‘HarryShumJr.US’ is an account focused on keeping fans informed on everything related to the Harry Shum Jr. It is run by Lucy, a 28-year-old fan from Germany!
What is your account’s focus?
My account’s focus is to share news, photos, and videos of Harry Shum Jr. and to spread love for him.
What inspired you to start your account?
I’ve been a fan of Harry since 2011 and I had a Glee fansite until the show ended. Due to it ending, among other reasons, I closed the site. I always wanted to open a fansite about Harry because there were never many around, but for some reason, never did. Then Harry was announced as a part of the Shadowhunters cast. Once again, I thought about starting something, and in March 2016, I finally did it! Since then, I’ve focused on Harry only. I want to expand his fandom and show everyone how talented and awesome he is.
How long have you been involved in fandom, and what brought you into it?
Depends on which fandom you’re talking about. I’ve been a member of the Harry Shum Jr. fandom since 2011 when I saw him for the first time on Glee (Glee premiered in Germany in January 2011). I joined the Shadowhunters fandom when I saw the first episode of the show on Netflix. At that time, I hadn’t read the book nor had I seen the movie, I knew they existed, but that was it. I like the TV show the most, but that might be because of Harry. 😉
What has been your most memorable moment on the job?
I wish I could say my most memorable moment was Harry liking or retweeting a tweet, or maybe following me, but that hasn’t happened yet. I am not bitter about that though because that’s not why I’m running this account. I just want to share my love for Harry. Based on that, I’d say my most memorable moment was this year’s #HarryAppreciationMonth. Every day throughout the month, we fans shared our love for Harry and there were so many tweets. I didn’t think so many people would participate, so I was really happy with the result!
How much time do you commit to your account per week?
Probably too much. Running a fan account and fansite is a full-time job. So whenever I’m not at work, asleep, or at a place with no Wi-Fi, I’m always online and checking the Internet for news and more.
It's April 30 & it's the last day of the #HarryAppreciationMonth. I'd like to thank everyone who posted & was a part of it. I absolutely loved seeing all your tweets. I'll definitely do it again next year!
Find a moment with all moments here https://t.co/iCfZSPw5mz pic.twitter.com/4ImWkZIV3B
— HarryShumJr.us (Fan Account!) / 129 / 409 (@harryshumjr_us) April 30, 2018
How do you stay organized and on top of things (in terms of news, etc.)?
Am I organized? I don’t think so, to be honest. I do plan things a little bit when Harry’s supposed to attend an event that I know about, but since I am running the account and site by myself, sometimes posts are happening slower than I like. Same with things that happen while I’m asleep. I’m doing my best though and I think that’s what counts.
As a fan of Harry’s, do you have any recommended viewing for fans just coming into the fandom?
I’ve always been a huge Glee fan, so I probably should say Glee, but Harry never got the attention he deserved. I love watching Harry dance though, so there’s that. I also really like Single by 30 and the chemistry between Harry and Kina Grannis is awesome. So you definitely should watch that, too. White Frog is heartbreaking for me, but sometimes you just need something like that, and the movie has an important message, so you should at least watch it once.
What is your favorite thing about Shadowhunters?
Even though all the characters are supernatural beings, they’re also portrayed as people with problems like every other person/human. I also love the representation on the show. People of color, Asians, characters with different sexual orientations, equality between men and women, real-life problems like stress with colleagues and/or family, drug addiction, and more… You can find all of that in the show. Pretty sure everyone can find a part of themselves represented on the show. That’s what I love the most.
What’s next for HarryShumJrUS? Do you have anything on the horizon you are looking forward to?
I’m just going with the flow. Nothing extra planned for now, apart from #HarryAppreciationMonth next year. It’s the site’s anniversary in September. I do think about doing something for the anniversary, but I don’t know if some of it is actually possible, so there’s that. For example, I’d love to ask Harry some questions. Since I don’t know what’ll happen in the future, I’ll just concentrate on the present and not worry about the future.
Have you had any interaction with the cast? If ‘yes,’ what has been your favorite?
I met some members of the cast at the Shadowhunters convention in Milan back in July (2018) and it was amazing. All of them were so nice and everything was an experience I’ll love forever. Like, for example, Matt signing autographs during his lunch time. I’ve never met a cast before that did something like this. I really can’t pick just one moment that I loved the most, it’s impossible. If I do have to choose one though, I’d probably say taking a photo with Nicola (Correia-Damude). I’m a really shy person and I always think I’m doing something wrong, but she distracted me by talking to me and made me feel self-confident for a while. On top of that, her whole speech at the end of the convention was really powerful! Also, meeting Matt was insane, he’s so cute and adorable, my inner fangirl was freaking out the whole time. In the end, I loved the whole convention though, and I can’t wait to meet them all again in Brussels next year. In Brussels, Harry will also be there, so one of my biggest dreams is about to come true!
Is Shadowhunters your favourite piece of work by Harry? If not, what is and why?
Yeah, it is. I love all of his work, but Shadowhunters is my favorite. In Glee and Step Up 2, Harry had smaller roles and most of time he was dancing with not a lot of dialogue. In Shadowhunters, he was finally able to show us all how talented he really is. His portrayal of Magnus Bane has been so amazing. With every new scene, I love Magnus a little more, and I know it’s also because of the writing, but Harry is playing him and he just does such a good job. It’s hard to find the right words to properly describe how much I love his portrayal of Magnus Bane.
How is it engaging/meeting other fans with a shared love for Harry? Have you found anything unusual whilst being a part of it?
I love seeing how much love Harry’s fans have for him. I’ve never actually met other Harry fans (apart from those who’ve been my friends for a while), but during this year’s #HarryAppreciationMonth, lots of fans shared their love for him every day and I saw all of the tweets. I hope Harry did, too, because I want Harry to know how loved he is.
Are there aspects/personality traits of his that you admire that you think has influenced or inspired you? His diligence in life, the humanity he brings to each character, or even something from his roles?
I love that he’s such a down-to-earth guy. He’s a kind and caring person and he takes nothing for granted. I love how he always finds time to interact with his fans via Twitter or Instagram. When he talks about things from his childhood and teenage years and how he dealt with them, I feel inspired. Some of those things are similar to things I experienced and he definitely handled them better than I did. He’s such a positive person and that’s really inspiring.
List your social medias and websites so fans can find you.
Site: harryshumjr.us
Twitter: twitter.com/harryshumjr_us
Instagram: instagram.com/harryshumjr_us
Tumblr: harryshumjr-news.tumblr.com
