Always Be My Maybe star Randall Park puts fresh spin as rom-com lead

There's a very simple reason for the easygoing, believable chemistry between cast members in Ali Wong and Randall Park's new comedy Always Be My Maybe: the longtime buddies hired their friends.

The buzzy romantic comedy, which debuted on Netflix a week ago, was a labour of love for the duo, whose friendship goes back to their college days at UCLA, when Wong joined the Asian American-centredLCC Theatre Company Park had co-founded.

"Ali and I love rom-coms and we always talked about doing our When Harry Met Sally ... one of my favourites," the Los Angeles-born Park said during a stop in Toronto Friday to promote his new film.

"It felt like something that was part of an American traditionthat we wanted to put our spin on."

According to Park, the opportunity to create the rom-com of their dreams came courtesy of Wong's incredible success with her hilariously raunchyand unapologeticallyhonest Netflix comedy specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wifebut the prolific actor is noslouch himself.

Along with starring as the patriarch in the historic Asian-American family sitcom Fresh Off the Boat,Park has had memorable turns in a long list of comedy movies and TV shows: from "Asian Jim" in The Office toa regular stint on Veep as a political rival to Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer;from his multiple appearances alongside Seth Rogen (including inLong ShotandThe Interview) to roles in both the Marvel and DC cinematic universe(in Ant-Man and the Wasp and Aquaman, respectively).

However, with Always Be My Maybe, Park and Wong (who also spent time in theFresh Off the Boatwriting room) have been vaulted into the central spotlight as romantic leads.

To accomplish that, they surrounded themselves with friends,including Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan who directs the film, playwright and screenwriter Michael Golamco (also a UCLA and LCC alum) and actor Vivian Bang, another of Park's theatre group buddies.

"There was never a conscious decision to have a diverse team. I think the decision for us was to tell a great story and to do it in a way that felt authentic," Park explained.

"We hired a lot of our friends and people that we had worked with before. It wasn't by design, it was literally just being friends with people and respecting their work so much and knowing that they were the right ones for the job."

One major exception to that, however, was their decision to write a make-it-or-break-it part for action star Keanu Reeves, who plays a nemesis for Park's character.

The Toronto-raised Hollywood A-listerhas been a linchpin for the rom-com'sviral success, spawning a host of memes and bringing a boatload of his fans to the film.

And whether it was diving right into the over-the-top depiction (Reeves plays a ridiculous version of himself) or gamely sharing notes for an end-credits song called I Punched Keanu Reeves, the star of John Wick andthe Matrix trilogy just "got" the project right away,Park noted.

Always Be My Maybe: Keanu 'got it right away'

5 years ago

Duration 1:20

Randall Park, star and co-creator of the Netflix rom-com Always Be My Maybe, on how Keanu Reeves reacted to being the subject of a hip hop tribute.

The icing on the cake?

At the film's L.A. premiere, Park recalled, "we're just like sitting there looking at Keanu. And he was laughing, like the entire time, and was really thrilled by it. So that really made us happy."

Always Be My Maybe is currently available on Netflix.