Justin Lee is best known for his childhood role as Annyong in Arrested Development. Although the actor may be an adult now and slightly less recognizable, he's still a part of multiple projects that are currently airing and streaming, which is exactly what we talked to him about during our recent interview.
We spoke with Justin in support of Twitch's interactive scripted sci-fi series Artificial: Remote Intelligence. The Season 3 finale of the forward-thinking AI-centric series hits Twitch this Thursday, so we wanted to catch up with the actor about his role, and we also learned a bit about his new series, Sneakerheads, which hit Netflix on Friday.
To hear our chat with Justin, click the podcast player below. Otherwise, scroll down for the transcript! We've also included a few of the other audio interviews we've conducted with the cast of Artificial, such as Alejandra Reynoso (Castlevania), Jennifer Field (Miss Asian America 2006), and many others.
Justin Lee: Season 3 is a great season and an interesting ride, given all the hoops that we have to go through to try to make this work. It's tough. As an actor, I'm used to working with people in front of me. So much of communication is not really what we say, but what we see and what we pick up when we are next to people.
And its kind of hard, a lot of times, looking directly in the camera. So even though I have their faces this year, I'm not able to look at their faces because I've got to look into the camera. And so I'd say that the most challenging part is that, habitually, I'm designed to want to look at someone. I have got to remember my eyes can't go there when I want to feed off of them.
Literary Joe: You have to watch the stream afterward, right? Because otherwise, you don't necessarily see any of the other stuff that's happening.
Justin Lee: Yeah, I'm in my own world. So I've gotta watch it after, and it's always interesting to see how it's going to pan out, and that's not so much different from acting because we go on a set, we do our job, and we leave. What we think it felt like, sometimes it comes out completely different after the editor's done with them and after they add the music to it.
Literary Joe: So if there is a Season 4, what would you like to see happen with Justin in the future?
Justin Lee: There are so many ways that this can go, but let's say we're in a world where we're back and we do not have to be quarantined, how about that? Let's say the budget comes in, and it's just an extravagant budget. Let's say Twitch is like, "Let's put down a hundred million dollars!" I can totally see this going towards a Terminator direction.
Because the way I see my character right now is very different from the seasons prior. And for lack of a better word right now, it seems like if you wanted to summarize everything he's going through into one sentence, it seems like he's trying to save the world. And, he's put himself almost in a pickle where he's trying to down all of these fires by himself, and he's not filling in anyone on his plans.
Every action he does is justified by his wanting to save the world. "Is this going to save the world?" The reason why it is that way is because of his guilt of what happened in Season 2, right? He harbors a lot of guilt, so, in that sense, that is selfish, right? I don't want to feel that guilt. I don't want to feel the burden because I know what it's like to see a murder happen and to feel responsible for that. But how would I feel if I destroyed the world?
And so, I have this responsibility that I've been embedded with this machine for years now. And so I feel a responsibility that I'm kind of the best person to be in charge of this kind of power. I don't trust the other people involved.
I feel like I'm the most, in a way, like, Lord of the Rings reference here, in a way, Aragorn's kind of worried he'll be like his father, but at the end of the day, he has got to accept that he's gotta be the one to do it because he is the one that has a good heart, and for a good reason.
And so for me, I can totally see myself taking Lilith with me. I mean, going on the run, being on the run. And what does that look like? Cause I don't feel like I have any ties to Sebastian. I don't feel like I have any ties to Zander. And in my mind, here you go, in a perfect world, I play them all against each other. And I come out with Lilith, victorious.
Literary Joe: I know that you used to interview people on your podcast prior to being folded into the show. I'm curious, when you first joined, how did you foresee your character vs. how your character actually evolved once you joined the show?
Justin Lee: When I came in, if I'm completely honest, I had no idea what to expect. The podcast in and of itself, there's not really podcasts like it. So it was hard for me to really get a gauge of what Bernie's vision was. It was just a matter of having to do it and figuring out what type of show this was going to be.
And in the beginning, it didn't seem like I was so much of an actor as it felt like I was more of an analyst or a commentator. I really felt like I was one of those analysts that you bring onto ESPN, you know, like people that just get paid to talk. And that's what I felt like I was, I'm just analyzing this entire thing. That fake play by play as if it's real like I'm just commentating on a sports event.
And then, that's how it kind of felt like, but then somewhere along the way, towards the latter part of that season, when we started bringing in the actual actors to interview them in character, that's when the shift to acting really started to blend in. And I was like, okay, now we're creating this weird world. It was a very bad world.
But, it's definitely fictional now. I know we're creating something. And it started slowly. But once the poll voted for me to meet Sophie, that's when I felt like, okay, this arc is going to change. He's going to become not any longer a commentator of the show that he's now going to be a part of the show. And so now he's a part of the circus.
Literary Joe: Do you have any other projects coming up? I know COVID kind of squashed a lot of people's stuff...
Justin Lee: It did, but fortunately, I'm still working, which is good. I've got a show on Netflix that's coming out on September 25th called Sneakerheads. So Sneakerheads, it's a huge culture. I hope I don't butcher this too much, people that are obsessed and extremely passionate about the whole shoe culture because sneakerhead culture is an entire sub-culture now.
And it's not like a niche or anything, especially because you have all these athletes that come out with their own shoes and then you have athletes and artists do collaborations, and then they come out with limited edition shoes. I've seen kids waiting in line as if it's a Black Friday in front of shoe stores.
So it's a scripted series with Alan Maldonado, King Batch, Jeanette Corchado, Yaani King, and a lot of great people. We kind of did an Entourage thing where you're going to see a lot of fun cameos in there too, so it's a really fun show, and I appreciate that it's very true to the culture. So if any of your listeners out there are Sneakerheads and fans, I think they're really going to appreciate the content that we came out with.
And we're hopeful that we'll come back for a Season 2, so go ahead and watch it. It will be out on Netflix on September 25th. Check out your boy. I get to drive a G-Wagon.
This interview has been edited for clarity. Audio is co-hosted by Comic Brooks.
Family man Devin and his fast-talking pal Bobby get swept up bouncing around L.A. in a wheeling-dealing scheme to score a mythical pair of sneakers.
Artificial is a Live and Interactive Science Fiction series where the audience changes the story. Co-creator and Showrunner Bernie Su walks you through what makes this series so unique. It is the first original sci-fi series on Twitch and was the winner of the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Innovation in Interactive Media.
Sneakerheads is now streaming on Netflix, and you can catch the Season 3 finale of Artificial: Remote Intelligence on Twitch this Thursday at 5 pm PST.