The Skype Sessions: Lee Shorten

Lee Shorten is an actor and a filmmaker who brings a unique perspective to both of those roles. As an actor, Lee digs for nuance and authenticity. We saw it in The Man in the High Castle. We saw it in The Terror: Infamy. And we saw it in It’s Not You. It’s Not Me, a short film about sexuality. As a filmmaker, Lee is sensitive and fearless. He wrote and directed Parabola, a moving short starring Hiro Kanagawa as an aging Yakuza assassin, and Mayumi Yoshida as his emotionally fraught daughter. Before that, he wrote and starred in a short film – The Day We Met – that was funded by Storyhive, co-directed by Mayumi and Nach Dudsdeemaytha, and inspired by his own adoption story. And he co-wrote and co-directed The Chaddening, a comedy short that gleefully mined horror film tropes. And Lee hasn’t slowed down during COVID-19. He’s still creating work – at least three films, at last count. In this thoughtful interview with Sabrina Furminger, Lee Shorten reflects on his films, his popular role on The Man in the High Castle (and lessons he learned from co-star Joel de la Fuente), and how he’s pushing himself to stay creative during “The Quar.” Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA