Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Zero Chill’s Jade Ma

Jade Ma is scoring a perfect ten for her starring role in Netflix’s Zero Chill. The coming-of-age drama follows a teenage figure skater who must leave everything behind when her twin brother is recruited to play hockey at a prestigious academy overseas.

Jade shines as Sky Tyler, a figure skater who quickly befriends the twins. Over the course of the first season, we see Jade rediscover her passion for the ice after her battle with cancer.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with this rising star about her career, Zero Chill, and her upcoming role in Marvel’s Black Widow.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Jade: I grew up dancing. When I was fifteen years old, I started working with an arts foundation on some dance projects. My dance teacher convinced me to audition for their yearly flagship musical, which that year was A Chorus Line. Coming from a dance background, that was the ideal way to get into it. Between her and the director, they convinced me to audition. I did, and I ended up getting a role. Through that, I fell in love with the acting side of performing as well. It went from there.

PC: That actually might be the answer to our next question, but who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Jade: So, my dancer teacher, definitely. She pushed me to explore this as a career path. My mom as well—she’s had a huge influence on me. I actually wanted to be a doctor growing up, and my mom talked me out of it, which I know sounds really weird. She basically explained to me, “I know you love medicine, biology, and that whole science world, but I don’t think you’ll be happy in that as a career.” She knew that I was a very creative person. She was like, “I feel like you’re going to need a creative outlet of some kind, and you’ll be in school for a very long time. It’ll be something that’s not the easiest thing to do.” So, she talked me out of going into medicine. That’s a big reason I ended up here.

PC: What would you say is the biggest lesson that dance taught you that you’ve been able to apply to your acting career?
Jade: Discipline’s a big one. In the dance world, you have to be on top of that. You have to be practicing. You have to spend time away from the studio working on your craft, still doing your stretches, and making sure you’re staying fit. I was having to balance ridiculous hours at the dance studio with school at the same time. It taught me how to keep the balance and make sure that I was still accomplishing what I needed to in every aspect of my life.

Zero Chill

PC: You’ve got a new series out now on Netflix. Tell us about Zero Chill, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Jade: Zero Chill is a story about friendship, relationships, family, and sport. It’s centered around teenagers trying to figure out how to balance it all.

I play Sky Tyler, who is a figure skater. She’s a kindred spirit for Kayla. She has this very sweet, puppy-love style relationship with Mac. She’s quirky, a little sassy, very strong-willed, and cares so deeply about the people around her. She finds herself stuck between twins and has to learn how to balance her different relationships with each of them without compromising the other.

I was really drawn to this project because I grew up figure skating, but I quit when I was eleven or twelve. It’s been a really long time, and there was this little voice in the back of my head going, “What if you hadn’t quit?” I always missed it because it was such a big part of my childhood. When this job came up, it was like “You get to act and you get to go back to figure skating?!” It was an opportunity that I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t say no.

PC: Sky is dealing with a lot in her life and she’s rediscovering her love for figure skating. How did you prepare to step into her shoes?
Jade: We had nine weeks of training leading up to shooting. Those were definitely a tough nine weeks. We did a lot of ice training as well as off-ice training, lots of group workouts, and gym sessions. It was a hard nine weeks but so much fun. It really helped us all bond as a cast as well, because when you’re put in that situation, you’re leaning on each other and supporting each other through it all. That was the main bit of preparation for the skating aspect of Sky.

Aside from that, it was spending time with the script and learning about her and who she is as a person. Also, talking to the rest of the cast about our characters’ relationships even before the story starts and how those affected how we behave with each other.

PC: There are so many great dynamics between all the characters. Which was your favorite to explore and why?
Jade: There are so many! I loved my relationship with my mom Holly, played by Christina Tam, because I was able to draw so many parallels between my own relationship with my mom. That was a really sweet one. The relationship Sky has with Kayla and Mac are both super important and were so much fun to explore. It was really sweet to see how her relationship with Mac was so healthy at such a young age. Sky is such a supportive character. Her biggest goal is to support and uplift the people that she cares about. Seeing that come through, and how she tells Kayla, “I got you,” was really nice.

PC: If you had to describe the first season in a hashtag, what would it be?
Jade: Oh my gosh. That’s a really hard question. There’s so much that happens in the first season. I feel like the title of the show is a pretty good descriptor of it, honestly. It definitely doesn’t have any chill; there’s a lot going on. There are a lot of storylines and a lot of characters and a lot of drama that happens.

PC: Grace [Beedie] gave the exact same answer.

Jade: Really? That’s hilarious.

PC: There’s so much opportunity for this story to continue and to grow. If the series gets picked up for a second season, where would you like to see Sky’s storyline head?
Jade: Personally, I’d love to skate more. In Season 1, Sky is dealing with health issues and can’t necessarily skate for most of it. I’d love to spend a little more time on the ice—that would be great. I’d love to continue to see where relationship with Sky and Mac goes. Also, seeing how her and Kayla’s skating together progresses would be fun.

PC: In addition to Zero Chill, you’re starring in the upcoming Black Widow. Is there anything you can tease about that project?
Jade: Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say, but it was an amazing project to be a part of. It was a very surreal experience for me. I’m so grateful to have been a part of something so big.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Jade: I love watching anime. Let me think of a few of my favorites! Food Wars is definitely up there—it’s great. It’s kind of weird, but the story itself is great. It always makes me so hungry. I want to cook all of it. One-Punch Man is always a comfort one. I’ve watched it so many times. It’s hilarious and cute.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Jade: The Art of Getting By. It’s an old one but it’s something that I used to watch a lot when I was a teenager.

PC: Favorite book?
Jade: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I love his work.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Jade: Cats has a special place in my heart as a dancer. It was my third-year show.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Jade: My playlists are kind of all over the place. I have a very eclectic taste in music, but I do love a bit of ’00s era pop-punk, so All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance.

PC: Dream role?
Jade: It’s hard to say. I don’t think my dream role has been created yet, if that makes sense. There’s nothing out there that would be remade that I’m like, “That’s the one.” I’ve always watched to approach my career from a very open-minded perspective in terms of wherever it takes me will be great.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Jade: I have no idea. That’s an interesting question because I’m half Chinese and half English, and it would have to be someone like me. It’s nice to see that there’s slowly more representation for people like me on screen, but still, there aren’t many I can name off the top of my head, so yeah, I’m not sure.

To keep up with Jade, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 1 of Zero Chill today on Netflix.

Photo Credit: Samuel Black Photography