Comedian and actor Andrew Phung has hit stardom after starring in huge Canadian TV shows like Kim's Convenience but despite being a big-time celebrity, he doesn't shy away from sharing his love for his hometown of Calgary.
Speaking at the Calgary Expo, Phung opened up about his latest series, Run The Burbs, calling it a "love letter to Calgary."
Phung, who grew up in Calgary's northeast said he originally planned to shoot Run The Burbs in his hometown, however, when it came to filming, there was a major snag.
"What show took up all the crew?," he asked, and the audience immediately laughed, knowing exactly which show it was. "The Last Of Us had just rolled in," he added.
"They took every single crew member. They took every single piece of studio space. We couldn't get it," he explained.
"When they [CBC] ordered the show, that month I came to Calgary. I met with some of the people in Calgary... We couldn't get enough crew. We needed a decent-sized studio. I already in my head imagined that we were going to try to find a house in the Northeast," he added.
@narcitycalgary During his panel at Calgary Expo, Andrew Phung talked about how he couldn’t film in Calgary while “The Last Of Us” was filming at the same time in the city. #andrewphung #calgary #calgary_yyc #calgaryexpo #thelastofus #runtheburbs #tlou #thelastofuscalgary #calgaryexpo2023 #yyc #fyp
"We needed to start shooting in July. We couldn't even get studio space and a crew until November or December and the show aired in January."
While the fictional city in Run The Burbs – Rockridge – ended up being filmed in Ontario, Phung said the entire series is a "love letter to the people and families that make the suburbs great."
"Sometimes Calgary has a reputation as being very white. But growing up in the Northeast, I didn't feel that because you're in the Northeast. There is a mix of cultures so I really wanted to make a show that was reflective of the suburbs I grew up in," he said.
Phung added that while he is "so happy" The Last Of Us came to shoot the hit HBO series in Alberta, he hopes to see more Albertan stories on screen.
"For me the evolution of Alberta film... It's got to be our stories," he added.
Simu Liu and Andrew Phung went to Fu's Repair shop after the JUNO Awards.Courtesy of Fu's Repair Shop.