\n<\/p>\n
When Randall Park was first approached about playing an F.B.I. agent in Netflix\u2019s new murder mystery series, \u201cThe Residence<\/a>,\u201d his first thought was: Another one?<\/p>\n \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to do the same thing,\u201d said Park, 50, who has a recurring role as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in \u201cWandaVision,\u201d \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d and its sequel, \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.\u201d<\/p>\n After he read the script for \u201cThe Residence,\u201d which begins streaming on March 20, he reconsidered. \u201cI couldn\u2019t stop thinking about it,\u201d he said. And when he found out that Uzo Aduba would be starring in it, \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh gosh, yes, I know I want to do this for sure.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s not sure he\u2019d be a good secret agent in real life, though.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, maybe, because I am pretty calm under pressure,\u201d he said. \u201cBut then again,\u201d he added, \u201cI\u2019ve never held a real gun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a phone conversation from his home in Los Angeles\u2019s Studio City neighborhood, where he lives with his wife, the actress Jae Suh Park, and their 12-year-old daughter, Ruby, Park shared a list of favorites inspired by his native Los Angeles. It includes his go-to Korean place, his favorite running routes and the locally made condiment he puts on absolutely everything. These are edited excerpts.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been on my mind a lot because of the recent fires, and also because I\u2019ve just been traveling a lot and missing home. L.A. gets a bad rap in a lot of ways. People label it as superficial, or too Hollywood, but L.A. is so much more than Hollywood. It\u2019s a big city with different enclaves and different experiences.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been going to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Koreatown<\/a> since I was in college. They specialize in a dish called bossam, which is a pork dish with a bunch of accouterments: cabbage, radish, fermented shrimp and garlic. It\u2019s one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a big fan of hip-hop in general, but for the past decade it\u2019s been hard to find something that really resonates and reminds me of the era I came up in. Kendrick really has something to say, and I admire him so much as a storyteller. \u201cDodger Blue<\/a>\u201d puts me in an L.A. state of mind, and I love driving up and down the streets while listening to it.<\/p>\n I\u2019m reading it right now. I can\u2019t stop thinking about it. As someone who\u2019s not on social media \u2014 who actively tries to stay away from the internet \u2014 it\u2019s a glimpse into these dark areas of the internet<\/a> that are very scary but also really funny and strange and kind of sad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I graduated in 1992, and it was formative for the person I\u2019d become. At a time when the L.A. riots were happening, I had a very diverse circle of friends of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds. That\u2019s my comfort zone to this day.<\/p>\n This seafood restaurant off the Pacific Coast Highway<\/a> in Malibu was destroyed in the Palisades fire. It became one of my family\u2019s favorites during the pandemic. We\u2019d eat in the car together while watching something on one of our phones. It became a tradition for us, and we kept going even after Covid. We\u2019d gotten to know the staff there, so when the fires happened, it was tough to think of all those nice people being out of a job. I hear they\u2019re planning to rebuild; I hope so.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the quintessential rom-com, and it was a big inspiration for \u201cAlways Be My Maybe<\/a>,\u201d the film from 2019 that I did with Ali Wong. There are such great lines \u2014 \u201cI\u2019ll have what she\u2019s having!\u201d<\/p>\n It was created in L.A.<\/a> by a private Thai chef and is only made in small batches. It\u2019s really flavorful and smoky and garlicky, a little fishy in the way that Asian people love. I put it on everything \u2014 eggs, burritos, noodle soup, pizza.<\/p>\nLos Angeles<\/span><\/h3>\n
Kobawoo<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Dodger Blue\u2019 by Kendrick Lamar<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Rejection\u2019 by Tony Tulathimutte<\/span><\/h3>\n
Hamilton High School<\/span><\/h3>\n
Reel Inn<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018When Harry Met Sally\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n
Boon Chili Oil<\/span><\/h3>\n
Kulture City<\/span><\/h3>\n