When Reyn Doi opened the trailer for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on his bike, tossing newspapers and singing along to Barbra Streisandâs âGuiltyâ in his headphones, it was clear to the world that he would be a breakout star. The new film, co-written by and co-starring Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo as the titular best friends, tells the story of middle-aged Midwesterners who leave their small town for the bright lights of Florida. Barb and Star, which has arrived mid-pandemic, is bringing joy, flower leis, and a shirtless Jamie Dornan to cold living rooms around the country. But the filmâs true ray of sunshine is the twelve-year-old Doi, who plays Yoyo, the sidekick to the evil Sharon Gordon Fisherman (also played by Wiig) who disguises himself as a paper boy. Doi, who was raised in Honolulu and now lives in Los Angeles, has also been seen in Showtimeâs Kidding, belting âAll of Meâ by John Legend. After Barb and Star, he will appear in two Nickelodeon shows, an ABC series, and as a voice actor in the sequel to the 2017 childrenâs hit Boss Baby, The Boss Baby: Family Business, out in September. Below, Wiig called up Doi to discuss making their new movie, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and keeping a positive attitude.
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KRISTEN WIIG: Reyn!
REYN DOI: Hi, Kristen!
WIIG: Oh my god, Iâm so happy to talk to you.
DOI: I miss you so much! Thank you so much for talking and doing this with me!
WIIG: Anything for you, Reyn. Weâve been looking at all this footage and we just watched the movie againâI know we told you this, but you just brought such a light and fun energy and joy to this movie. Weâre so happy that you did this part.
DOI: Iâm glad that you picked me as Yoyo.
WIIG: Iâm going to go back a little bit. So we know that you were living in Hawaii, but your family is from Japan, right?
DOI: My mom is from Japan, but we moved to Los Angeles together and now weâre here permanently.Â
WIIG: Youâve been very busy since we stopped filming, right?Â
DOI: Yes. Right now I am filming two Nickelodeon shows, and I already recorded for Boss Baby 2 in 2020, but it is coming out this year.
WIIG: Thatâs so exciting! Did you go and do a voice audition for it? How did that come about?
DOI: Well, when I did that audition, it was obviously before the pandemic. Then they called me in to do something in the booth for my lines. I booked the role while I was in Hawaii.
WIIG: Thatâs so great. Congratulations.
DOI: Thank you. I also have an ABC project, but I canât really talk about that because I havenât filmed it yet.
WIIG: Well, all of this is well-deserved because you are an extremely talented person. So I want to ask you about your audition process. When you get the script to audition, does your mom read the lines with you? Do you guys work together?Â
DOI: Well, for Barb and Star, I auditioned in Hawaii. It was a regular audition. But actually, at first, I didnât know it was such a big film. And then when I booked it, I was like, âOh my goodness! You are in the movie!â I was so happy, I actually think I mightâve cried. I did watch Bridesmaids.
WIIG: I hope you did it when you were older.Â
DOI: My mom covered my eyes for the inappropriate parts. I laughed so hard.
WIIG: Oh, good. When you get a script, do you kind of read it over to yourself? Do you go over it with your mom? How do you approach your auditions?
DOI: First I read it over, and then my acting coach helps me prepare for the audition, whether itâs on a self-tape or if Iâm going in. My coach helps me a lot.
WIIG: I have to ask about your dance experience because you are such an incredible dancer and it brings me so much joy. You just have so much fun when you do it and youâre so free. Have you been dancing for a long time? Did you take dance classes or anything before acting?
DOI: I started dancing when I was four. I think thatâs why I love dancing, especially with you. I love to get all my moves out with you, Kristen.
WIIG: My favorite thing! Oh, thatâs so good. What would be a role that you would really want to play? Whether itâs a movie or a TV show.
DOI: As you know, I really enjoyed playing the role of Yoyo, but if I would have to choose a different role it would definitely have to be a dramatic role.
WIIG: You want to do something dramatic. Thatâs exciting!
DOI: Or comedy. But I like to mix it up a little bit.
WIIG: Thatâs very smart. Are you watching any TV right now? What movies have you watched recently?
DOI: Yes, I like Keeping Up with the Kardashians or The Real Housewives.
WIIG: I knew we were similar.
