Talk This Sui: Viral Video Star Mike Sui Speaks

Earlier this year, there were a couple of accent videos that went viral over the Chinese interwebs. Mike Sui is the guy who did the one with all of the Chinese accents. Wondering if we could expect more in the future, we tracked down Sui to ask him what he's been up to. But before that, here's his video hit once again.

Is there any accent you can't or won't do? There are no accents I won't do. However, I need time to pick up new accents. There are plenty that I'm unfamiliar with and not good at.

Has anyone been offended by your video? I'm sure my video offended some Taiwanese people with the New Yorker's line: "Ain't Taiwan a part of China?" I've also seen lots of criticism on a site called Chinasmack.com; people seemed surprised that acting as "bad" as mine could go viral. Other than that, most people have enjoyed the video.

How did this video come about?
I got the idea from brainstorming with a friend. I also got fired up seeing a Chinese Dongbei kid [Zhang Xu] do a not-so-accurate English-accents video that got many hits. I thought I'd show Chinese viewers something they could really relate to.

How much time did you spend practicing for that video?
it took me two days to come up with a rough draft, tuning bits and pieces over ten days. Not much practice, though.

Which of the accents in that video were you most pleased with? And why?
I like the Japanese accent the most, it's just hilarious to me. However, the Lilei and Taiwan guy were fun to do as well and really popular.

And which did you feel was the weakest? My weakest was the New York accent by far, cuz I haven't been there and my sister who lives there was my only reference.

Have you ever had to disguise your own accent?
I tone down my normally heavy Beijing accent when I leave Beijing and go elsewhere in China, to make others more comfortable, cuz Beijing Chinese comes off as pretty aggressive to other regions.

Which famous person's accent would you most like to have?
I don't picture myself with someone else's accent, though I enjoy doing a Sean Connery here and there.

Which country or region has the:

• coolest accent
  Spain's Spanish accent is really cool cuz it's spoken so quickly.
• most threatening accent
  I've never found an accent threatening.
• sexiest accent
  Portuguese sounds sexy. Also, Brazilians are hot.
• accent most likely to put you to sleep
  Singaporean Chinese or English will both put me to sleep ... after I laugh to death.

What do you do for a living?
I've been doing TV/entertainment-related work for three years. This video has brought me tons of work opportunities. I'm doing everything I used to do, acting, TV hosting, live event hosting and music.

Are you in danger of being typecast as "the guy who does the accents"?
Nah, I doubt I'm gonna be labeled that. Cuz I make sure I come off more multidimensional that that. My next step is to come out with some music along with another "accents" video, so people won't think of me as a one-trick pony.

How do you follow up a viral video hit?
Do a better one. I'm confident from a story standpoint I can do better, but the jokes were admittedly pretty good in the first one, so I have to match them pound for pound. But I think the first one only took 60% of my capacity, so I should have room for improvement.

In the pantheon of Internet celebrities in China, where would you place yourself? I don't see myself as an Internet celebrity. I had one hit, lots of exposure, a few months of fame, lots of fun. It's time to move on and do bigger and better things.

What next?
I'll shoot to be more successful in the industry, but most importantly, I'll have my work do the talking.

You can follow Mike Sui on Weibo.

Photo: Woordup.com