Exclusive Interview: Michael Bow Talks About Making His Return to Kung Fu, Playing this Fan-Favorite Character, and More

Michael Bow is an actor, director, producer, and writer who is quickly making his mark on the industry, bringing much-needed stories and characters to life in projects including Hacks, The Maze Runner, How to Get Away with Murder, and Grey’s Anatomy. He was most recently seen reprising his role as the fan-favorite K-pop star Simon Lau 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.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Michael about making his return to Kung Fu, the love and support from the fans, and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and the arts?
Michael: People always ask, “Who were your Asian role models growing up?” But being a third-generation Asian American, I grew up watching Disney Channel, Batman movies with Michael Keaton, and Superman movies, and then I saw Harry Potter. That was the first time that I realized these characters weren’t real people. I was like, “Wait, these are actors playing characters?”

That’s when I was like, “Oh my God. This is a job?” I asked my mom, “How do you do this? How do you get an agent and everything?” We had this one actor friend at the time. She was this beautiful blonde-haired friend of my sister. My mom was like, “Look, she tries it, and it’s hard for her. You see people like her on TV all the time. Do you see anyone that looks like you on TV?” That was the first time that I was confronted with my race and ethnicity. I was like, “I’m Asian. I’m different.” I don’t know if it was stubbornness or determination, but I was like, “I want to do it anyway.” That started my journey. Here we are!

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that you made safe decisions growing up and followed a more traditional path. What led to that pivot from pre-med into the arts?
Michael: You did your research. That’s right, I was pre-med. I was the first-born son. I have two other siblings. Ironically, I followed all the rules. Coming out of the womb, my mom was like, “Michael, do this. Don’t do this.” I was like, “Great. Easy enough. That’s life. You listen to your mom.” I listened to all the rules. I followed all my teacher’s rules, and I got good grades. I was never the rebel. I never went to the principal’s office. I never disobeyed curfew or did anything out of line. But the artistic side was boiling in there. So I asked my mom if I could do all this acting stuff. She said, “Okay. You’ve got to prove yourself. You want it, but I haven’t seen you audition for anything or join any of the school plays.”

I was like, “Okay, I’ll prove it.” So I started auditioning for plays. I got roles and became part of the school’s TV news show. I learned how to video edit and direct while still getting good grades and still listening to my teachers. That was enough to get into NYU. I applied for the pre-med program and not the art program, but I still did it on the side. I felt like a superhero: academics by day, an actor by night. But it finally came to a head when I took a film class as a non-film major. I went into that basement, and it had posters of all the films that graduates had made. I was like, “If I’m going to put all my eggs in one basket, it has to be here.”

That’s when I sat my parents down. I was like, “Okay, mom and dad, I’ve proven that when I put my mind to it, I can do it. I didn’t slack my whole life. If I had a goal, I accomplished it. This is my new goal. I want to go into the film business. Can I do it?” They were like, “You’ve proven yourself, so we trust you.” That’s how it happened.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Michael: Yeah! There have been so many times when I was like, “Wow, this is the right thing to do.” When I got my first manager, they said in a nice way, “We have no one like you.” That was cool because I always wanted to break stereotypes with the roles that I get to play. Unfortunately, in the beginning, all the Asian roles were pretty stereotypical. I hit a wall because I had more success if I leaned into the stereotypes that I had been fighting my whole life, whether that was being the side character or the nerdier character. I was like, “Wow, is that what you want me to be? Do you want me to be more of this token side character?” But as the years have passed, I have been getting more lead roles and roles that are not stereotypical, like the romantic lead, the athletic, relatable guy. Recently I’ve been getting roles that have shown me that the industry is changing. That’s been encouraging.

PC: Did that spark the reason why you got into writing and directing? How have your experiences behind the camera impacted the work that you do on screen and vice versa?
Michael: Yeah, I actually directed in college. I always wanted to pull a Ben Affleck. I wanted to do things in front of the camera, but at the same time, I definitely wanted to create because I had all these ideas. I had all these big ideas about stories and building worlds because I’m a huge nerd. I love what Marvel and Kevin Feige are doing.

One of the first things that I did outside of school was a show for Wong Fu Productions called In Between. The story was about an Asian American guy who I play who felt too Asian with his White friends and too White with his Asian friends. That was a personal story and it resonated with a lot of people. I didn’t realize how much it would connect with all communities from Latinos to the Black community to the Hispanic community. That was really rewarding.

It helps my acting because now I’m realizing that it’s so easy as an actor to get lost in your own thing when you’re really part of a team. We’re all creating this one big canvas. We’re all working together and it’s making me realize this whole thing is like a sport. That’s been rewarding because we’re all in it together to create this thing that excites people.

