Amber Brown’s Liliana Inouye: Acting and the Freedom to Play

Mixed Asian Media - August 24, 2022

By Hayley Palmer

I heard you’ve grown up living all around the world. What has it been like for you growing up in all these different places while being mixed?

It’s fun to grow up around different cultures. It allows you to explore different languages and foods and traditions. I grew up speaking Hebrew at home with my mom and her side of the family and went to preschool in Israel when I was two. We celebrate the Jewish holidays at home, I love to bake Challah on Fridays, and I just had my Bat Mitzvah. My dad’s side of the family is Japanese, and they live in Hawaii  so when we’re there I love helping my grandma make rice balls and eating lots of Asian foods (and Melona bars!) and going to Japanese festivals. This past year, we traveled throughout Southeast Asia as a family, and I had the opportunity to go to school in Thailand and in Bali. I loved learning the Thai language and I got really good at ordering mango sticky rice in Thai!

Can you remember the first or most monumental time you felt represented on screen, in a book, or on stage?

I remember watching Crazy Rich Asians, and I just loved Awkwafina’s character! She’s not your stereotypical representation of Asian.

How did you get into acting? Was there any specific moment that made you certain it was something you wanted to try?

I’ve always loved performing and expressing myself freely. When I was little, I was singing and dancing all the time. When I was 5, I booked a role in a national commercial where I was a little ballerina girl. I loved being on set, making friends, eating lots of snacks, and just dancing around in my leotard and tutu and I knew I wanted more.

Soon after that, my mom put me in an acting class for kids and it was so much fun. I think what I fell in love with was having the space and the freedom to play and express myself. I also loved the friendship and sense of belonging that comes with being a part of a group of other actors. It was always about having fun, togetherness, self-expression, and self-discovery. In the last couple years, especially during Covid, I wanted to get more serious about my acting, and I’ve been enjoying exploring characters with a wide range of emotions and personalities.

Can you tell us about your process auditioning for and landing the role on Amber Brown?

I was in Hawaii with my family visiting my grandparents when I got the audition for Amber Brown. Actually, I first got an audition for the role of Amber and then a few weeks later they sent me an audition for the role of Brandi, which I was so happy about because Brandi is so me! I remember learning my lines on the beach and then recording the audition in my grandparents’ office. A few weeks later I got a callback for Brandi, and it was so hard to find a professional studio to do a callback in. We finally found a place and it was so bad, the lighting and sound were terrible, we didn’t have the wifi until moments before the callback time… but Bonnie [Hunt] and all the casting people were so nice and so understanding.

A couple weeks after that, once we were back in Vancouver, I got called for a chemistry read and then another. After the second chem read, I had planned to go visit my grandpa on Vancouver Island with my cousin. We were just getting on the ferry when I got the call to turn around right away because they wanted to see me for one more chem read the next day. I literally jumped off the ferry like a minute before it left.

When I got the call from my agent that I booked the role a couple weeks after that, I was out with my grandmother and my younger siblings. My agent had called my mom first but since I wasn’t with her at that moment, he then called my grandmother so that he could speak to me. It was so funny because my grandmother is hard of hearing, and she didn’t recognize the number, so she kept wanting to hang up and telling him (my agent!) to “stop calling.” I finally grabbed the phone from her, and he told me I booked the part. There was lots of screaming after that! Then we all went out for dinner to celebrate.

It’s amazing to see more children’s/family shows centering a diverse range of characters. How do you feel knowing your role on Amber Brown will help a whole new generation of mixed and Asian kids feel represented?

I love that Amber Brown represents a diverse cast of characters. The cool thing about it is that it’s done in a way that’s so natural — that’s just — that’s how life is. It’s not emphasized, it just is. That’s how I feel it should be.

Your character on Amber Brown, Brandi, is described as bubbly, independent, and a loyal friend. What are the biggest ways you relate to and differ from her?

Yes, Brandi and I are very similar in many ways — we’re both energetic and quirky and fun and loyal. We both love crystals and have an eclectic fashion style. Brandi is very optimistic and has a way of turning everything into a positive. I myself am not always that positive. I’d like to be more like Brandi in that way.

Was it challenging bringing to life a pre-existing character or did you find it helpful to have the books as a reference?

I didn’t actually use the books as reference. I was excited to create my own version of Brandi based on Bonnie Hunt’s amazing adaptation of the books. It was fun to bring my own flavor and interpretation of Brandi.

Do you have any words of advice for teenagers and kids who want to pursue acting? Is there any advice would you give to your pre-Amber Brown self?

I would say to keep training and keep auditioning. And give every audition your all. I think it’s important to also take classes and be in an environment where you’re playing and learning with others. There can be a lot of disappointments if you’re only auditioning and that can get to you. When you have an opportunity to act outside of auditions, you can enjoy it and keep learning and growing as an actor.

One thing I’ve learned is how important it is to fully commit to your character, and also to know your lines inside out. If you’re not thinking about your lines, you can be present and respond to the moment. Also, just be yourself — know that you being you is the best because no one can be you better than you!

What are you looking forward to in the near future? Any upcoming projects, goals, big life events, etc?

I’m looking forward to more travel with my family next spring/summer. My older brother is considering going to university in Europe, so it looks like there’ll be a European adventure on the horizon. And I’m looking forward to hopefully filming Season Two of Amber Brown (fingers crossed!)

Hayley Palmer is a media studies student living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She spends her free time sitting around with friends, re-reading the same books, and playing ice hockey. Hayley makes all sorts of art, from digital illustration to photography to collages. You can find her work on Instagram.