EXCLUSIVE | 'Hightown' star Jona Xiao says playing a stripper didn't come easy to her
There have been several occasions in recent years where Hollywood movies have been led by Asian actors that have done particularly well at the box office.
Celebrities such as Henry Golding, Steven Yeun, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Jamie Chung, and others have been really successful in English-language films and have inspired those of Asian descent to achieve their dreams in Hollywood.
One such person who has done exceptionally well in recent times is none other than Jona Xiao. The actress has been phenomenal in projects such as 'Hightown', 'Being Mary Jane' and 'The Flash'. Apart from the aforementioned projects, she garnered a lot of praise for her acting in 'Keeping Up with the Joneses'. However, her moment of glory came when she was cast in the MCU movie 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'. She also lent her voice to the villain Namaari as a child in 'Raya and the Last Dragon'.
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Since then, she has become one of the brightest talents in the industry who doesn't shy away from taking bold steps when it comes to tackling challenging roles. MEAWW caught up with the talented young actress to talk about her career, how she felt while working with Marvel and how it was not easy for her to play a stripper in 'Hightown'.
Q) You have been a part of Hollywood for so many years now and you have worked on such a wide range of projects. How has your journey been in the industry?
Jona: The journey was really challenging at first. However, the last several years have been very rewarding and I’m really proud of being a part of the stories that make a difference to the people. So, yeah, it’s been really awesome.
Q) You have been a part of the Marvel Universe and you were a part of ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. How was your experience working with such a big production company? And how challenging it was to not tell anyone about your role?
Jona: Oh, wow. It was so tough for me (laughs). I’m a bit of an open book as a person. It was like ‘Oh yeah, I am going to film something’, but can’t say anything further, even though I wanted to. So, yeah it was really tough for me to not say anything about it.
Q) So, working with MCU is really big. If your name is attached to it, the value of an actor goes really high. How being a part of the MCU has helped your career?
Jona: Absolutely. When ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ was announced my reps and I started getting more opportunities from the industry. I was being seen for the roles that maybe I wouldn’t normally get seen for. So yeah, that opened up a lot of things for me. I got to play a DC supervillain in ‘The Flash’ and that was great. So, it has definitely opened up the doors that would have been harder to open in the past.
Q) Which is your favorite – MCU or DCEU?
Jona: Oh my god. I love both. I always loved ‘The Dark Knight’ series from Christopher Nolan. I also love ‘Avengers’ and all the other movies from the Marvel Universe. So, I like both of them for different reasons.
Q) Your last movie ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ was an epic journey. I saw it and was mesmerized by the movie and your voice. So, how did you prepare for the voice acting? Do you like it?
Jona: I got into voice acting a few years ago and I absolutely love it. I got to work on the movie from the scratch. So, Disney makes like eight different versions of the feature film before the final version comes out. So, I got to work for the directors and writers, and the entire team. I voiced the character for all the eight versions and it is such a treat, the entire story and how the characters change. Originally it was less of an ensemble piece and it was more of Raya’s journey and even more focused on that. When the final product came out and it was like a beautiful ensemble where we get to know other characters and how they come together as a group to save the world. It was pretty awesome.
Q) Let’s talk about ‘Hightown’. Amazing series and you have been phenomenal. How did your role come up? And what was the audition procedure like?
Jone: I got the audition through my team and at first I was like ‘a stripper role? Me?’ Like, I have been given the role of a stripper in the past. And I blocked my mom on social media a few months ago so I could protect her so she wouldn’t have to see that from me. I was like, everyone go and watch ‘Hightown’. But, mom and dad, you don’t need to see it (laughs). As far as the audition is concerned, I did a self-tape due to the pandemic and I was like I might not be great for the role. So, I just thought of having fun with it, which I believe, is the right mindset when it comes to approaching roles and auditioning. Then, I find out that I am doing a chemistry read with the legendary Luis Guzman. Now I am on Zoom with the showrunners, producers and then reading with Luis.
Everyone was looking for some chemistry because I play his girlfriend on the show and you won’t believe, it got a little steamy during the chemistry read. It got really hot. So, when I found out that I have got the role, I was really ecstatic and excited to dig my teeth into such a well-written role.
Q) Can you give us some scoop about Season 3? Anything on Season 3 of ‘Hightown’?
Jona: I would love to be a part of Season 3. There is no confirmation yet, but yeah, I hope there is Season 3. I would love to see this show sharing these powerful stories.
Q) Any future projects that you are working on currently?
Jona: I recently got offered this campaign I am involved in that focuses on football and being an athlete and empowering women.
(To lend an easy-to-read experience for our readers, the original interview is split into multiple stories. Stay with us as we update our site with more of Tann's valuable insights on her career)