Getting to know Click Play Fest guests Ki Hong Lee and Cimorelli

In part two of our special feature on the upcoming Click Play social media festival, we chat with two other featured personalities: actor Ki Hong Lee and musical group Cimorelli.

Ki Hong Lee is perhaps best known to global audiences for his role on the hit sci-fi film“The Maze Runner,” whose second installment “The Scorch Trials” was released just last September. The actor, however, also has roots on YouTube. He is a recurring actor in short films streamed on the Wong Fu Productions channel like “Take It Slow,” where he played an awkward teenager attending his first prom, “This Is How We Never Met” and “She Has A Boyfriend,” which has had over six million views to date.

Lee has since transitioned to film and TV. Besides “The Maze Runner,” he was part of the ensemble cast of “The Stanford Prison Experiment” alongside Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller and Olivia Thirlby. On TV, he is seen in the comedy show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” which was created and written by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. He has also had roles in ABC Family’s “The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” “Modern Family” and “New Girl.”

GMA News Online: Was there a particular moment in your life when you decided you wanted to be an actor? Who are your acting role models?

Ki Hong Lee: There was never one particular moment – but I always had a love for performing. Whether it was on stage or making funny videos with my friends. I just had the opportunity to pursue it full time and gave it my best shot. There’s so many. But right now I would have to say a Korean actor by the name of Song Kang Ho. He brings such great authenticity to all the roles he portrays.

Did your parents ever give you grief about being an actor, and encouraged you to “get a real job?”

KHL: They never gave me “grief” but they were always wary that it wasn’t a steady occupation. And they never encouraged me to “get a real job.” They understood that acting was indeed a “real job” just like any other profession. But they also knew that it required hard work and patience to obtain acting opportunities. So they enabled and encouraged me to take acting classes in order to pursue my dreams.What’s your dream project? And is it onstage or onscreen?

I would love to bring an Asian American hero to life. Either in a biopic or based on a true story.

Cimorelli meanwhile is composed of siblings Christina, Katherine, Lisa, Amy, Lauren and Dani Cimorelli, ranging in age from 15-24 years old. They started their group in 2007, playing local gigs in Northern California after having spent several years in musical theater. In 2009, a top London music manager discovered their a cappella cover of Miley Cyrus’ song “Party in the USA” on YouTube, which led to a record deal with Universal label Island Records.

The group now has nearly 800 million views and over three million subscribers on YouTube. They have won a Teen Choice Award for Web Star in 2013 and have expanded their content to include fashion, beauty and general life inspiration. Their newest releases, the “Renegade” EP and “Christmas Magic” are now available on iTunes.

GMA News Online: I assume like any regular set of siblings, you have the occasional arguments and bickerings. How do you resolve differences within the group?

Cimorelli: Yes, we definitely do! We try to be as honest as possible and we really encourage each other to speak up and express any problems we might be having. We're all pretty vocal and good about talking things out in a respectful manner. We have a very close bond and we know that maintaining that is important!What do you think would you be doing today if you weren’t doing music? 

We all have very different interests! Christina would love to be a marriage and family therapist. Katherine wants to be an author and write books with her poetry and real-life stories. Lisa has said she likes working in the music industry but more behind the scenes, maybe doing vocal arrangements or producing. Amy is passionate about political science and wants to get her degree and do something in that realm. Lauren has a lot of interests and she's not quite sure. Dani loves fashion and interior design and she wants to move to New York someday!

Ki Hong Lee and Cimorelli, along with Ryan Higa, David Choi and Sam & Colby, will be at the Click Play Social Media Festival happening November 22 at the SMX Convention Center. For more information, visit clickplayfestival.com. — BM, GMA News

Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. He is also co-founder of libreto.org, an online collective of writers and artists. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.