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  • -You know my first guest from her work

  • in "Crazy Rich Asians" and "The Farewell."

  • Now, she's voicing a character in the new Disney movie,

  • "Raya and the Last Dragon,"

  • which is in theaters and available with Premier Access

  • on Disney+ starting March 5th.

  • Here is Awkwafina!

  • Ah! -Hey, hey!

  • -It's so great to see you.

  • Thank you so much for doing this.

  • You have a lot going on that I want to talk about.

  • First off, you were born and raised in Queens,

  • but you spent most of the past year on the other side

  • of the world in Australia. -Yes.

  • -You were out there working on a new Marvel movie.

  • -Yes. -Now what was it like,

  • first of all, being in a foreign country

  • in the middle of a global pandemic?

  • -A little discombobulating, I think.

  • You know, the way that they did quarantine there is, like,

  • you know, they bring you meals and stuff,

  • and there would be a nurse that would call and, you know,

  • for, like, I guess mental-health checkups and she would call

  • and be like, "How's your day going,"

  • and in the beginning I was like,

  • "You know, it's fine. I got to go.

  • But then, like, a couple days go by and I'm just like,

  • "You know what? It's not too good."

  • -"Do you have a couple minutes here?

  • Now that I have you. Anyway, have you --"

  • -Let's take advantage of this service, yeah.

  • -"Are you watching any of the reality shows on Bravo?"

  • Just start talking to her.

  • Why not? -Yeah, it's like "90 Day," man.

  • -"I need company, I need people,

  • I need friends, I need something."

  • You're finally back home to New York City

  • for the first time. -Yes.

  • -Is that the longest you've ever been away from New York?

  • -This is the longest I've ever been away, yeah, for sure.

  • -I know you also missed your grandmother.

  • She still lives in New York, and you called her your best friend.

  • I was just curious.

  • Does she also consider you to be her best friend?

  • -I think she considers a lot of people to be her best friend.

  • I think she's definitely told the delivery guy, you know,

  • "You're my best friend." -No.

  • -Yeah, she's loose with it. She's loose with it.

  • She's one of those people that she'll just call any friend --

  • -She just throws it out there?

  • -Yeah, I don't know if that's like a best friend.

  • I feel like more time, and, you know,

  • maybe, like, you know, maybe, like, your granddaughter.

  • Maybe that could be like a best friendship.

  • -I want to be her best friend.

  • -You could definitely be her best friend.

  • I don't think she would at all have any reservations,

  • you especially. -Hi, Grandma.

  • Call me. I'm down to be besties.

  • You got to do something very cool recently,

  • an honor for any New Yorker.

  • You became the official voice of

  • the 7 train here in New York City for a while.

  • That had to be exciting.

  • You also put your own spin on the subway announcements.

  • -Oh. Yes. -I'll show you what I mean.

  • Here's one of them.

  • -This is Vernon Boulevard, Jackson Avenue.

  • Hey, fellas, stop manspreading.

  • Thanks and have a great day.

  • -Come on.

  • We have one more. Here's another one.

  • -This is 82nd Street, Jackson Heights, and please remember,

  • a train car is the worst place to clip your toenails.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • -Wait. First of all, how -- how exci-- This is a major deal.

  • -Yeah, yeah. I mean, that was awesome.

  • I think it was the first time

  • the MTA had someone, like, voice the announcements

  • in all MTA history, I think.

  • -What kind of reaction did you get from people?

  • -Well, I think, the first couple weeks it was, like,

  • a lot of excitement, especially for people

  • who actually knew who I was.

  • You'd be like, "Oh, my God! Awkwafina's on the train."

  • And then I think it devolved over a couple weeks,

  • especially during, like, peak rush hour in the morning

  • and the night -- I mean, you know, the evening.

  • I'd get a lot of like, you know, "No one asked for this."

  • And it's like, "This is the last thing I want to hear

  • on, like, a horrible commute home."

  • So eventually, I was just like,

  • "You know, I'm sorry." You know, I felt bad.

  • -No way! People loved it. It's funny. It's so cool.

  • -Good, good.

  • -I want to talk about your new Disney movie,

  • another Disney movie.

  • This one's called "Raya and the Last Dragon."

  • Can you set up the movie and tell us about the character?

  • -Yeah, so the movie is a very special movie

  • that I haven't really seen anything like it.

  • It's an adventure throughout the movie,

  • throughout this kind of broken land called Kumandra,

  • and there are these universal truths kind of like

  • of trust and unity and divisiveness that,

  • since the very beginning, since I was involved,

  • always seemed to kind of ring true, and obviously, Raya,

  • our first Southeast Asian Disney Princess,

  • voiced by Kelly Marie Tran,

  • and I play the last dragon, Sisu.

  • And we kind of team up to go on this journey

  • throughout Kumandra to try and fix it.

  • -You're also starring in another Disney movie very soon --

  • I am so excited about this --

  • the remake of "The Little Mermaid."

  • -Yeah.

  • -You're the voice of Scuttle.

  • -Yes. Yes.

  • -This is bizarre.

  • We have a picture of you as a little kid.

  • Look at this.

  • -Oh, man.

  • -First of all, the cutest thing ever.

  • Second of all, you're wearing a "Little Mermaid" shirt.

  • -Yep.

  • -What would you have said if someone told that kid,

  • "Hey, one day you're gonna actually be

  • in 'The Little Mermaid'"?

  • -I mean, I think if you went up to that kid and you were like,

  • "Kid, you're gonna be in 'The Little Mermaid,'

  • I think I would have called the cops, to be honest.

  • [ Laughter ] Like, who does that, you know?

  • -Yeah, I guess, yeah. That's true. That's true.

  • -Keep it in for a little while longer.

  • -"I'm from the future and you're gonna be in the movie."

  • -"Hey, kid, come here. Come into this bush."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • -Oh, my God. Bush, oh, my gosh.

  • -I think that kid really would not have believed it.

  • -That's so cool.

  • -Yeah, it was such an iconic movie growing up for me.

  • You know, all the Disney movies were.

  • So, you know, to know that I can be in especially a reprisal

  • of my favorite one, yeah, crazy.

  • -We can't wait for that,

  • and congrats on "Raya and the Last Dragon."

  • -Thank you. Thanks. -Sisu, I love it.

  • I want to show everyone a clip.

  • Here is Awkwafina as Sisu in "Raya and the Last Dragon."

  • Take a look.

  • -Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I-I didn't see ya there.

  • [ Laughs ] Not too bad. Just a little dusty.

  • Let me get that for ya. [ Laughs ]

  • -Sisu? Y-You are Sisu?

  • -And you're people.

  • What's your name?

  • -Raya. I-I'm Raya.

  • -And you're not made of stone, which means --

  • -It worked! -We did it!

  • Do you hear that, Peku? It worked!

  • I didn't mess it up!

  • Is that food? -[ Grunts ]

  • -I was so focused on saving the world,

  • I forgot to have breakfast today.

  • -Awkwafina, everybody.

  • "Raya and the Last Dragon" is in theaters and available

  • on Disney+ with Premier Access starting March 5th.

-You know my first guest from her work

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