Tamlyn Tomita

Tamlyn: I look at a person, ok this one probably in his 40s I'll refer to Karate Kid, if it's a woman 25-40 I'll say Joy Luck Club. If it's a young teenager, it's Glee.

Tamlyn: 25 years ago I was known as the Karate Kid Girl, and now I'm known as the Glee mom. If you want any more evidence that 25 years have passed, there you go.

Tamlyn: Being the eldest of my family, you encounter that paragraph in the history books: 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned during World War II. I said, 'What? Dad, did this happen to you?'

Tamlyn: I only think of love and I did not find my charming prince yet.

(about her character on The Burning Zone)
Tamlyn: I am Kimberly Shiroma, a medical legist. I enormously like this kind of strong woman. I am attached to this character as never yet with my other roles.

(about wanting to be a journalist)
Tamlyn: My objective was to change, by my articles, the opinion of people about Asian women.

Tamlyn: I think with actors unless we're super successful - like a Tom Hanks or a Julia Roberts - we're always itinerant workers. It's from job to job.

Tamlyn: I still get that, "Oh, are you that girl from 'Karate Kid'"?

Tamlyn: I'm always thinking about sex. I love sex.

Tamlyn: I don't know where the glamorous image comes from. People have also told me that they thought I was aloof at first. I admit that I can be those things, but maybe it comes from the fact that I'm probably more of a private person than I think I am. But I'm a lot more things than the roles I've played.

Tamlyn: The main thing I look for in choosing a project is just a good story.

Tamlyn: But yea, in my career, I've done great projects, I've done sucky projects, but each one I've done for a reason, even for the lowest kind of common denominator to pay the rent or pay my bills. But there are those wonderful jewels.

(about the roles she's played)
Tamlyn: Well, the first one's always going to be the most special one. Karate Kid 2, which I did before I even knew I was going to be an actor, and I just did it on a fluke. Because I majored in history, I wanted to become a teacher. And what I found out in the process of creating a character, learning the story, figuring out what are you trying to say, what is the message that's underlying, what is your agenda. I mean, you're trying to fulfill something, you're trying to give, you're trying to teach, you're trying to educate people that there are stories out there that can't be overlooked.

Tamlyn: Let's just make up the whole interview, I mean, a thousand words on me? What can you possibly write about?