Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist chats with Hightown’s Jona Xiao

Jona Xiao has quickly established herself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. She’s brought dynamic characters and stories to life in projects including The Flash, Raya and the Last Dragon, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, and Keeping Up with the Joneses.

This October, she joins the cast of Starz’s critically-acclaimed series Hightown.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Jona about her multifaceted career, Hightown Season 2, and the importance of representation on the screen.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Jona: When I was twelve years old, I was forced to take an acting class. We had to do Rappinstilksin, which is the rap version of Rumpelstiltskin. I ended up playing the lead in that. Sixth period drama class became my favorite time of the day. I loved making people laugh and feel. That’s how I initially got bit by the bug.

I grew up in a trailer park in upstate New York. We’ve all dealt with tough times in our lives, and movies and TV really transformed my life. I wanted to be able to give back to the world in that way.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Jona: That’s a great question. A lot of people have, so I’m trying to pick one. My high school drama teacher gave me some good advice. She said, “Don’t do this unless you can’t be happy doing anything else.” She was one of the first people to believe in me. She was like, “If you want to do this, I think you have a good shot, Jona.” Her belief in me meant the world to me, especially during that time in my life. I wasn’t very confident in myself. Her encouragement and belief meant a lot.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Jona: I remember when I was filming Keeping Up with the Joneses a few years back. I was in the green room and looking at the actors I was surrounded by, like Gal Gadot, John Hamm, Zach Galifianakis—all these legends that I’ve always admired. I was like, “This is really cool.”

Then that mindset shifted for me. I was like, “Right now, I’m a colleague of theirs. I’m a peer. I belong here.” Any of us are capable of doing anything; there’s nothing inside of someone else that we can’t tap into ourselves. There’s no gene in Meryl Streep that’s like the Oscar gene. [laughs] That’s not a thing. It was accepting that we’re all capable of achieving any and all dreams. That was a dream come true moment for me.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a producer and director. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actress and vice versa?
Jona: Understanding the business side of the industry has been a game-changer for me: understanding how audition tapes are evaluated and not taking things as personally. That was huge because artists are the product. It can feel so personal. It’s like, “They didn’t want me.” But I’ve been on the other side and I see how difficult the decision is. It’s not a matter of picking the best actor. It’s like, “Do I want an apple? Do I want an orange? Do I want a kiwi for this role?” Sometimes you’re the kiwi and they want the apple. That helped shift my mindset and understanding of the business side of the industry. That made a huge difference in my career.

Hightown

PC: You’re starring in Season 2 of Hightown. What should audiences know about your character?
Jona: Daisy is a stripper and a mother. She’s often caught between a rock and a hard place. She really stirs up trouble for our leads on the show. I work in the strip club that Renee and Frankie run. I am dating Luis Guzmán’s character, Jorge. Jorge is a charming psychopath, so the two of us are double trouble. We get in trouble and cause trouble.

PC: Did you feel any pressure heading into this project, given how successful Season 1 was and that you were joining a cast with a season under their belts?
Jona: I loved Season 1. I got very invested in the characters in the storyline. I would say I was more excited than nervous to join and very honored to be part of such a strong cast and crew for sure.

PC: You’ve played such a wide range of characters throughout your career. Is there a particular scene or episode that you’re really excited for your fans to see?
Jona: Oh man, what can I say without giving things away? When you first come across Daisy, she’s a very stereotypical Asian fetish stereotype. She’s sexual and bubbly, but I am excited for audiences to see the other side of her that’s very smart and calculated. Everything she does, she’s doing for her daughter. I’m excited for audiences to see the humanity behind someone who is often judged. We’re also in this period of “Stop Asian Hate” and a lot is going on in the world. It’s important to showcase, especially for the Asian community, roles that are more three-dimensional and more on the surface than a stereotype. There’s so much more underneath because that impacts how the world perceives Asians. I felt a lot of responsibility in taking on a role like this to ground her and make her a character that you root for despite her circumstances.

PC: That’s the perfect segue to this next question. You’ve used your platform to bring awareness to causes and issues that you’re incredibly passionate about. How did you discover your own voice as an advocate?
Jona: When I was sixteen years old, my school selected me as a leader to go on a leadership camp retreat. I was like, “Okay, great. I want to change the world.” I was inspired and excited. Little did I know that the first half of the camp was all about breaking down our unconscious biases. Each of us, myself included, had to look at how we were contributing to cycles of oppression for the queer community, people of color, and other minority groups. It was really about investigating and looking at yourself. That was really eye-opening to me because there were a lot of unconscious things I was doing that was adding to the oppression that we were experiencing in the world. That inspired me to encourage people to really look at how we might unconsciously be contributing to the problems in the world and to stop seeing it as completely outside of ourselves. We’re all contributing to humankind and mankind. We have a lot of power. We can use that power for good or bad.

PC: There’ve been a lot of conversations about diversity and representation in mainstream media. As an Asian American actress, what’s your experience been like? Have you felt that slow progress that’s been made?
Jona: Years ago, someone I knew was asked to speak Korean. They were like, “Oh no. I speak Chinese.” The casting director was like, “Okay, but can you speak Korean?” These are very different languages. Not all Asian languages are the same. There are interesting experiences like that.

Back in the day, I had more auditions for a nail technician in a salon than anything else. I don’t see those roles as much anymore. There are wider ranges of roles that I get to play and audition for like Hightown.

The showrunner called me after I booked the role and she goes, “Are you open to sharing with me your ethnic background? I would love to make it authentic for you.” I told her, “I’m a hundred percent Chinese.” She said great. She was like we’ll make this character Chinese. That’s reflected in the character. People are a lot more conscientious of authenticity in casting and even willing to make some tweaks to the role once they find the actor for the role.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Jona: Shark Tank.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Jona: Mamma Mia.

PC: Favorite book?
Jona: I’ll go with Never Split the Difference—a negotiation book. I’ll also add Harry Potter. We have fiction and nonfiction there.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Jona: Wicked.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Jona: Sufjan Stevens.

To keep up with Jona, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Hightown Season 2 every Sunday at 9/8c on Starz.

Photo Credit: Brett Erickson