Yvonne Chapman on ‘Kung Fu’ and the Power of Representation [Interview] (2025)

With the era of COVID pushing anti-Asian racism to a newfound focus in national discussion, The CW’s Kung Fu, a reimaging of the 1972 ABC series couldn’t come at a more opportune time.

The series features a mostly Asian cast, standing out on its network due to its diversity and early success. Kung Fu follows a young Chinese-American woman returning home after her mentor is murdered. Upon her return she tries to rebuild ties with her community and family, all the while hunting down her mentor’s killer — enter Zhilan.

And while Zhilan serves as the protagonist, Nicky’s primary adversary, she’s part of a growing trend of multi-layered antagonists. Even though she ends up [spoiler alart] killing her own sister at the end of the first act of the pilot episode.

I caught up with Yvonne Chapman, who plays Zhilan, to discuss her character, her experience on set, and what Kung Fu means to her community.

Kung Fu was a unique experience, Chapman explained. She noted changes brought on by the COVID pandemic, but also complimenting the safety protocols followed on-set.

“I really have to give my gratitude to both WB and The CW for keeping us so incredibly safe. We have these amazing protocols in place that allow us to do the work that we do,” she said. “We really supported each other in all of this.”

COVID wasn’t the only aspect of filming Kung Fu that made the experience unique. Chapman also spoke about filming a show with a mainly Asian cast — something not typically seen on The CW, let alone most network television.

“[It was] really incredible and really special. I am just so proud of what the show has done and what it means to so many people.”

The CW is known for its content geared towards a younger audience, featuring diverse stories. Kung Fu takes this to the next level and hopefully will help set the tone for shows in the future.

“I’m hoping this is the norm. That we see more of this. While we’re not the whole solution, we’re part of the solution and that just brings me so much joy.”

Chapman also reflected on how she didn’t see herself in media in this capacity.

“I didn’t see this kind of make up of cast and characters growing up. I identified with characters and heroes of the story that didn’t look like me. Now, I hope that an audience can see both — the hero who also looks like them. I think this is a really really incredible thing.”

But Chapman’s character, Zhilan, isn’t necessarily the hero of Kung Fu‘s overarching story. That also doesn’t make her any less human.

“My favorite thing is I get to do a lot of things and think a lot of things I don’t get to in my day-to-day life. She’s a villain! She’s a ‘big bad.’ She’s naughty,you know what I mean?” We both couldn’t help but laugh.

“Being a morally ambiguous character is a lot of fun in that regard. Having said that, she is the hero of her own story. We will see her motivations, regardless of how she gets what she needs to be done, are very human. I’m really grateful for that as well, to be able to play that full spectrum of human emotion, even in the antagonist.”

Chapman also discussed how she approaches playing Zhilan, and antagonist characters in general.

“Sometimes when I think of the big bad or the villain, I really do not want to place her or approach her as just a bad guy. I cannot play a character that way. I really have to think of them as a hero in their own story. And what makes her unique to me is really understanding the motivations behind everything she does,” Chapman explained.

“Whether or not it would be morally scrupulous, at the end of the day, she has her reasons. And you will get to see that come forward in the rest of the season. I think people will be very interested to know her reasons why.”

However, Chapman doesn’t go at it alone. When dealing with action or fight scenes, she has plenty of support.

“I would be amiss if I did not mention my amazing, amazing stunt woman who doubles me. [Aliya Iskakova Chiang] is so fantastic and makes me look so good. The stunt team are incredible athletes, choreographers, trainers. They really put in the time to get us up to speed and familiar with the fight,” she said.

“It’s been so much fun. Somuch fun working on the show and doing the stunts. It’s been a learning curve for sure. It’s definitely not something I’ve done in the past, not at this level anyway.”

And what can we look forward to from Zhilan for the rest of the season? Well, it isn’t named Kung Fu for nothing.

“Definitely more of the fighting. It just gets even better and better. We started off with a bang, so that’s saying something.

But not just that. Chapman also teased the emotional aspects of her character.

“We will see different sides of Zhilan. So far we’ve kind of seen a little bit of ‘the-badass-villain-who’s-kicking-butt,’ and for sure, there’s going to be more of that. But you’re going to see her respond in a loving way and just more colors of her in general. We’re going to see a lot more interaction with different characters as well.”

At the end of our interview, Chapman shared her hopes for the show in a poignant time of heightened Asian hate in America.

“The timing was impeccable. It’s unfortunate that this is happening to begin with. That we’re seeing the horrific, terrible things that are happening to the Asian community.”

“I think media is an incredibly powerful tool to educate and to normalize people with and to have them become familiar with us. What you see is what you know. I hope that by seeing this Asian-American family on screen, I hope people, no matter what their background is, will be able to relate to us, be familiar with us and say ‘Hey, like that’s my family, too.'”

“I think that’s important because by seeing that, we become not the other and not foreign anymore. We’re just people. And we should be seen as that. That’s my hope for the show. That it normalizes and familiarizes people with us and our culture and builds those connections and bridges with one another.”

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Don’t miss Kung Fu airing on Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW!

You can find Yvonne Chapman on Twitter and Instagram!

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