Taylor Takahashi's journey to playing "Boogie"

When Taylor Takahashi first read Eddie Huang's script for “Boogie” he knew right there and then: that was him, that was how he grew up. But he never imagined playing the part. After meeting the celeb chef and author in a basketball league, the two bonded over food and conversation. What Taylor didn’t realize back then was that he’d ever see his name next to the credit ‘actor’ and initially refused Eddie’s many offers to take the role. But after empowerment from Eddie, and also working with the late-Bashar “pop smoke” Jackson, he was finally able to tell himself that he could tell this story, authentically. Cover photo is by Lea Winkler for highsnobiety