Brian Tee Talks Prime Video’s ‘Expats’ and the Joy of Returning to ‘Chicago Med’ as Director [Interview]

Brian Tee had to go to some “dark places” when filming his latest series, Expats.

On Expats, Tee plays Clarke, a father whose son goes missing while his family is living in Hong Kong. The limited series also stars Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo.

I recently caught up with Brian Tee during the opening night red carpet at the ATX Television Festival to talk about his role on Expats as well as what it was like for him to return to Chicago Med after his character’s exit in Season 8. (You can watch the full video of our interview below.)

Tee said working on Expats allowed him to demonstrate his abilities as an actor in new way.

“I think it’s a series that really allowed me to show people my capabilities, the depths in which I can take a character,” Tee explained.

“I think in the past, I’ve only been allowed to play certain stereotypes and tropes. And this is the first time that I really was able to fulfill these particular instincts as far as an artist were concerned, and really delve as deep as we could, as far as the circumstances and context, and have a really full, three-dimensional character,” he said. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Delving that deep was also the biggest challenge for Tee, given that his character’s youngest child, Gus, disappeared inexplicably.

“I think that the challenge is really connecting to the character’s circumstances,” Tee said. “To delve that deep into circumstances such as that — you have to get in some really dark places. And you had to go there, and you had to commit, or else you wouldn’t be fulfilling the context of the story and/or the character.”

“So you had to do that. That was probably the scariest thing. But I think what I find about having a little bit of fear, is that you can’t be brave without the fear.”

Watch the full interview with Brian Tee:

If you’ve seen Expats, you know the ending leaves a few things up in the air. I asked Tee what he thinks happens next for his character and his wife Margaret (Nicole Kidman).

“I know that Margaret and Clarke are still together. I know that they still love one another, Tee said. “They might be going through different paths at the same time, but eventually, they’ll find the correct course, whatever that might be. That’s what I know.”

“What I hope is that we find out what happened to Gus,” he continued. “I think that’s what everyone’s hope is. Good or bad, if we find him or not, at least the knowing will give us some kind of connection and closure. And I don’t know in a circumstance like that if you could ever wholly have that sense of closure, but I know it’s an unanswered question that we can then move from.”

“What I love about the show so much is that Lulu [Wang], the writers, all the creatives created a show that lives with you even until the very end. It wasn’t wrapped up in a nice box and put on a bow on it,” Tee added.

“The satisfaction is really living with the story and the journey, and it’s so similar to life. Things don’t just end for us, and aren’t just completely resolved at the end. No, there are certain things in our world in which we exist in that we have to live with and endure in certain circumstances. And if art is the best imitation of life, I feel like our show exemplifies that.”

Tee also had the chance to return to Chicago Med after his exit in Season 8, but not as his character, Ethan Choi. Instead, he’s returned to direct on two occasions — once at the end of Season 8 and again for Chicago Med Season 9 Episode 11. Tee shared a bit about what it was like to return to the series in that capacity.

“It’s been a blast. It’s always fun to go back home again. To see your friends — your family even — and, you know, it’s the best place to be for myself because everyone’s rooting for you. They want you to do a good job, and I want to do a good job, and we’re there to have a good time.”

“But it’s home-court advantage, right? I know where the balls are and what the plays are, and my team members! It’s the closest thing that I feel — I played a lot of sports growing up — that I feel it’s closest to the essence of sports because as a director, you’re like the coach. You game plan, and then you get to set, and Day 1’s like the game.”

Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here. There’s still more to come!

Expats is currently available to stream on Prime Video.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!