Nice Boy of the Week: Rich Ting

Our Nice Boy of the Week is Rich Ting.

Rich will guest star in tomorrow night’s (March 12) episode of the new CBS police drama Tommy, which stars The Soprano’s alum Edie Falco as Abigail “Tommy” Thomas, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles.

The episode, entitled “The Ninth Girl,” finds Mayor Buddy Gray putting added pressure on Tommy to quickly solve a high-profile kidnapping when a baby is taken from a prominent local businessman, capturing the attention of the citizens of L.A.

Rich was born in Los Angeles and is a graduate of Yale. After graduation, he returned to LA to pursue his acting career, which includes roles in TV shows like NCIS: Los Angeles, Supergirl, The Messengers, Chicago P.D. and the Amazon streaming series The Man in the High Castle. His film roles include G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, The Green Hornet, Salt and Lone Survivor.

NiceGirlsTV had the chance to speak to Rich about his role in Tommy and so much more in our interview:

What can you tease about your appearance on Tommy?

I play the character of “Li Chang,” a Chinese-American, boyish, athletic, smart, and successful dad devoted to his recently adopted five-month-old baby girl from China. I am married to my husband, Bryan. We were devastated when our baby girl is kidnapped from our home, we file a police report and ask for the assistance of Chief of the LAPD, Abigail “Tommy” Thomas in finding our beloved daughter.

Can you talk about what your experience was working on The Man in the High Castle?

I am extremely proud to have been cast and welcomed into the Emmy-award winning Amazon series, “The Man in the High Castle.” It was truly an honor to join the amazing cast and crew but also to honor my Japanese American heritage. Because my last name is Chinese (“Ting”), people are not aware that I am also half Japanese. I am 4th-generation Japanese American; both of my maternal Japanese grandparents were born in the United States and were the quintessential Japanese Americans incarcerated in the internment camps during World War II. Even though “The Man in the High Castle” takes place in an alternate universe, in which Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany govern and rule the world, the series touches on the same time in which my grandparents were interned in the concentration camps. As a result, even though I play the character of “Captain Iijima,” a loyal captain for the Imperial Japanese military regime who serves to carry out the commands and desires of the head Japanese officials back in Japan. I felt a significant emotional and deep spiritual connection to this show because of my heritage. As a loyal fan, and viewer of this series since season one, I have always found parallels and personal connections with this show as it depicts the exact period as well as Japanese Americans (or “Resistance fighters”) that my grandparents could have been if this alternate world was, in fact, a reality.

Prepping for “Captain Iijima” was an emotional rollercoaster for me as I wanted to honor both my Japanese heritage and American heritage as well. On one side, I was proud to represent a strong, intelligent Japanese military captain, but I was torn because I was representing an enemy of the United States. One of the reasons why my Japanese family was interned in the concentration camps. The threat of my grandparents potentially being spies for Japan and identified as the “enemy” was the reason why they were unconstitutionally imprisoned and relocated in the first place. As a result, I decided to simplify my character preparation process by disregarding all the negative stigmas and focusing on the positive aspects of celebrating my Japanese heritage and honoring my grandparent’s generation through my portrayal of “Captain Iijima.”

Did you have to audition for Warrior or did they come to you given your martial arts experience?

It was a combination. I have a strong foundation and background in martial arts. The casting directors contacted my team to have me audition for Warrior.

NOTE: Rich has studied martial arts most of his life, receiving his Black belt at the age of 13.

Can you share anything about the project you are working on with Jeff Bridges?

Recently, I wrapped filming FX’s new TV series, “The Old Man” starring Jeff Bridges. It is a thriller television series based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Perry and was developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine. I play the character of “Lam,” a CIA hired mercenary who pursues Chase with strict orders to detain and bring him in alive.

If you hadn’t become an actor, what would you be doing?

If I hadn’t become an actor, I believe I would have continued working in the corporate legal sector. I graduated from Yale with a JD/MBA degree from their law and business school.

Is there a dream project you would like to work on someday?

Once I started my career as a professional actor, I’ve approached every project as it were my last. I’ve always been extremely proud to be chosen for all my projects whether it was a guest star, recurring or lead role. Every project, I continue to study and learn to perfect my craft as an actor. I always approach each project as an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist in the industry.

To date, I can honestly say that my dream role was playing the character of “Bolo” on “Warrior.” Being one of the main casts on a television series created by childhood idol (and greatest martial artist of all time) playing the most iconic and hyper-masculine Asian character known throughout the world was simply a dream come true.

It was an amazing opportunity to work with Angelina Jolie on “Salt” in 2010. It would be a dream of mine to work with her as an actor under her direction. Besides her obvious beauty and skill, I have come to respect and truly appreciate the films she has directed and developed behind the camera. She is an extremely creative and brilliant filmmaker. I’m grateful to have worked with her on “Salt,” to get to know her as a person. She is an incredibly professional and loving person.

What is one thing that your fans would be surprised to learn about you?

Based on the characters that I’ve played, I think people would be surprised to know that I am a hopeless romantic at heart. I love romantic comedies and am an ultimate “foodie,” constantly searching for new eateries in every city that I travel. Desserts are my ultimate weakness, as I am always ready to devour any kind of donuts, ice cream, cheesecake, and of course, my favorite, carrot cake.

Do you have an organization or charity that you support?

I am currently a brand ambassador for the Respect Your Universe, better known as RYU.

Rich lives in Los Angeles along with his teacup Maltese puppy, Bada. He is fluent in six [yes, we said six!] languages: Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, as well as English.

You can learn much more about Rich at his official website.

Remember to watch Rich in Thursday night’s episode of Tommy on CBS at 10/9c.