3 minute read
Ricky He
Since childhood, Vancouver native Ricky He has dedicated himself to his passion in the performing arts. A self-proclaimed hip-hop junkie and R& B soul lover, Ricky often fuses his love of music and acting. In 2017, he first merged his performing and musical talents in the TV feature CHRISTMAS SOLO. He also has a recurring role on 'Trial and Error' as well as a role in 'Freaky Friday'.
What drew you to acting as a career? I was never much of a reader but I always loved watching TV and movies. I think what drew me to acting was that I love stories and I love to tell stories. And beyond that, I love telling stories about the human experience. I love that anyone can watch anything and find something relatable to their own experience Ricky?s parents fostered his passion for the performing arts by moving so he could attend the esteemed drama program at Lord Byng Secondary Arts Mini-School. After an attempt to focus on academics in UBC?s Psychology program, Ricky felt the strong call to return to acting, and so he committed himself fully to his craft instead. On July 19th, 2018, he got the role of Tyler Egret, assistant to the ruthless Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays) in the NBC crime documentary spoof "Trial & Error". "[I enjoyed] The writing! Getting to read each episode every week was so entertaining." He spoke on working with the heavy hitters Kristen Chenoweth and Sherri Shepherd who are also apart of the show. They were the sweetest. Unbelievably and outrageously funny. Most days felt more like a live comedy show that works. What is your favorite type of role to play? I don?t really have a favorite type of role! But I?ve definitely noticed that I gravitate towards characters with unique human experiences.
Advertisement
Disney Channel cast Ricky in the remake of 'Freaky Friday' that debuted on the channel on August 10, 2018. "It was awesome! It was so much fun to be a part of a universal story about family. Everyone in the cast got along and we all became such great friends. I love those peeps." What was your favorite on-set moment that you can share? "Every Friday was Fried Chicken Friday. I love fried chicken so every Friday I got to experience my favorite moment over and over again."
With training in the Meisner technique, Ricky quickly amassed a multitude of credits in television series, including The CW?s "The Flash", Fox?s "Wayward Pines", Freeform?s "Beyond", CBC?s "The Romeo Section", NBC?s "Trial & Error" and SYFY?s "The Magicians". On the big screen, Ricky has been featured in CHRISTMAS SOLO, A GIFT TO REMEMBER, LOOKS LIKE CHRISTMAS, BLURT and THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN.
Ricky is wildly creative and constantly honing his limitless musical talent in beat-box, freestyle rap, guitar, ukulele, and piano. During his acting time in Christmas Solo, they allowed him to record his own music. "My parents put me in piano classes at a young age and I actually really hated it as a kid. At some point in high school, I really got into Hip-Hop and started to write rap music. It was bad. But I didn?t stop writing and I started to get better. As I got older, I picked the piano back up and started to make melodies to go with my writing. I always loved R&B so it was kind of a weird, natural progression." Will we ever hear any tracks from you? "I want to put out a mixtape at some point! We?ll see. Maybe I?ll never feel good enough about to put it out like Dr. Dre with Detox." Who are your top 4 favorite artists? It?s hard to for me to pick four all-time favorite artists. But one that always comes to mind is John Legend. I?ve always been a huge fan of his and seeing his concert was one of the reasons I finally decided to pursue acting and music. That said, as of right now, a couple of artists I?m really into are? Joey Bada$$, SZA, and Daniel Caesar. Frank Ocean, Miguel, and H.E.R. are honorable mentions because I love them all the time. Gah ? it?s too hard. I can?t. Do you have any advice for people wanting to become actors? Trust your instincts and have fun!
