportunity to flaunt her rarely-used comedic chops. Known for her legendary work with directors like Wayne Wang, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Oliver Stone, as well as her iconic portrayal of Josie Packard in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Chen remains as busy as ever. We had the chance to sit down with her just weeks before The Wedding Banquet opened in British cinemas to discuss playing May Chen, her thoughts on the term “career renaissance,” and her fond memories of working with David Lynch.

Barry Pierce: I want to go back about thirty years, because that’s really when the story of this film begins. This new Wedding Banquet is a remake of Ang Lee’s original from 1993. Do you have any connection to that first film?
Joan Chen: As a matter of fact, I was actually going to play the girl in the film. Ang Lee graduated from NYU and, based on his student films, he got an agent in Los Angeles. So he came to Los Angeles, and that was when I had just moved there myself. I remember being sat in a backyard with a swimming pool – very LA – with people jumping into the pool, and Ang was there with a frown, looking serious. We began talking about The Wedding Banquet.

At that time, he had another producer, not James Schamus. It took him about five years to get the finances together. He eventually got his funding from Taiwan and used an entirely Taiwanese cast. During that time, when Ang wasn’t making any films, we did get on the phone and talked quite a lot. So finally, when James Schamus gave me this script, I was like, “Finally!” There is closure. I can’t play the girl, but I can play the mother now.

BP: I really love you in the film, it honestly feels like the role was made for you. Did the filmmakers ever indicate that they wrote the role with you in mind?
JC: This is a question for Andrew [Ahn] and James Schamus. But, interestingly enough, my daughter’s name is Angela – my real-life daughter. And then, my character’s last name is Chen. So, I’m like… hmm. But they didn’t tell me that. I did have a good time with it, but when I was younger, I strived to be the best dramatist. I seldom had a chance to play anything comedic, though I did in another queer film, Saving Face. I think that character was funny. But very rarely do I get this kind of opportunity, so I really relished it.

BP: That’s really interesting, why do you think people have never considered you for comedic roles?
JC: I was this very tragic, exotic flower, always. And once I was too old to be an exotic flower, things kind of dried up a bit. I lost direction, and I kind of lost enthusiasm. But now that I’m older, I can see things more clearly. I see absurdity in things more. You know, life teaches you sometimes that this is how you deal with everything. Good laughs.

BP: I want to hear about May Chen in your own words. Who is she, and what drew you to her?
JC: Since becoming a mother, the motherhood experience has always been a driving force for me. So, when I see a mother character who’s so flawed… personality-wise, we’re very different. Certain characters that I play, I almost feel like I envy their cluelessness. They are divas, the centre of attention, and they crave being the centre of attention — which is something I absolutely dread. I can’t even have a birthday party for myself. So, in a way, I relish the chance to be somebody else entirely. And, maybe secretly, I do think it would be nice to have a birthday party.

BP: I’ve noticed that in a lot of the press you’ve done in the past year, the one term that keeps coming up is “career renaissance.” What’s your reaction to that term?
JC: It confuses me somewhat, because I didn’t feel it myself. At least not in the beginning. When I first heard it, it was my daughter saying, “You should renew your Instagram, you’re having a renaissance!” I was like, “What?” I’m hard on myself. It’s so difficult for me to see myself on screen. I can watch my old films twenty years later and be fine. But in the moment, I always pick out, “Oh my God, I should have done this. This wasn’t good.” You see what you didn’t do well enough. So for me, it wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m having a renaissance.” Not at all. I had zero of that feeling. And then all the press, it got a little tedious. It got to a point where I didn’t want to do it anymore, because what’s that got to do with my work?

I think when you mentioned the word renaissance, one thing it did for me was rekindle my passion. That is true. All of a sudden, I realised my age. I realised renaissance, like, I’m old. And by that, I mean the realisation that the time I have left on earth is shorter. Somehow, that rekindled my passion. Now, compared to my 50s, I feel this incredible burning desire and vitality that I haven’t felt in a long time.

BP: Do you find it interesting that both Didi and The Wedding Banquet involved young directors who, I think quite clearly, grew up seeing you as a kind of legendary figure? It’s striking that you’re having this moment now, and yet it’s the younger generation of filmmakers putting you in these roles, not necessarily the directors you worked with in past decades.
JC: Yeah, it is interesting. There are people in their 80s making good films, but your creativity and your vitality have something to do with age. And the young people, they are hungrier. That hunger and that desire are important.

I used to be the youngest on set. I started at fourteen. And now I’m easily the oldest in the whole cast and crew. It’s fortunate that I get to work with young people. Their desire, their hunger, their new ideas are infectious.

BP: It feels like everyone is watching or rewatching Twin Peaks right now, especially after the loss of David Lynch. I know he was an incredibly important figure in your career, and you had a major role in what might be his most enduring work. How have the past couple of months been for you?
JC: I rewatched a few episodes just to somehow commemorate the time we spent together. He was a very special artist. Being directed by him, I remember mostly his spontaneity. Before I met him, I had watched Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man, and I was expecting somebody who was different, possibly eccentric. But he was just the most genuine, kind, quote-unquote, normal guy.

I’m so glad that he was open to meeting with me. [Josie Packard] was originally written for Isabella Rossellini, and when I first read the pilot, she had an Italian name. So I’m really glad we hit it off. We talked about what the character means for Twin Peaks, similar to how in Blue Velvet there’s this one foreign, sort of exotic and mysterious element in a very incestuous town. He was open-minded, and I was cast.

BP: I do wonder if she’s still just hanging around in that doorknob.
JC: She’s totally just in that doorknob. It was so stupid of me, I actually asked to be written out of Twin Peaks a few times because I wanted to do another feature film, which turned out to be a really bad film. Things happen.

The Wedding Banquet will open in UK cinemas this Friday