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“I do not want to be part of something that makes me cringe”; Chinese-born New Zealand actor Angela Zhou talks about acting, writing & being as close to the creative process as she can
22 April 2024
Angela Zhou is enjoying this moment. In addition to co-starring in Death and Other Details, the Chinese-born New Zealand actress/writer was part of the writers room for the U.S. murder mystery. Asian A.V. Club spoke to her about, among other things, inspiration, her springboard into acting, and listening to her mother.
What made you want to pursue a career in the arts? It’s such a big thing to do and I was constantly getting little affirmations that I should be doing this. But then obviously, you’re constantly questioning yourself with fear every step of the way. So it really takes a lot.
I did a lot of drama in high school. I entered a Shakespeare Festival, and was lucky enough to be chosen to train and perform at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. I remember telling my mother about this huge opportunity. And she was like, ‘What! What do you mean, you’re gonna go to London and study acting? You’re not gonna do this for a living, right?’ I was like, ‘oh, no, this is just to top off all of the acting I’ve done in high school. This will be the last big thing I do and then I’ll get it out of my system and become a human rights lawyer’.
I went there for three weeks, and we were on our way back heading to Heathrow, I was looking out the window remembering, and I was thinking, ‘that was great.’ And then suddenly, I’m feeling my face and I realise that it’s wet. I’m totally crying. I thought, this might be what people mean when they say they have a passion, because I was crying thinking I was never going to do it again.
But it wasn’t the end of the road… I knew [acting] was a passion, and I could never stop. But even then, I was still in denial. I thought, I’ll always do community theatre on the side of whatever job I’m doing. Then I got a scholarship to Duke University. During breaks I did as many internships as possible...at Legendary Entertainment I rotated through different divisions. I went through physical production and then through creative development, and I realised, this was where I wanted to be, but I was still jealous of people who were writing or on set. I felt so close, but not close enough. So I just kept interning. After a while, I realised there’s no way to intern your way to a creative position. You just have to show up in L.A. and start freelancing. And also, not listen to your mother when she asks, ‘when are you going to go to business school?’
You booked a role on the AMC series, Hell On Wheels, very quickly after graduation. How did that happen? I’m a New Zealander, and I knew I only had a year to stay and find work in the U.S. I knew I wanted to be on the creative side; as close to storytelling as possible. Even though I had won acting awards in New Zealand, did some writing and directed music videos, I knew that it wasn’t enough. I asked a Duke University mentor if there was a better way. He immediately said, ‘Oh, you speak Chinese?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I speak Cantonese and Ma...
Angela Zhou is enjoying this moment. In addition to co-starring in Death and Other Details, the Chinese-born New Zealand actress/writer was part of the writers room for the U.S. murder mystery. Asian A.V. Club spoke to her about, among other things, inspiration, her springboard into acting, and listening to her mother.
What made you want to pursue a career in the arts? It’s such a big thing to do and I was constantly getting little affirmations that I should be doing this. But then obviously, you’re constantly questioning yourself with fear every step of the way. So it really takes a lot.
I did a lot of drama in high school. I entered a Shakespeare Festival, and was lucky enough to be chosen to train and perform at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. I remember telling my mother about this huge opportunity. And she was like, ‘What! What do you mean, you’re gonna go to London and study acting? You’re not gonna do this for a living, right?’ I was like, ‘oh, no, this is just to top off all of the acting I’ve done in high school. This will be the last big thing I do and then I’ll get it out of my system and become a human rights lawyer’.
I went there for three weeks, and we were on our way back heading to Heathrow, I was looking out the window remembering, and I was thinking, ‘that was great.’ And then suddenly, I’m feeling my face and I realise that it’s wet. I’m totally crying. I thought, this might be what people mean when they say they have a passion, because I was crying thinking I was never going to do it again.
But it wasn’t the end of the road… I knew [acting] was a passion, and I could never stop. But even then, I was still in denial. I thought, I’ll always do community theatre on the side of whatever job I’m doing. Then I got a scholarship to Duke University. During breaks I did as many internships as possible...at Legendary Entertainment I rotated through different divisions. I went through physical production and then through creative development, and I realised, this was where I wanted to be, but I was still jealous of people who were writing or on set. I felt so close, but not close enough. So I just kept interning. After a while, I realised there’s no way to intern your way to a creative position. You just have to show up in L.A. and start freelancing. And also, not listen to your mother when she asks, ‘when are you going to go to business school?’
You booked a role on the AMC series, Hell On Wheels, very quickly after graduation. How did that happen? I’m a New Zealander, and I knew I only had a year to stay and find work in the U.S. I knew I wanted to be on the creative side; as close to storytelling as possible. Even though I had won acting awards in New Zealand, did some writing and directed music videos, I knew that it wasn’t enough. I asked a Duke University mentor if there was a better way. He immediately said, ‘Oh, you speak Chinese?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I speak Cantonese and Mandarin.’ And he goes, ‘Actually, I think right now there’s a movement in the business. And I’m seeing a wave of people looking for actors who can speak English and Cantonese, or Mandarin. It sounds crazy, but acting might be your easier way to stay in this country.
And so I doubled down on that. There was an open casting call for a regular role on Hell On Wheels for an Asian female who could speak Cantonese. They also said ‘tomboy’... it just so happened that when I was in London, I played Rosalind in As You Like It and I had been trained by some of the best movement and voice coaches on how to gender bend. So, I ended up getting the job.
You made sure the Asian characters in Death and Other Things were not a tone or two or 10 off… One of the things that drew me to the script in the first place was the number of Asian characters. And it’s not even an Asian show. They just happen to be Asian… I basically told them if you ever need me to sit in for a callback for any actor who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin, please call me and I will show up. Because I do not want to be a part of something that makes me cringe.
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