PC: You made your return to Kung Fu this season. Can you take us back to that moment when you got the call that they were bringing you back? Did the showrunners or the writers ever indicate to you that there was a potential to bring Simon back?
Michael: My whole Kung Fu journey has been really great. I tested for the Ryan role, who is one of the series regulars, back in February 2020. It was one of my first testing processes. It was so fun because it was all my Asian friends that I’ve seen and known in the acting world. Usually, we’re all going out for the same role. But now we were like, “Oh my God. We all have a role that we could potentially play.” It was great. I did the studio and network tests and got pretty far. It was down to me and JP [Jon Prasida]. JP is excellent and ended up booking it. But we became friends throughout the whole process. I was like, “Hopefully they liked what I did and call me back for another role!”

They did, and I auditioned for it. I didn’t even get that one! But they called me back for another role, this time for the K-pop star Simon Lau. I booked that. That in itself is a great Cinderella story. I knew it was going to be one episode. This role was written as a one-off. My character dies at the end. I approached it like, “Anything can happen in the TV world. I’m going to give it my all and showcase what I can do.” I had this superhero mindset about my character. He’s a K-pop star by day, but secretly he’s well-trained. It was a cool character that I could see in spinoff territory. I was like, “Okay. I’m going to approach it like a backdoor pilot.”

Fast forward, everyone loved the episode. People were texting me—the actors, producers, etc. I was like, “This sounds good.” Then I heard in the rumor world that they were trying to bring me back somehow. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I was like, “If you want me back, that’s good.” At least I have fans now. That was in Season 1. Then I got some news that they wanted to know my availability for some of the dates coming up for a few episodes. I was like, “Ah!”

It’s funny. I was going to visit my family later in the summer, but that’s when some of the dates were. I was like, “Hey fam, can I visit earlier because I might not be available?” So I changed my trip back to New York to visit my family earlier, and then on the trip, I got the official call. They were like, “You’re coming back!” I was like, “It’s a good thing I changed my trip.” I was able to celebrate with my family because I’m normally in LA. It was really nice to be with them in person. We got to celebrate there. It was like living a fantasy to go back to Kung Fu. If you pinched me and told me it was a dream, I’d be like, “That makes sense.” It’s been amazing. I love the Kung Fu family.

PC: Your father grew up on the original Kung Fu. What has it been like getting to share this milestone with him and your mom who talked to you about the challenges of breaking into this industry?
Michael: It’s been great. My parents sometimes joke, “We wish Michael grew up to be a pharmacist or something normal, not this crazy career.” But they’re to blame. They raised me to love cinema and TV shows. My mom introduced me to anime growing up. Then my dad would always watch Turner Classic movies with me. They were born and raised in New York, so they grew up on American cinema and TV shows. When my dad was growing up, there were no Asian leads. The lead of Kung Fu was a White guy playing an Asian guy, but that’s what he had. He would always talk about Kung Fu. That’s how I knew about it. It was really awesome to be like, “Guess what I’m going to be in?” He actually texted me pictures of his Kung Fu merch the other day. Hopefully, there will be some of Simon Lau.

PC: The Kung Fu fan base is like no other. What has it been like getting to see their reactions and support on social media? Have you ever experienced something like this before in your career?
Michael: I have not experienced anything like this before. I’m so appreciative of their support. It wasn’t only the people behind the scenes who were fans—the fans themselves were tweeting and making their love for the character known. Simon was killed in the first season by Zhilan. She’s also a beloved character, but she’s the bad guy in Season 1. It goes to show how supportive the fans are that people loved her even though she did all these bad things. They’re like, “We still love you. We want you to have a redemption arc.” Yvonne [Chapman], who plays Zhilan, said the only crap she got was for killing Simon. [laughs] The fans were like, “Why did you kill him? You shouldn’t have done that.”

It was really great to hear that I had the audience’s support and that they wanted to bring me back. I had to keep it a secret. There were so many behind-the-scenes hangouts that everyone had to crop me out of. [laughs] There have been so many photos that fan accounts have retweeted with the cast hanging out and I’m like, “I’m there. I’m right next to them. They just had to crop me out.” But when they found out that I was back, it was great. The reactions were amazing.

PC: Like you were saying, Simon and Zhilan have had quite the journey together. What has it been like getting to collaborate with Yvonne again and bring this new shade to the Simon/Zhilan dynamic? Were you surprised by Simon’s reaction to Zhilan entering the shadow realm?
Michael: Yvonne is one of my newer friends because she’s from Canada. I actually didn’t know her going into Kung Fu. I knew all the LA Asian actors. It was great to have her as my scene partner because this whole experience was so new. We were taking that first step together, and she’s amazing. I thought it was such a fun character arc because who’s the last person you want to meet in hell? The person who probably hates you the most and who put you there. I thought that was so juicy because it creates this great drama. It gives my character a fun arc. I thought it would be fun to make it a buddy cop road trip through the spirit realm. It starts like, “We’re at odds. I don’t want you to follow me. I’ve been in the spirit realm because of you, so good luck.”

