How has 2023 treated you? What has been a standout moment for you so far?
Wow, so many big and wonderful things have happened. In terms of work and school, it has been a juggle. I’m studying Communication at UCLA. I keep forgetting that I prayed and cried to get into my dream university, I never thought that it’d be possible to get to finish given how busy things have been with work. So I’m thankful that I’ve had professors who have been willing to work with me.

How do your peers react to you being on the screen and then being in class with them?
Well, I’d like to think that my classmates are very respectful in that way. A lot of times people just don’t say anything until after the class is over. I’m like, we’ve been together for 10 weeks and you knew this about my life the whole time! It kind of feels like I’m playing Hannah Montana.

Talk to me about your early days. How did you first get into acting?
I’ve been doing this for 12 years now. It doesn’t seem like that long when I look back on it, but it’s been over a decade, and I can’t believe it.

My first taste was community musical theatre at age 10. My mom kind of pushed me to audition, even though I didn’t want to because I was nervous, but I fell in love with it. I started doing commercials from there and then I booked Fuller House. I was really young and very early in my career. I’m extraordinarily grateful for that.

Congratulations on your role as Clemensia in the prequel to The Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes! How did your journey start with the franchise? What was the experience like?
I didn’t know about Suzanne Collins’ prequel book immediately after it came out, but I heard a lot of Twitter buzz on it — I’m always lurking on social media. But it wasn’t until I got the audition in my inbox that I knew that they’d be making it into a film, quite a long film at that! I turned in my self-tape audition because we were still in COVID times and had to do online auditions. Then two weeks later, I got a call back from our director, Francis Lawrence, which was through Zoom. Then I heard back a couple of weeks later and they were like, “Hey they want you!”

How long did you shoot for?
I was in Berlin for seven weeks. The whole production was a lot longer than that, but I was only there for seven. It was the best seven weeks of my life.

Who did you enjoy working alongside the most?
In terms of friends that I see very often, my friend Max Raphael, who plays Festus Creed in the film, we see each other lots as often as he’s in LA. So I’m grateful to have spent the time with him. But in terms of scenes that I got to share, because Max and I didn’t share a ton of scenes…I mean what else are you gonna rave about other than Viola Davis?

Of course! What was that like?
It was such an honour to get to work with her. She is a powerhouse actress and businesswoman. I look up to her so much, and so getting to share a very pivotal scene with her was insane.

Did she pass down any words of wisdom?
You know, on her very first day on set, she came in character, as Dr. Volumnia Gaul. It was so interesting as an actress and that really serious energy was very much sensed in the room. Everyone just looked at her as soon as she walked in. She had this gorgeous costume that our costume designer Trish Summerville created and this wonderful makeup and she was just so captivating. I was in awe.

Were you always a fan of the Hunger Games growing up?
A big fan. To an embarrassing point maybe. I would run around doing three-finger salutes in the 5th grade.

What has it been like seeing the reaction to the film?
It’s such a weird juxtaposition that I have in my life. I go from being very glamorous and put together to sitting in my bed at 10 in the morning, getting ready to go to class. You get thrown around between such different versions of yourself. The aftermath of the immediate premiere was the best time, from my friends watching it to getting text messages from middle school friends saying, “Hey I didn’t know you were in this!” You have this lights, camera, action side. Then you can come back home to what you love and live your other life. I still get so nervous right before every interview and every red carpet.

How did you get into character with Clemensia? What does it mean to you to play her?
There are so many aspects I think about Clemensia that got me into character. Number one, those red nails that she had! That high ponytail that she had on reaping day, I think just gave her so much character. When you kind of get into the costume and go through hair and makeup it does set you into your character’s mentality.

I like to tell people that in terms of character inspiration, my cat Cleo and Clemensia have very similar energy. Cleo’s tail is always up, she walks into the room like she’s the it girl, a true princess. Clemensia is very much the same way.

What else are you working on at the moment?
One of the projects I wasn’t allowed to talk about during the strike was Love in Taipei, that came out on Paramount Plus. Oh my goodness, I have been wanting to talk about this project for so long. Love in Taipei is so close to my heart and very dear to me. We filmed that in Taipei, Taiwan for two and a half months, I think. As someone who’s Taiwanese-American, I hadn’t thought about my homeland and Motherland, if you will, in years. Getting to go back to work in the middle of the COVID lockdown, when they were not letting people in, was incredible. My family in Taiwan was like, “What are you doing here?” I’m like “My job brought me here!” and they were like, “You still do that?” I think that solidified the realness of what I do as a profession to my family in Taiwan. It was just the most marvelous time on and off set.

What do you wish to experiment with within your profession?
There are a few places I’d love to go in this big wide beautiful life. I’m not a horror girl, I don’t like watching horror or being scared. But eventually, somewhere down the road, I’d love to see what goes on behind the scenes of a horror movie. I’d also love to cry and just have a breakdown scene. I think that it would be kind of cathartic as an actress because I’ve done self-tapes that were extremely mentally taxing. I’d love to know how people fake throw-up in scenes too. Like where’s the liquid coming from?

What is one dream you had that has come true and what is one dream you have for your future self?
I would walk around the house in my princess Disney princess costumes and be constantly wearing little plastic high heels. I always thought I was going to be a princess when I was older. Then I had the honour of getting to play Princess Eleanor in The Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, so I think that was a very surreal moment for me. My Hunger Games fan younger self wouldn’t believe where I am today, too.

In terms of goals that I hope to achieve in the future… I would love to be able to buy a house. I’ve always worked towards getting to pay for my college tuition. When I was younger working on Fuller House, I was always thinking, “Right we’re gonna pay for college.” I’m able to do it right now.

I’d love to be able to win an Oscar. I think about that and I think about what that will mean for other Asian-American actresses, and not just actresses, but little girls everywhere too, who will be like, “Oh my god that’s me! It’s possible.” Other actresses like Michelle Yeoh and Anna May Wong have shown me that it’s possible, so that’s something that I’d love to do.