Honestly, it was just tiring going straight from one show to the other. I filmed 'Iron Fist,' and then I had a two week break, and I went straight into 'The Defenders.'
I'm Asian, and I'm an actress, and I've been doing this since I was a teenager, so if anyone understands the conversation about misrepresentation and underrepresentation, it's me. I live and breathe it; this is my life.
I had been in talks with Marvel prior to 'Iron Fist,' and I had researched all the prominent female roles that I was interested in. Colleen Wing came up really early in the process, and I had a strange feeling.
I think, back in the day, the ultimate trifecta was considered 'Harry Potter,' 'Lord of the Rings,' and maybe 'Star Trek.'
When you use the whip, it makes the loudest crack. It's a very, very difficult weapon to use.
There's nowhere in London where you can use a whip without getting too much attention.
I've been extremely lucky in that I've been able to play roles that are not defined by their ethnicity. But that's not a common thing for people of ethnic minorities.
My agent and I are very clear on what kind of roles I'm interested in, and I don't want to perpetuate any stereotypes.
It's tough, because I come to Singapore, and people say I'm not Singaporean, and I go to England, and people say I'm not English. It's really hard to find your place, not just in the entertainment industry, but in life.
I have a T-shirt that says Game of Stones, which has the Flintstones dressed as 'Game of Thrones' characters on it.
I don't want to perpetuate a stereotype. I don't want to take Asian representation backwards two steps. I don't want to be part of the problem.
One stereotype I get a lot as an Asian actress is that you're playing the model minority - that Asians are the best, that they're perfect and positively moral all the time.
It's very hard as an Asian actress to get seen for anything which isn't specifically Asian in England.
What I'm known for - 'Game of Thrones,' 'Star Wars' - they film in England, but they're American productions. Because American productions are willing to see Asian actors.
I turned down a lot of parts, and I ate a lot of canned tuna for dinner because I was just like, 'No, I don't want to do that; no, that's awful.' But sticking to my guns paid off, and I can look back now and be proud that I refused to take any stereotypical Asian parts.
As soon as you start looking into roles which are specifically Asian, Black, or Latina, you start looking at stereotypes. That's the issue minority actors face - it's not that we don't want to play our ethnicities; it's that, often, the role that's written for our ethnicity is a stereotype.
I turned down a lot of work. I didn't want to ever feel defined by my ethnicity.
For me, I really liked the idea of playing a non-superhero on a superhero show.
As a female actress - I've been doing this since I was a teenager - I often got approached with the ingenue roles: naive and wide-eyed and childlike.
The state of the industry is much like the state of politics. It's too middle-aged, white, and male.
