Meet E-Kan Soong

We recently connected with E-Kan Soong and have shared our conversation below.

Hi E-Kan, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I would have to say I get my work ethic from my parents. As Chinese immigrants, they both managed to build successful careers and make a great life for themselves in America, all while mastering English and acclimating to life in a new country. Nothing was assumed, everything was earned. My mother was an accomplished hematologist for decades while my father is a tenured Math professor who recently was recognized by his college for 35 years of service.

Both parents working full time while raising two kids is no small feat. It might be cliche, but their example taught me the value of hard work. They also set high standards for my sister and me and gave me opportunities to explore. I started playing classical piano at age seven and tennis at nine, eventually competing in both. At the time, I’m not sure whether it was for more for me or for them, but it kept me out of trouble for the most part.

My father, who was the more strict one, was in charge of the tennis, and my mother the piano. I distinctly remember my father and I would play tennis for hours, no matter how hot or cold, even when it snowed! We would go to the nearby courts and shovel the snow off the court as much as we could so we could do drills. Sometimes my teammates from the tennis team would pass by and see us out in the cold. They definitely thought we were crazy, but part of me started to get a kick out of it. I started to take pride in it, how hard I was willing to push myself. When everyone was staying in at home, nice and warm, I was out there training. I would go on to achieve awards as the top player in my high school and rank among the very best in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

My mom wasn’t nearly as strict with piano. I didn’t like playing piano as much as tennis, so my mom would bribe me with a quarter for every thirty minutes I practiced. As soon as the timer hit, I collected my quarter and was off to play video games. But eventually, I would be practicing for hours, without a sweat. I don’t know even why; I think I wanted to get it just right. I would compete in the annual music competition and just fall short every time which just spurred me on more. Also maybe subconsciously I knew how much my mom loved listening to me play. Either way, it was enough for me to keep going. I eventually fell in love with playing the piano and finally won the competition to boot. I have to say, it’s a great argument for bribing your kids.

I like to think I bring this work ethic to all the things I’m doing now. There are times in our industry that are grueling, heartbreaking, or downright boring, but I just keep going. If you’re lucky, you eventually fall in love with the process, the practice, and everything else- getting the job, the recognition, the money- are icing on the cake.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I would say my main focus is still on acting first and foremost, but I have been exploring other aspects of filmmaking and performing, like creating content on Instagram and YouTube as well as hosting.

I came into acting late in life – I graduated from college with a double degree in Math and Economics. Yes, my name is E-Kan and I actually was an Econ major. It was around that time I realized I was meant to be on a bigger stage. I put up a few shows with friends in school just goofing around and fell in love with writing and performing. By the time we graduated, I had little idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I figured, why not drive cross country with my buddy to Los Angeles, and I never looked back.

At this point, I’ve acted alongside Tom Hanks, Zooey Deschanel, Titus Welliver, worked on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Bosch: Legacy, and New Girl, as well as appeared in many national commercials, with one spot running right now. I taught myself how to edit and have starred in, wrote, and produced my own projects that won several awards, and now more actively creating content for social media.

My videos vary from breaking down complex and interesting things in the Hollywood industry to fun food and travel videos. A new video series I’m launching is “the Ekan-omist”, where I show you the best deals in town. I enjoy the opportunity to show more of my own personality and humor, which has been a natural progression to hosting. Recently I was asked to co-host the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels “Hollywood Under the Stars” fundraiser at Paramount Pictures along with Fox 11’s Susan Hirasuna. It was exhilarating and rewarding hosting for the very first time in front of a large audience and supporting an incredible organization like St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.

As our industry evolves, I want to continue to evolve as well, taking every opportunity to try new things and find more ways to connect to my audience, but mostly, have fun.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I can say with confidence, the three traits that helped my journey as an artist is patience, grit, and humility. And I’ll add a fourth, financial responsibility, because grit and patience can often go hand in hand.

I say patience and grit because as in most endeavors off the beaten path, whether you’re a small business owner or an actor, there is no clear trajectory or timeline, and the game might be simply to survive. And if possible, have a smile on your face while you do it. There are many factors out of our control – like say, AI or a world wide pandemic, but somehow you find a way to keep going. Every business built themselves from scratch, whether it’s Amazon or your neighborhood flower shop. You start with your first follower, your first sale, your first booking, and you keep going. When you’re creating videos on YouTube, you have no idea when a video might get traction or find an audience – it could be the 100th, or the 1000th, and the same might be said of an actor going out on auditions. My acting teacher has a saying, “Don’t quit before the miracle.” In a lot of ways, YouTubers have learned these lessons while many actors have not.

Next, comes humility. My first job out here was working at Urban Outfitters. I did background work for a while. Your first acting gig might not be glamorous, you might have to pick up a second part-time job, and maybe not go out to eat as often as you would like.

All this is easier said than done, in an amazing city like Los Angeles, with so many restaurants and things to do. And social media might even be worse – an endless doom scroll of comparing yourself to your peers and maybe Kim Kardashian. But the real question is how badly do you want this, and what are you willing to sacrifice?

Finally, that brings me to financial responsibility and discipline. I have found that a lot of people in LA, especially actors, would like to feel rich instead of be rich. I get it – they want to experience all life has to offer, but unfortunately they are buried in debt and don’t stay in the game long enough to get that big job. It doesn’t matter how beautiful and talented you are. I learned this the long way, not because I was an Economics major. If I would put it simply- get rid of your debt, have a savings disaster fund, and start a Roth IRA account and invest. You’ll thank me.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

I’ve spoken about my parents a lot already but there’s so much more they have done for me, it’s hard to process it all. I would have to say the most impactful thing they’ve done for me comes down to, quite simply – they loved me. It took me years to fully realize this. First, aside from all the sacrifices they made while raising us, they paid for my college tuition. I know we were fortunate we had the money (it was a lot), but they did it without any hesitation, no questions asked. And even crazier, they let me pursue whatever I wanted to do after college, like say, not to do anything with my double major in math and economics and taking a hard left turn becoming an actor. Don’t get me wrong- this wasn’t exactly a smooth ride the whole way, especially with my father. Let’s just say, back in those days, it was a lot easier being across the country from each other.

But on a deeper level, I think this love was and is unconditional which I find rare these days. When people talk about love, they usually are putting some stipulations on it- they’re nice, pay for my meals, make me happy.
My parents’ sacrifices for me weren’t just because I got good grades and played tennis and piano like they wanted me to. They were willing to do anything and everything. Just because.

Because of that, I have always felt secure, in my life and my career path. Sure I want them to be proud of me and achieve my biggest dreams, but at the end of the day, no matter what happens, my parents love me, and that’s enough. That allows me the freedom to go on my creative journey with confidence wherever it may take me and also mature into who I was meant to be, and that’s all I can really ask for.

If I ever choose to raise a family, it would be daunting to compare to what my parents have done for me but at least I would have a great model for it.

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