"I Wear My Korean-ness Proudly On My Face": 'Batwoman' Star Nicole Kang on Navigating Hollywood
Rachel Skarsten
In our new WFH reality, we all crave an excuse to dress up every now and then—including celebs. And what better time to do it than a photoshoot with HelloGiggles? In Dressing Up With HG, stars pick from a handful of outfit-based prompts, reach into their closets, and reveal their best cute, silly, or throwback looks on camera, all captured on Polaroid film.
During the casting process for The CW's Batwoman, the sketch for Mary Hamilton, the stepsister of titular character Kate Kane, had blonde hair and blue eyes. However, the actress who brought her to life last year in Season 1 of the hit superhero show, Nicole Kang, is Korean American. When the 27-year-old (who you probably also recognize as Lynn from Netflix's 2018 drama You), first read the script, she strongly resonated with Mary—and she says now that she's grateful producers realized she could "elevate the role into 2020 in an exciting and fresh way." Kang's Mary has since become the heart and humor of Batwoman, and speaking to HelloGiggles, the star says that even though her race might not be a plotline on the show, it's still making a powerful statement.
"I infuse my ethnicity into every role I take on," Kang says over a recent phone call. "Especially this one, Mary Hamilton, because it wasn't intentionally an Asian role. I get to bring my whole breadth of humanity to Mary, regardless if her last name is Asian or not. Inevitably, I breathe my own ethnicity into her every action and word, because it's undeniable when I walk into the room—my face is my face."
"I wear my Korean-ness proudly on my face," Kang continues. "Whether I speak about it on the show or not, it's always in the room there with me."
Asian characters have largely been left out of the superhero genre in the past; only this fall will Simu Liu make history as Marvel's first-ever Asian superhero Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Although the character of Mary Hamilton might not have superpowers, the influencer-in-the-making still gets her hands dirty on the field with the Bat Team in Batwoman; she secretly owns an underground medical clinic for Gotham's underserved. The impact of representing a bubbly and bold Asian woman on a superhero show (Season 2 of Batwoman premiered in January) is not lost on Kang.
"Symbolically, for Asian kids watching, it gives me a really huge sense of joy and makes me feel very blessed that they get to see someone they recognize onscreen," she says.
Growing up as an aspiring actress and competitive figure skater, Kang recalls looking to Sandra Oh, Michelle Kwan, and Kristi Yamaguchi as role models. Today, she credits them with showing her what she could achieve as an Asian American woman in the entertainment industry.
"All of the women who came before me have opened doors so that I can walk through them confidently, and dare to imagine a possibility where I can be on the poster of a big project that traditionally didn't have my face included one day," Kang says.
"I've always looked at the industry as a challenge; I've always had this huge dream, and I continue to."
—Nicole kang
Kang's dream extends beyond her acting career and into activism. In November, before recent mass shootings and countless headlines called (long overdue) wider attention to the swelling hate crimes against the Asian American community, Kang co-created a video campaign, Asian We Stand, with fellow actress Midori Francis (Dash & Lily) to raise awareness about anti-Asian violence. Kang and Francis spoke to professors, actors, CEOs, and police officers across the country who broke down the deep seated history behind anti-Asian hate crimes (you can watch a collective video of the interviews on Kang's Instagram).
"I feel as though it's my responsibility to speak on this moment in history as I have been doing for the last year—and even before that," Kang says. "I have this platform which A, I can speak on, and B, people will listen—so, I don't take it lightly."
As violence against Asian Americans continues to rise, Kang admits to feeling both "exhausted" and "inspired" in the span of each day. But as a whole, the star says the fire to fight against hate is burning inside her more than ever before. "We can't get the lives we lost back, but we can start from this moment forward acknowledging our friends' ethnicities and our friends' struggles, and start showing up and showing our support," she says.
As for how non-Asian people can be allies to their Asian American friends right now, Kang recommends avoiding the "dreaded question in the time of COVID": "How are you doing?" "This has been a trying time for us all," she explains. "So, I think asking, 'What do you need?' instead and checking in with accountability and love is hugely helpful."
"I was speaking to [half Vietnamese actress] Olivia Munn the other day and I was like, 'You must be so exhausted. Thank you. Keep going,'" Kang continues. "She was like, 'oh my god, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that.' Sometimes acknowledging how exhausting it must be is so nice."
When she's feeling overwhelmed herself, Kang often turns to dance to release her emotions. "Moving our bodies can express things that words can't," she says. "Sometimes I just need to move because it encourages me to breathe and helps lift the burden a little bit in a day."
"Dancing—especially this year—has helped me through quite a lot."
At just 27, Kang has already been through many trying times. As a child, she survived skin cancer and also underwent multiple surgeries due to a figure skating accident, all resulting in several scars across her left shoulder.
"I'm working on embracing [my scars] more," she says. "Whether it's on red carpets or in costumes on my show, I'm trying to not be afraid of revealing that part of myself which I feel is vulnerable—but can also be a source of strength."
"All of the scars on my body are the history of everything that I've been through and how strong and resilient I already am," Kang continues. "Surviving in the skin that I have up until this point in my life is superhero enough."
Special thanks to Polaroid for providing cameras and film.
Photo Editor: Jasmine Purdie
Designer: Sarah Maiden
