Jess Hong (‘3 Body Problem’): ‘It’s been a life-changer in multiple ways for me’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I knew from the moment I read the first drafts of the script that this show was something special,” admits Jess Hong about her first starring role in “3 Body Problem.” The hit Netflix sci-fi drama was co-created by multiple Emmy-winning “Game of Thrones” duo David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, who serve as co-creators and producers with writer/producer Alexander Woo (“True Blood”). For our recent webchat she adds, “I was reading the draft scripts at home alone in my bed, and I was laughing and crying, and so enthralled by these characters, the relationships and of course the epic storytelling.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Rosalind Chao (‘3 Body Problem’)
“3 Body Problem” is based on the Hugo Award-winning novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Chinese author Liu Cixin, the first in Liu’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy. Benioff, Weiss and Woo co-wrote the pilot together, titled “Countdown,” which takes place in both 1960s China and modern-day England, where astrophysicists try to uncover and expose what is ultimately revealed as an existential threat to humanity from a distant and more advanced alien civilization known as the San-ti. Hong stars as Jin Cheng, a gifted young physicist who become entangled in uncovering the truth about this impending threat to humanity. The newcomer stars alongside Rosalind Chao and Zine Tseng as the older and younger version of Ye Wenjie, a revered astrophysicist concealing secrets from her dark past that will impact humankind’s future. The large ensemble also includes Benedict Wong, Jovan Adepo, Eiza Gonzalez, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Marlo Kelly and “Game of Thrones” alums Jonathan Pryce, John Bradley and Liam Cunningham.
“It’s been a life-changer in multiple ways for me,” Hong says about her breakout role. “I’d been a few years out of drama school when I first got this gig, and I’d never lived outside of New Zealand. I’ve never lived on my own, and I’ve never worked on a project of this scale before, To have your first big break be something of such incredible substance, such high quality writing, to have the source material be something epic and well-loved to have writers like Dan, David and Alex, who are really just geniuses. It’s been absolutely overwhelmingly positive,” she says, noting that it’s even more gratifying because of the trio took such a big swing with challenging material, with Benioff and Weiss under some understandable pressure to follow up their huge “Game of Thrones” success with another home run. “I said, ‘hey, are you afraid at all? Because this is supposed to be the unadaptable series of our generation,'” Hong recalls about one of the first conversations she had with Benioff and Weiss. “He said, ‘yeah, of course. But if you’re not afraid, you’re not doing something right,” referencing what Benioff told her, adding that her main takeaway from their leadership was to “do the thing that freaks you out, because that’s where you’re going to find the most growth and the most satisfaction in the end, no matter the results.”
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