But I like what the writers did where there are other circumstances that force us to be reluctant friends. Those situations have always been so fun in sci-fi shows. So I thought that was really fun to play. Yvonne is such a great scene partner. She’s the most unlike her character with her accent and she’s also not mean at all. When she goes in, it’s so fun to act opposite of that. It’s like, “Wow, we’re doing it. We’re in another world right now. This is not you.” We were in another realm. It felt like I was in Lord of the Rings.

PC: It’s such a great arc for both of your characters. We’re seeing the next evolution of representation in this industry where we don’t have to call attention to it, and Kung Fu was a huge step forward and paved that way. Why do you think the industry has taken so long to get here, and when did you start noticing that shift for yourself?
Michael: I think it’s taken a long time because the industry likes to go by data. I don’t think they’re looking at us individually and being like, “We’re not going to give you Asian roles because you’re Asian.” They go by data. Did Tom Cruise make a lot of movies? Great, there are going to be more Tom Cruise movies. Unfortunately, back in the day, there weren’t a lot of examples of Asian-led movies that made money. They’re like, “Well, we don’t want to take that risk.” It’s a business. You don’t want to put stock into something that is risky or has no data. But luckily we’re living in the best timeline where Crazy Rich Asians came out and made a lot of money. Now, they’re like, “Oh great. We can make superhero movies with Asian leads.”

I’m so glad because I still remember the time of YouTube when we saw Wong Fu Productions, Ryan Higa, and Kevjumba. There was an audience there. People were watching things with Asians in them. They weren’t afraid of Asian main characters. It’s just that there was no precedent for it. They had to take a risk to make it happen, and now it’s happening. We’re fighting the good fight. All of the Asian actors here are ready to step up to the plate. It’s inspiring because in the beginning that system almost pitted people against each other. If there was only one Asian role, then it was almost like forcing all the Asians to fight against each other. That’s messed up because it’s like, “We’re not the enemies. The enemies should be on the screen like the ones that Simon and Zhilan team up to fight against.” We’re supporting each other. If I don’t get the role and someone else does and it’s successful then more things happen and the ships start to rise.

PC: This is such a competitive industry, and we’re finally at a point where we’re seeing more diversity and representation on the screen, but that hasn’t always been the case. The Kung Fu cast, yourself included, have always been advocates that there is enough room at the table for everyone. How has this community impacted your own career? Have you had time to reflect on the impact that you’re having on future generations who are trying to make their mark as storytellers?
Michael: To answer the first question, the cast is always helping each other. I listen to podcasts of seasoned actors who have been on shows that I grew up with who talk about how they all hung out together and helped each other when they first moved to LA. These are big names who are now big directors of big studios, but back in the day, they moved out to LA and helped each other on their projects. I was like, “I hope one day we can have that.” It’s like we’re living our origin story right now. Thanks to shows like Kung Fu, we’re all in a position where we’re not asking “What if?” We actually have roles and we’re all working on awesome things, collaborating and lifting each other up.

Ben Levin, Eddie Liu, and I were waiting room buddies. We would always see each other at callbacks, auditioning for the same role. Now we’re filming together and hanging out. We’re like, “Oh my God. Years later, we’re all in the same episode of TV.” We’re three different Asian guys. Back in the day, the scripts would have thought of us all as one Asian guy, but now we’re three. Ben’s half-Asian, Eddie’s full Chinese, I’m half Chinese/half Korean. There’s a difference. There’s room for all of us. That’s been really inspiring to me.

In terms of the fans, that’s one of the pros I like about social media. You get that direct response. I’ve gotten a lot of DMs about what this role that I’m playing has meant to somebody and the projects that they see me do. I just got one today that was so sweet from someone who I guess was too shy to say hi to me but they wanted to say that they’ve been watching my work and they’re so happy for my new role. It’s inspiring to them. That’s honestly what I do it for. That support and those comments keep me going.

PC: You’re such a dynamic storyteller. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role or story that you would love to bring to light, either as an actor, writer, or director? What’s next for you?
Michael: It’s great that we have a bunch of specific Asian stories now with a lot of Chinese-American superheroes. There’s a new show about Vietnamese culture coming out. I’m Asian American. I would love there to be shows with characters that I call “Asian for no reason.” As much as I am Asian, I am also American. I would love to play a superhero who just happens to be Asian. We’ve had that with Glenn from The Walking Dead. He was a cool character where they weren’t like, “He’s here because he’s Asian.” No, he’s just a cool character who happens to be Korean. That’s my goal. There’s an Asian Superman in the comics. He has Superman’s powers. I think that would be cool.

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