Casting with Heart
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month—a time to honor the history, culture, and voices of AAPI communities. So let’s talk about voices. And hot, sexy, swoony, totally-book-boyfriend-worthy ones at that.
When it came time to cast the audiobook narrator for Holland, My Heart, I knew I needed someone who could capture the quiet strength, easy charisma, and smoldering sensuality of Kai Ipu. Someone who could make you feel every word, every breath, every "Holland, you are all I think about” and "I love you, Holland.”
Enter Brian Rivera—a powerhouse talent and proud Pacific Islander. You might know Brian from his roles in Bitter Melon, Yorktown: A Time to Heal, or DeadHouse. But now, I hope you’ll know him as Kai.
Kai Ipu is more than just a love interest. He’s heart and heritage and heat wrapped into one broad-shouldered, suit-wearing, Holland-worshipping man of mystery.
Kai’s heritage is central to who he is:
“My grandfather was a larger-than-life former NFL wide-receiver-turned-hedge-fund-manager whose daughter married the equally huge Samoan software developer. The two men could not have been more different in temperament. Yet they were best friends. My fondest memories are of the two Brobdingnagian men grilling steaks and shooting the shit on my grandfather’s back porch or my dad’s balcony every Sunday of my early life.”
That mix of legacy and love, strength and tenderness, is what makes Kai so special. And Holland sees it too:
“Kai is observably, undeniably, empirically gorgeous. Probably the largest man I’ve ever met. Six foot—what, five?—and obviously strong and healthy. I can tell in his perfectly tailored suits—does a man that large have to have them custom-made?—that he is not just fit but extremely well-built and Just. All. Muscle.
Lots of tattooed muscle, I am pretty sure, even though I can only ever see a hint of ink where his top two shirt buttons are perpetually open. Tantalizing copper skin and a cleanly shaved head. Salt and pepper beard that belies the fact he is just enough older than I to be incredibly appealing and not taboo. His ridiculously infectious smile crinkles his eyes in the sexiest way.”
I mean… same, Holland. Same.
Brian Rivera brought all of that—and more—to the role. His performance made Kai leap off the page, full of depth, desire, and deep cultural roots. Casting a Pacific Islander to narrate a Pacific Islander character isn’t just about accuracy—it’s about honoring the richness of identity and making space for authentic voices to shine.
So this May, I celebrate Brian. I celebrate Kai. I celebrate the porch-side memories and the Sunday rituals and the intergenerational love that builds us.
