Exclusive Interview: Tan Kheng Hua Chats Kung Fu Season 2, Cast Traditions, the Heart of Every Asian Family, and More

Tan Kheng Hua is an award-winning actress and producer who has made a lasting impression on audiences with the dynamic stories that she’s brought to life on the stage and screen. Her past credits include projects like Phua Chu Kang, Marco Polo, and Crazy Rich Asians. Currently, she can be seen in the CW’s Kung Fu.

Adapted from the popular ’70s series, Kung Fu follows a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang), whose quarter-life crisis causes her to drop out of school and make a life-changing journey to a monastery in China. When she makes her return home, she discovers that her town has been overrun with corruption. Nicky must rely on her community as well as her martial arts skills to protect those she cares about the most and seek justice for those who are unable to. Tan Kheng Hua shines as the family’s matriarch Mei-Li.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Tan Kheng Hua about Kung Fu Season 2, cast traditions, the heart of every Asian family, and more.

PC: One of the central themes of Kung Fu is about creating your own path. How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Tan Kheng Hua: In a rather roundabout and complicated way because I actually got a Bachelor’s of Science. I only discovered acting when I was at Indiana University in Bloomington. I spoke about it actually when I was invited to do a speech for the university’s bicentennial celebrations. Basically, I was looking for an elective class to fill up an early morning slot so that I could get some afternoons off. Then I discovered acting. I took Acting 101, and I fell in love with it.

I ended up getting a corporate job. But after work, I would run off to the English-language theater, which was really blossoming at the time in Singapore. One thing led to another. Then when Singapore started casting for its first English-language television series, I was asked to go and audition. I got that, and I started acting for television.

I was balancing a corporate job with running off to the theater and doing some on-camera acting. When I turned 30, I thought to myself, “Okay, I love my job. I could stay at my job for a long time, or I could try out this other life.” I decided I’d try out this other life for two years. But here I am. I’m 59, and I never went back.

PC: You’re one of the stars of Kung Fu. In the very first scene when we’re introduced to your character, she’s very guarded. But over the course of that first season, we see her peel back those layers and shed that armor. As an actress, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into that journey?
Tan Kheng Hua: It begins on the page. It begins with the showrunners and the writers. My showrunners (Christina Kim and Bob Berens) are wonderful. They’re constantly giving my character so much depth and so many fun places to go as an actor. I wait with bated breath for each script. They were so brave in allowing Mei-Li to really move in terms of story and character. Because they were fearless, I was fearless too. Because I felt really supported. She started off like a stereotypical helicopter parent wanting to control everything for her children. By the end of Season 1 that gets broken down, and she discovers so much that she’s missing by trying to control everything. She relinquishes that control.

Once the secret’s out, she discovers this freedom, liberation, and acceptance of her own history and her own self. That actually bridges the distance between her and her children. Once secrets are out, everybody relaxes. That’s where we see Mei-Li in Season 2. She’s so much more relaxed. She’s taking her warrior blood and everything fantastic that warrior blood gives her, and she’s using it in her life and her day-to-day job at Harmony Dumplings. Harmony Dumplings becomes really successful. That’s where we are in Season 2. I’m not going to reveal anything more. But once the writers and showrunners understand in detail where they want a particular character to go, it’s so easy for the actors to connect the dots and bring all the stories, plot points, and characters together into one unified story arc.

PC: Like you were saying, we’ve seen the highs and lows of Mei-Li’s relationships with her family change throughout the seasons, and each is so unique. What has that collaboration been like working with your fellow actors? Is it a different process given how different each relationship is?
Tan Kheng Hua: The funny thing about this Kung Fu cast—and I think anyone who’s been on set will say this—is that we get along like a house on fire. From the first day that we met each other, it’s always been like, “Let’s all hold hands and walk to the edge of the cliff and look at each other and jump off.” That’s how every scene, every season, every episode has been for me. I never worry. I have zero anxiety about entering a scene, whether it’s comedy or it’s very deep with tragedy and a lot of heartbreak or it’s just an everyday scene where I’m just cooking. I never have any anxiety because I know no matter who I’m in the scene with, they’ve got my back. I would like to think that they know that I’ve got their backs as well.

Tzi Ma is the perfect scene partner. Whatever I give, he accepts and responds to. There’s this constant flow of energy. It’s not just with Tzi, it’s with all my fellow Kung Fu actors, including some of the newer actors like JB Tadena whom I share many scenes with. He’s only come in during Season 2. We love acting with him. He has joined the Kung Fu family so well. I’m looking forward to doing more scenes with fellow Kung Fu castmates like Yvonne Chapman and Vanessa Kai whom I’ve grown so close to, but we have very few scenes together in Season 1 and Season 2. I’m really hoping that in Season 3, which has now been confirmed, we have many opportunities to explore those relationships.

