12-year-old Brooklyn native publishes book to help kids learn Mandarin Chinese

Phillips has been seen in popular TV shows and has traveled the world, acting in Broadway productions.

News 12 Staff

Nov 20, 2021, 1:08 AM

Updated 1,120 days ago

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A Brooklyn boy is making a name for himself as an actor seen on Broadway and even your favorite TV shows. 
Richard Phillips, 12, has now published his own book to teach kids to learn Mandarin Chinese--a language he learned to speak at the young age of 3. 
Phillips has been seen in popular TV shows and has traveled the world, acting in Broadway productions. 
"When I was little, I was watching this movie and I was so amazed by how the effects were because it was a movie that involved magic, and I thought that it'd be so cool to be in one of those. Remember thinking that oh I want to be that someday,” said Phillips. 
The Brooklyn native has played young Simba in the Lion King Broadway Tour and right now he’s playing a double role in the Broadway musical “Caroline or Change.” 
It is a story of a Black woman working as a maid for a Jewish family in 1963 Louisiana. 
"My favorite part about being in this production is like being able to learn about what it was like back then, because I think why the show is so relatable is because the relevance it had not only back then but the relevance it has now,” said Phillips. 
Philips is bilingual and when he’s not acting, he’s working on books like this where he teaches other kids to learn Mandarin Chinese.
He now wants to help people of all ages learn the basics of the language. 
"I think that helping other people achieve their goals, learning another language, having that education can be really empowering and I'm glad that I was able to accomplish that at such a young age,” said Phillips. 
As he continues to work to publish a second and third edition of his book “Learning with Razp,” Phillips says he’s hoping to show other kids that the sky's the limit on what they can achieve.