Jamie Chung first gained national exposure as a cast member on The Real World: San Diego. However, since then she's become one of only a small handful of reality TV veterans who have forged a successful acting career far removed from that first claim to fame, with roles in Days of Our Lives and Greek.
You'll be seeing a lot more of Chung in the months to come – First, she's playing the title role in Samurai Girl. This ABC Family's miniseries event, airing September 5th through the 7th, comes from three Alias alumni. Then next year, Chung will be seen in Dragonball, the movie adaptation of the anime hit. I recently spoke to Chung to find out what it's like taking part in both of these high profile projects.
IGN TV: So Jamie, you are Samurai Girl. Is it fun to take on what is essentially a superhero type character?
Jamie Chung: Yes, it's a dream come true. It's a role that all girls want to play. And most actresses do romantic comedy and drama and what most want to do is action – I got the whole shebang, because Samurai Girl is not just action or drama, it has everything. I kid you not, you're going to be blown away by the production value and how creative it was. It is based on a series of books, but the whole mythical part and the superhero part… Luke McMullen, the writer/creator, he is totally into comic books. That's his life. And so he really did a good job of bringing that out in [my character] Heaven. It's weird – my last costume is this amazing superhero outfit, and I get to kick ass. I saw the books with my photo on the cover, and it's crazy. And then, quite possibly, another series and then even maybe action figures… A little plastic, mini you!? How cool is that? And, my character, through the magic of television, I look like I'm kicking lots of ass and that's really cool. I've always wanted to do this – always.
IGN: What was the audition process like?
Chung: Oh god! It was grueling. They saw thousands of girls. They saw me once; didn't like me. Brought me back. I had to audition seven or eight more times.
IGN: Well, they must have liked you at least a little bit to bring you back.
Chung: Oh, yeah, but they really put me through the ringer, because they wanted to make sure. And one of the questions was, "Do you do martial arts?" I told them, "I've done it before. I'm not a pro, but I will learn." And you know, I'm pretty athletic. I like to work out a lot. And fighting is just another form of a story and I love the challenge. And it really helped for Dragonball, because Chi Chi is a martial arts expert, so I got to play back-to-back roles as someone female who's really strong and kicks ass. How cool is that?
IGN: Can you talk a bit more about your character in Samurai Girl?
Chung: It's about a 19 year old girl who's adopted by the most powerful and wealthy family in Japan and after a tragic event – her arranged marriage is attacked and her brother dies saving her – she's told that the Yakuza has infiltrated her family. So when she tries to find out who killed her brother, who attacked the wedding, and how far the Yakuza are into the family, she finds out that the reason she was adopted by her family was because there's this ancient secret prophecy that includes Heaven, and if you have her, you will soon gain lots of power. And that's what the wealthiest man in Japan wants – is more power. That was his incentive to adopt her. So it's her journey of finding her samurai roots. Where she really came from, the whole myth that she's a part of. And yeah, the end scene is a very superhero scene. It's an incredible adventure. It's Alias meets Gossip Girl, with all the action and the romance and the relationships. I can talk about this all f**king night, excuse my language! To be genuinely excited about it I think is important, and I truly am. I see the work and I'm like, it's not cheesy, it's bad ass and it looks crazy cool. You will love it.