Exclusive Interview: Jon Prasida Chats Kung Fu Season 2, Representation on Screen, and Ryan and Sebastian’s Growing Relationship

Jon Prasida is an up-and-coming talent who’s making his presence known on a global scale. His past credits include Hiding, Tomorrow, When the War Began, and Reckoning. But he’s best known for his breakout role 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. Jon is a standout as Nicky’s brother Ryan who will do anything to protect the ones he loves.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Jon about Kung Fu Season 2, how he got his start in the industry, 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?
Jon: It was through not knowing what I wanted to do after school. My parents put a lot of time and money into making me go to a private school back in Australia. I just knew I didn’t want to do anything academic. The school that I was at had a lot of different extracurricular activities and facilities. I was like, “I’m going to take advantage of all of that.” So I did all sorts of sports, debate (not that I was any good at that), and chess (which I was okay at). Then there was a thing on the bulletin board that said, “Do you want to be in a play?” I didn’t know what that involved or what that looked like, but I decided to give it a go. I got the lead in that play.

I was really excited, and I did it. It was a lot of fun. I was like, “I could do this some more.” Then I realized that acting jobs were far and few between, so that was a bit of a wake-up call, but I also didn’t really mind. I was like, “I’m happy to take this path.” It was a bit of a journey getting there.

Once I got my agent, he was like, “We’re going to put you up for lead roles.” I was like, “Oh, no.” Being Asian Australian, I knew there weren’t very many roles for me. With my self-value, I was happy to be featured in side roles. My agent Clinton was like, “Nah, you’re suited for leading man stuff. You should go out for that. I see what you mean, but you need to give more value to yourself.” From that point onwards, I was like, “All right, cool.” That’s when we started going for meatier roles.

PC: You’re one of the leads of Kung Fu and the showrunners and writers have created this really collaborative environment where all of the actors get to bring a little bit of themselves to the character. We know Ryan has an affinity for sneakers, as you do. What was something else that you brought to him that wasn’t originally on the page that made him feel more authentic to you?
Jon: I remember doing the audition, and the audition sides that I read were very much in my own voice. I was like, “Oh, I would say these things.” So I did the audition knowing that I was going to do it like myself and see what would happen. Before you knew it, I was being flown to LA to do some more auditions. Then I got the role—which I’m super grateful for. That was really cool. When we were about to film the pilot, we had dinner with the showrunners. Christina Kim was like, “I just want to let you know that we saw a lot of audition tapes, and as soon as we saw yours from Australia, I knew you were Ryan.”

That was really touching for me to hear. I was like, “Oh my goodness. That’s amazing.” But what it communicated was that whatever I had done, I was going to keep doing. I brought a lot of my own personality to Ryan.

PC: Great answer. Something that this show doesn’t get enough credit for is how it incorporates levity and humor into the mix of this high-stakes world. Has comedy always come easy for you? What was more challenging for you: comedy or mastering the American accent?
Jon: That’s a tricky question because if I answer, “Comedy comes really easy for me…” [laughs] I grew up watching American TV, so I had that in my ear at all times. I wouldn’t say it was easy to pick up, but there were a lot of nuances that came naturally. Then with a bit of tweaking and training, it was like, “Oh, cool. We can play around with that, and hopefully, it fools some people.” But comedy is really hard to do. Even though there are comedic moments that you see in the show, there are a lot of things that didn’t make the cut because we were like, “Oh, that wasn’t very funny.” There are a lot more of those than what made it into the show. If we were to compare which is easier, I would say doing an American accent is easier than doing comedy.

PC: On the flip side, there are these really emotional moments as well. There’s a particular scene in Episode 108 where Ryan and his father are having this heart-to-heart. Ryan is explaining how he found comfort and safety in keeping a piece of himself a secret. You handle that with so much nuance. As an actor, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into that scene in particular?
Jon: That’s a really good question. Bradley Gibson, who plays Joe in Season 1, once told me, “We’re here to fulfill a fantasy.” I really like the way that he phrased that. We’re here to make fantasies come true in a sense, and we’re here to live that fantasy. When it comes to any scene, I’m like, “How do I extract the truth from this? Even though I might not have experienced it, how do I extract the truth?” A lot of it is listening, reacting, and suspending your disbelief—how much disbelief you can suspend when all these cameras are pointing at you and you have so many people in the room, touching your face and all sorts of things. At that moment when we’re shooting, I have to put all that away. We’re here now with Ryan and his dad. Ryan’s going to receive this information from his dad. He’s going to react. Having such a great scene partner like Tzi Ma and having him portray a father figure saying that he loves me as a man, that’s enough material to get to where I need to be.

You mentioned nuance. It’s not something that I premeditate like, “Make sure that I hit these beats” or whatever else. That’s not how I operate. Whatever truth is in the moment at the time is what you’re going to get, and so that’s how that plays out.

PC: This show has meant such a great deal to various communities that want to see their stories told authentically. What has it meant for you to be a part of a project like this?
Jon: It’s pretty huge to know that we’re one of the first all-Asian casts in drama, and the fact we get to depict this on screen is really cool. I watched a lot of TV growing up—I’d imagine a lot of other people do too—and I never noticed how much we were lacking in that space until I saw someone in that space. I was like, “Why don’t I see myself in these situations?” I see superhero movies all day and I’m like, “Cool. That could be me.” But then if you see someone who looks like you, you really feel represented. It means a great deal to me to be able to produce something like this and to have audiences be able to see themselves on screen.

PC: This season, we’re seeing Ryan helping Nicky and his community in new ways. How much fun has it been for you to be able to get in on that action? Did that change the preparation heading into the season?
Jon: It was so much fun. Don’t get me wrong, I love intimate scenes. I love the one-on-one scenes, but I also love variety and getting involved in the action. It’s really fun and cool, and getting to work with different actors in that space has been really nice. It’s been a lot of fun. I don’t think I really prepared anything differently. It was just a question of how we could extract as much fun out of this as we could so that it can come off naturally on the screen.

PC: You and the cast are in such a unique position where you get to see the fan response in real time. They’ve not only fallen in love with you and Ryan, but they’re massively invested in this blossoming relationship with Sebastian. What has it been like for you to get to see that response and support from the fans?
Jon: It’s everything. It fuels us. We love seeing it. It’s so nice that all the responses have been extremely positive. I’m glad that people can relate to them. I’m glad that people can see themselves on screen through Ryan and Sebastian. I’m glad that they’re rooting for Ryan. [laughs] It’ll be really easy to be like, “Ah, man. That Sebastian dude is too good for that guy or hot chef is too good to him,” but no, it’s been really nice and fun to see everyone’s responses to them.

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

Photo Credit: Chris Shintani