![]() ![]() In recent years, a pattern of white actors cast as Asian characters in particular-from Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange to Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell-has sparked outcry for change. The new adaptation arrives at a time when calls for an end to Hollywood’s whitewashing of roles have gotten louder. The makeup of the cast carries extra weight given that Kung Fu is a reimagining of the 1972 television show of the same name by Ed Spielman, which followed the story of the half-Chinese, half-white Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine, played by David Carradine, a white actor. Kung Fu is also the first network drama that features a predominantly Asian cast-which includes seasoned actors Tzi Ma ( Mulan, The Farewell) and Kheng Hua Tan ( Crazy Rich Asians). “To have a fully fleshed out character who also does martial arts has really changed my perspective,” Liang says. Nicky’s journey unfolds as she faces an organized crime group that threatens the safety of her family and community, and searches for the person responsible for murdering her Shaolin mentor at the monastery. ![]() She plays Nicky Shen, a Chinese American woman who, after dropping out of college and spending a few years in a monastery in China, returns home to San Francisco. But her role in Kung Fu-the CW series premiering on April 7-offers something entirely different. ![]() Liang was wary of one-dimensional Asian characters whose martial arts skills were their only defining trait. This shift in attitude did not come without careful consideration. “And now, of course I’m on a show called Kung Fu and I’ve really done a 180.” “I didn’t want that to be the only way in for me,” Liang explains. And so she made a promise to herself: she was not going to learn martial arts unless someone paid her to. “I had several people, the follow-up question to, ‘You’re an actor?’ was ‘Do you do martial arts?’” Liang, 27, says. All rights reserved.Īt the start of her career, Olivia Liang was “anti-martial arts.” To the Taiwanese American actor entering the entertainment industry in 2016, this was a box that Asian performers had been placed in for years-a form of typecasting she would go on to experience herself. All Rights Reserved Credit - Kailey Schwerman/The CW-© 2021 The CW Network, LLC. Pictured: Olivia Liang as Nicky Shen - Photo: Kailey Schwerman/The CW - © 2021 The CW Network, LLC. ![]()
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