Exclusive Interview: Olivia Liang Talks Kung Fu Season 3, Exploring Nicky’s Darker Side, and Stepping Outside of the Box

Olivia Liang is a trailblazing storyteller whose performances in projects like Into the Dark and Legacies have brought timely characters and narratives to the forefront. Her starring role in the CW’s Kung Fu is no different.

Now in its third season, the series picks up following the aftermath of an earthquake that hits Chinatown, leaving Nicky, her family, and her community attempting to rebuild their beloved city in more ways than one. Nicky, still reeling from her abrupt breakup with her boyfriend Henry (Eddie Liu), and the shocking death of her nemesis-turned-ally Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman), puts on a brave face as she juggles a new job teaching kung fu while fighting a growing crimewave in San Francisco. But she’s thrown on her heels by the introduction of a mysterious vigilante, Bo (guest star Ben Levin) — and the shattering return of a woman who appears to be her deceased shifu, Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai).

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Olivia about Kung Fu Season 3, exploring her character’s darker side, and stepping outside the box and allowing herself to dream big.

PC: Mentorship is such a cornerstone of Kung Fu. Who were the shifus in your own life who shaped the storyteller that you are today?
Olivia: The Disney Channel. [laughs] Can I call the Disney Channel a shifu? That’s what I grew up watching. That’s what made me want to become an actor. As far as personal mentors, my mom and the people around me on set. Kheng [Hua Tan] and Vanessa [Kai] have become such important mentors in my life, not only for this career but in life. They both have shared so much wisdom with me. Kheng always tells me that anything I’m going through in my life will make my work better. She’s amazing.

PC: Back in Season 1, you did a panel where you said that you couldn’t even say that this role was a dream come true because this is something that you could have never imagined. Have you had time to reflect on the impact that you’ve had on communities that want to see their stories represented and the fact that the cast and crew have now made sure that future generations won’t have to experience something similar?
Olivia: I always got asked the question, “When did you see yourself on screen?” I noticed a lot of my answers were very sad. They were like, “Well, I never saw myself on screen.” It was very sad for them. I actually wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I didn’t see any Asian people. I was watching the Disney Channel, so I was watching Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place. I was like, “Yeah, I’m Alex Russo.” It didn’t bother me that she wasn’t an Asian person. I was relating to the person on screen. I wasn’t really faced with my Asianness until I started pursuing acting. It became the sole identifier of who I was. When I would walk into a room, it was like, “Oh, there’s an Asian girl.” That was all people saw for a long time.

So as far as the impact, in hindsight looking back, I’m like, “How much differently would I have seen myself if I had been able to see myself on screen?” Then it wouldn’t have been such a novelty when I walked into a room and I was an Asian person. It would have been normalized already. I’m so glad that we get to be part of people’s stories. I hope that we’re the Alex Russo or the Hannah Montana for somebody else, not just Asian people. I hope that for everyone who’s watching the show. Reflecting on it, I think we had to take a lot of pressure off ourselves as actors because we didn’t want to be the voice of a culture and an entire community, but we did take it very seriously. The impact is unreal. I still can’t believe it. I still have to pinch myself because I’m already outside of that box that I put myself in when I decided that I was going to be an actor. I remain very grateful.

PC: Something that I’ve always appreciated about you is that you’ve used your platform to champion other creatives and minorities, especially in an industry that wants to pit us against each other. Why has that been so important to you?
Olivia: It’s something that I’m working on for myself. Growing up Asian American, I feel like everyone has quite a competitive spirit. We’re always being compared to someone else’s kid who got into a better school. It’s an active practice for me, trying to get out of a scarcity mentality and this “it’s me or it’s them” mentality. I’m actively supporting other minorities and other Asian people who are killing it. This feels like an active rebellion against what our parents raised us to believe, which is that there isn’t enough space for all of us.

PC: You’ve also shared that when you first told your mom that you wanted to be an actor she said, “Over my dead body.”
Olivia: Verbatim.

PC: Has she had a change of heart given all the success that you’ve had?
Olivia: Yes, she definitely has. She and I joke about it now, but ultimately, she was trying to protect me. She didn’t know how to support me in my journey to becoming an actor. She was ready to pay for law school. She was like, “Do you want to become a nurse? Do you want to be a doctor?” I’ll help you through those things because those were very clear paths that she could understand. But with this industry, we didn’t have any connections. We didn’t know anything about it. She felt a little scared that I wouldn’t be okay. So ultimately, it was protection. But she’s very proud now. There’s a corner in our house that looks like I died. It’s a shrine to me. There are two posters, my headshot, and Kung Fu things. It’s a lot. She’s very, very proud now.