DOI: For movies, I watched this movie called Hachi. Itâs an American movie, but itâs based on a Japanese true story. Thereâs a lost dog on Tokyoâs busiest crosswalk. The story of the movie is about how the dog, Hachi, continues to wait for his owner to come back. The owner is played by Richard Gere and itâs a very emotional story. Back to your [previous] question, thatâs the kind of role I would like to play. A very emotional kind of role. A very deep but sentimental kind of role. And also, a little bit of funny mixed in it.
WIIG: You could definitely do that. I feel like when you came in to play this role of Yoyo in our movie Barb and Star, you just brought so much more than we could ever imagine. You did play kind of a dual role, where youâre a villain, but youâre also really funny. I was wondering if you had a favorite scene that you shot in the movie, or any special memory from filming?
DOI: It would definitely be a scene that I watched when you were doing a long monologue. I watched you and you were very focused in the scene. I was watching in awe and I was just so amazedâyouâre so focused. I think that you really guided me through filming. So thank you very much.
WIIG: Youâre sweet. Thatâs very nice. Well, I definitely had fun dancing with you when we had those moments that we could dance together. A lot of people really love the clip theyâre seeing of you riding the bike in the beginning.
DOI: When I practiced the bike scene, throwing newspapers and singing âGuilty,â I was actually practicing on a small bike because that was a bike that I bought when I was maybe six. So I was using a bike that was maybe half my size. I was worried it was going to break, but luckily it didnât.
WIIG: Did you learn that song pretty quickly? I feel like you have a really good memory. You can memorize stuff really well.
DOI: Actually, my dad listens to that song in his car in Hawaii very often, so I sort of knew the song before. Itâs such a great song. [Singing] âAnd we got nothing to be guilty of. Our loveâŠâ
WIIG: Iâm sure Barbra Streisand will be very happy to hear that. You always came to set with such positive, open energy. I was just wondering, in your life, how do you keep such a positive attitude? Because you just seem like youâre such a happy person and itâs really infectious.Â
DOI: Because I love you, Kristen! My mom got sick [with a kidney stone] on setâdo you remember that?
WIIG: Yes, I do.
DOI: And you were rubbing her back when she was in the trailer with pain. I know my mom and I really both appreciate your care for us. We appreciate that so much. When we started filming, you motivated me and encouraged me and lifted my spirits up. All those things gave me positive energy. From the start, I had positive energy because I was so excited. But after, seeing how far we came on our journey, it gave me more excitement and energy.
WIIG: Aww. Do you remember the first thing you shot? Was it dancing on the beach at night?
DOI: Yes! That was the first thing I shot.
WIIG: We really threw you in, didnât we?
DOI: And then the first time I met you, it was in the hair and makeup room. I was like, âOh my god, wait. Is that Kristen?â And my mom said, âThatâs Kristen.â Then you hugged me and you had mosquito bites all over you. You were sandy and a little wet when I hugged you. I actually thought, âOh, she smells like the ocean!â
WIIG: Because I probably was just in the ocean. [Laughs] Reyn, I want to talk about how nice you are. Youâre so sweet. I want to let you know how much positivity and how infectious your happiness is, really. Everyone still talks about it. Maybe you were just born that way and youâre just a happy little angel.
DOI: I do have one question for you, Kristen. What was your first impression of me?
WIIG: Oh! Thatâs a good question. Well, I feel like I got to know you a little bit in your audition tape. We were instantly like, âOh my gosh. This person is amazing.â And it wasnât just the way you read your lines. It was also when you introduced yourself in the beginning of the video. When we met you, you filled us with joy and happiness and just reminded us to look at the bright side of things, because you always stepped on set wanting to be there. Also, you were very professional and funny. When I first met you, I thought, âOh my gosh, I wish he was in everything.â Do you have any advice for any other actors, or aspiring actors?
DOI: I actually do. I have a little bit of advice for you and Annie [Mumolo]: for you to keep on being a duo because you are such a great duo. Maybe I can be the third person and maybe your duo can become a trio and we can go on different adventures together. So it can be the Reyn, Annie, and Kristen trio one day.
WIIG: I love this idea. Weâre very grateful for you and that we all stayed friends.
DOI: Iâm glad that I was able to be friends with you, Kristen.
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Grooming: Kimberly Bragalone for Exclusive Artists using Dr. Jart+ and Kevin Murphy.
Styling: Meaghan OâConnor and Charlotte Harris.