"The emotional damage guy is Irish??"
Yes! Actor, comedy performer and YouTube sensation Steven He spoke to RTÉ during filming for his new Irish movie, Kung Fu Deadly about his Irish roots, his comedy career and the extraordinary success he has enjoyed on social media in recent years.
"I am the first Chinese Irish actor to have a lead role on a feature film set here in Ireland, so that is so cool for me," He said.
The Youtube star went on to outline his Irish connections, saying: "I came to Limerick when I was 8 years old, with my mom when she was getting married to an Irishman so yes, I grew up in Castletroy, and my family is in Limerick. My name growing up here was Steven O'Brien," he laughs.
The social media star went on to describe how after school, he moved first to London and then the USA trying to find his dream career.
He worked in a variety of jobs before becoming an actor and pursuing his career on stage in theatres for many years.
Then, covid happened and "all of a sudden all the work dried up," he explained.
He continued: "I was sitting at home with nothing to do all day, so I started uploading some funny sketches I was writing and one character in particular, Asian Dad, really took off. I just used the experience and observations I remembered from parents back in China when I was young and something about that Asian dad character struck a chord with people and sketches started getting hits!"
Then one day, he posted a sketch about 'emotional damage' and that phrase really took off for him and gave him a major breakthrough.
He laughs when told that people have known him as the 'emotional damage' guy ever after, and went on to tell RTÉ that five people had shouted it out on the street to him recently.
The sketch which brought him so much attention, led to his career online flourshing and his sketches have now had 3.6 billion views and he has clocked up with 13 million YouTube subscribers.
The actor lives in LA most of the year, which he loved but when the LA wildfires took place back in February, he described his scary experience.
He explained: "We were evacuated which was so hard to believe because it was such an ideal place to live, and then suddenly this happens. On day two of the fires, I stepped out on to my balcony at 8am and it looked so dark, I thought it was night time and then I realised that the sky was full of smoke. We had to leave, it was apocalyptic there, so we were lucky, we could get to family in Florida."
He added that it was "terrible for so many people in LA who lost their houses...shocking ..it's very traumatic for people there as well."
Back at home here in Ireland, he is clearly delighted when told that people are surprised and impressed when they hear that 'the emotional damage guy' is Irish and he is enjoying every minute of the experience of working on an Irish movie.
"I'm so lucky that I get to come home to work on a movie like this and it is just unbelievable", he added.
Steven He went on to describe how he really appreciates being in Ireland at the moment, explaining that "it's great now I am filming here and I'm back home so my mom and dad can come to visit me every weekend and we are hanging out a lot which is absolutely fantastic."
He is also really enjoying his experience on the set of Kung Fu Deadly written and produced by Paddy McDonald from Spellmaker productions. Billed as a supernatural action comedy, Steven is really looking to the release of the summer next year but until then, he will carry on creating and entertaining his many millions of followers.
"Thanks for the support guys," he said as a message to his Irish fans, "it means a lot!"