PC: So often with film and television when you’re playing the hero or heroine, there’s this unrealistic expectation of perfection. This season, in particular, we’re getting to see a darker, more flawed version of Nicky, especially in that mid-season finale. How did the preparation differ this season? How did you create the space for yourself to dive into that confrontation between Nicky and Bo?
Olivia: It was super fun, although it’s a heavy topic. It was fun and juicy as an actor. At the beginning of the season, I met with our showrunners. They said, “What do you want for Nicky?” I’m not a writer. I don’t have a big imagination. Reading the scripts this season, I’m like, “I could have never come up with this.” But I did tell them that I wanted to feel challenged as an actor. I want to feel scared because fear fuels me a bit and pushes me. So that’s what I told them. I was like, “I want to explore Dark Nicky because she’s been so black and white throughout Seasons 1 and 2.” There’s a right and a wrong there, and that’s just not how life is. I really wanted to see what it would look like for Nicky to do the wrong thing but for a good reason. It was exploring all those gray areas.

In terms of preparation, I was so excited, scared, and nervous to bring those colors to Nicky in a way that we haven’t seen before. I love Ben [Levin]. He’s one of my really good friends. To have to look at him with such betrayal and anger and tap into something that Nicky doesn’t know she has. But I don’t think I as Olivia knew that I had that kind of anger and rage in me either. It was daunting but very fulfilling. I feel very, very proud of that episode. What a cliffhanger to leave off on.

PC: Christina [M. Kim] and Bob [Berens] have done such a great job balancing drama and comedy. There are so many moments that will stay with audiences after the episode has aired. Do you have a favorite scene, whether that involves your character or not? What has been the most challenging for you to film thus far?
Olivia: There are so many moments. I’m very, very proud of that Nicky and Bo confrontation and that Jin and Nicky hug at the end. We haven’t seen her lean on her dad like that in a very long time because we’ve been on this redemption arc concerning her relationship with Pei-Ling. But if we go back and watch Season 1, Papa Jin was the guy who was in Nicky’s corner. To see that was very cathartic. Tzi [Ma] also mentioned that he wanted to portray a different kind of Asian dad than we’ve seen. He wants to be the supportive one. He wants to be the one who wants the best for his kids and lets them grow. To see him embody that once again with Nicky was very special.

The most challenging? We just finished shooting this season. I can say that in the finale emotions were crazy. I couldn’t believe that the writers pulled it off and were able to wrap up all of these storylines by Episode 13. I cried so hard that my contacts came out while we were shooting. I was blind for the rest of the day. That’s an indication of how intense things are going to get and how emotionally wrought things are going to get.

PC: This is the longest that you’ve lived with a character. Has anything surprised you about the experience? What’s been the biggest takeaway for you?
Olivia: On the surface level, Olivia is very much not like Nicky. There’s a lot of myself that I’m infusing into her, but at the core of it, she’s a way better person than I am. With what she’s been through, I would have given up. I would be done. I’d be like, “Delta? You can handle that. Pei-Ling, I’m sorry, but you did pass away once, and this is a lot for me.” But no, it’s been really fun to grow with Nicky. My life has been imitating art, which is uncalled for, but I’ve learned a lot from playing Nicky. I’m learning a lot from the writers because they’re the ones who are creating these lessons within the show. I’m having so many takeaways. But yeah, this is the longest that I’ve been with a character, and she feels like a part of me. Sometimes I don’t know where I end and Nicky begins and vice versa. She’s very inspiring, and I’m very happy to play someone who is inherently good and who wants to do good. It inspires me in my own life.

PC: We know that you can’t say too much, but you’re also the queen of out-of-context clues. If you could give us an out-of-context clue about what’s ahead for the rest of Season 3, what would it be?
Olivia: Zombies. You’re like, “What?” [laughs]

PC: Something that we both have in common is that we’re both massive fans of reality TV. If Nicky was to be a part of a reality show, which would it be and why?
Olivia: None of the dating ones, unfortunately. I would love to see her in that context. Physical 100. I think she would be the unassuming one who enters into the arena. People would be like, “I’ll eat her up. She’s not the strongest one here.” But I would love to see Nicky prove them wrong.

PC: You’re such a dynamic storyteller. While we hope Kung Fu goes on for many more seasons, as you look ahead, is there a dream role that you’d love to bring to life?
Olivia: I’ve always wanted to be in a rom-com. Those are my comfort movies. Those are the ones that I want to spend time with at the end of a long day. So something like that. I’ve been super inspired by all the Academy Award nominees this season. I just saw Tar, Triangle of Sadness, obviously, Everything Everywhere. I love all of those very strong female characters and exploring all the flaws of them as well. Also, who wouldn’t want to be in a Marvel movie? I’m actively trying not to put myself in a box anymore because that’s what I did and I’m already out of it, so I’m like, I’m going to allow myself to dream big.

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

Photo Credit: Timothy Fernandez