PC: Your character has so many standout moments within the series. For you as an actress, what’s more challenging: comedy or drama?
Tan Kheng Hua: I would say the short answer is comedy. At heart, I think I’m a dramatic actor. However, I love to do comedy. I’d like to think that I’m a funny person. The reason why the comedy on Kung Fu sits very easily with me is that it’s not laughing at me, it’s laughing with me. It’s all situational. It’s all based on reality. It’s based on how mothers who know so much about their kids tease their kids all the time. Mothers have all the insider information. Kids can’t run away from their mothers. We’ve seen you in your diapers. We’ve cleaned up your sh*t in more ways than one. A lot of comedy comes from that.

Mothers know how to embarrass their children. Let’s put it that way. [laughs] The comedy between Mei-Li and the Sebastian character comes from the comedy that many people in real life display when they take their work really seriously and when they take themselves very seriously. Everyone has a good laugh. All of the comedy moments are rooted in reality. Ultimately, that’s drama—except it’s a drama that we can all laugh at.

PC: Great answer. One of the reasons why I think this show has resonated with audiences is its ability to tackle timely and relevant topics. There are so many moments that will stay with audiences after the episode has aired. What has been your favorite scene from either Season 1 or Season 2?
Tan Kheng Hua: I would say that a lot of my favorite scenes are with my husband, Tzi Ma. I love exploring heartbreak and themes about parenting. We get a lot of scenes to explore those themes. They’re beautifully written. There’s a scene of me in front of the fridge in Episode 3, Season 1. I love that scene because it shows a husband who loves his wife very much but is gently highlighting a flaw in her character in an intimate way that only a husband can do. I love that scene. In Season 2, no spoilers, but there are some scenes in Episode 10 that I really love.

PC: Something that I love about your character is she says that the heart of every Asian family is in the kitchen. You’ve said in previous interviews that your love language is cooking and feeding people. We’ve spoken to a couple of your cast members who all rave about your get-togethers. What’s been your favorite meal to cook for the cast?
Tan Kheng Hua: It’s funny because my favorite meal that I’ve had with the cast, I didn’t really cook. I introduced this Chinese New Year salad, which we eat here in Singapore and Malaysia for good luck. We all have to toss the salad as high as possible. The higher you tossed the salad, the more good luck you will have! I introduced this salad to the cast, and they were really into it.

In Season 1, we had a hilarious video where we all made such a mess in my home. In Season 2, we revisited the tradition, and everybody knew it and went crazy. By the time we finished tossing and shouting words of good luck, the dining table looked like some babies had sat in the middle of this salad bowl and tossed salad all over the place. We have these amazing videos of this! I intend to keep this salad tradition every Chinese New Year that we’re all together.

PC: You and the cast are in such a unique position where you get to see the fan response in real time through social media. Fans have expressed how much the series has meant to them and made them feel seen. What has that experience been like for you seeing the support from all the fans?
Tan Kheng Hua: My response is one of deep gratitude and joy because Kung Fu airs on the CW. The CW is very well known for good young adult television. When I first began Kung Fu, I thought to myself when I was reading the scripts, “Wow, people are going to love this! The mom character is important, but what people are really going to be compelled towards will be all the stories about the kids and the action.”

While that is absolutely true, it’s been a joy for me that the parents are often talked about on social media and the whole theme about how this family supports each other, how the parents help the kids, how the kids help the parents, and how we are more powerful as a family. When I read that response, it was surprising and something that I feel is very relevant for our world today. It certainly is what I believe in. I believe that we are more powerful when we work together as a family. I would like to see more of that in Kung Fu. I believe there will be more of that.

PC: Kung Fu has already been picked up for a third season. Congratulations, by the way. Where do you want to see Mei-Li’s storyline head in the future? Is there something else that you would love to explore with her?
Tan Kheng Hua: This is an easy answer because I’ve been thinking about this since Season 3 was confirmed. I’ve already mentioned that I would love to work more with cast members like Yvonne Chapman and Vanessa Kai, whom I’ve grown to love deeply as people and whose work I deeply respect but have not had much opportunity to act with in Season 1 and Season 2.

But secondly, I would like to see Mei-Li have a deeper understanding of the warrior blood and find a new and more profound way to not just accept it but to use it in a way that is outside of her own life. Right now, I would say her life is pretty much ensconced in Harmony Dumplings. I would like to see her use her warrior blood in circles outside of that in Season 3.

I would like to see storylines that unify different minority groups in the United States. Right now, we’ve been talking a lot about the Chinese American, which is the Kung Fu family, but I would love to explore more communities like the Filipino community in the United States. How do these different groups relate to each other? How can we work together? How can we help each other? Many different Asian American groups also demonstrate different martial art forms. Do we see a little bit more of that rather than always demonstrating the beautiful Shaolin martial arts? In Singapore, I’m constantly exposed to all sorts of different Asian martial arts. They are all exquisite and beautiful art forms. I’d love to see more of that on Kung Fu.

To keep up with Tan Kheng Hua, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch new episodes of Kung Fu every Wednesday at 9/8c on the CW.

Photo Credit: Noah Asanias