Finding ‘Ohana Star Lindsay Watson Is Ready To Tell Her Story

Hapa Mag - MARCH 10, 2021

By Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Lindsay Watson moved from Hawaii to Los Angeles right after graduating high school in 2013, but in all her years auditioning in Hollywood, she’d never read anything quite like Finding ‘Ohana. The Netflix film, about a young New York City tween, Pili (Kea Peahu) who returns to rural O’ahu in Hawaii with her mother and brother when her grandfather gets sick, is a rare adventure centering native Hawaiians. Or, as Watson calls it during our zoom call, “the golden egg.” 

“My jaw dropped reading [the script], knowing that not only was this going to be a Netflix movie, but three of the leads are Hawaiian characters,” Watson recalls. “It’s not like we’re just the token thing in the corner, a cute little hula dancer. This is our movie telling our story…. This is our true culture and not the grass skirts and coconut shells version.”

In the movie, Watson plays Hana, a native Hawaiian teenager who gets caught up in Pili’s quest to find an ancient lost treasure on the island. Her character provides a strong cultural anchor to Finding ‘Ohana, often explaining Hawaiian customs or traditions to Pili and her older brother, Ioane (Alex Aiono). It’s a responsibility Watson took on off camera as well. “The first time I sat down and talked to [director Jude Weng], you could tell her heart was in the right place,” Watson recalls. “She very clearly opened the conversation with me early to say, ‘If you feel like anything’s not right, if you feel like we’re disrespecting [the] culture in any way, you come directly to me and we’ll fix it.’” According to the actor, Weng extended the offer to “every Hawaiian” on set, and, the few times Watson did come forward with a potential problem, she says the director was completely game to shift things around to make it work. “She really gave me that freedom to make sure we did it right,” she says. “I wanted to walk away with a project that I felt good in my heart with, and that’s exactly what this ended up being.”

Before premiering on Netflix in January, Finding ‘Ohana was already being celebrated in Hawaii. Maui Mayor Mike Victorino declared Jan. 29, 2021 — the day of the film’s release — Finding ‘Ohana Day. “It was really cool to see that the community was backing our film in Hawaii,” Watson says, still somewhat in awe, “knowing that our film could possibly be affecting the people out there in the community.” But as exciting as it is to have a film be celebrated by her home state, it’s also a bit daunting to be faced with the responsibility of having to represent an entire culture in a Hollywood landscape that so rarely tells their stories. “It’s really stressful, through all the excitement that I had, that it was going to be my face that was bringing the Hawaiian culture to the screen. There was so much weight on my shoulders,” she admits. The thing that kept her from succumbing to all that pressure? Knowing that she could help other native Hawaiians feel represented. 

“To think about the fact that I grew up and I never saw anyone like me on screen, and that this is that, now maybe the younger generation will watch and go, ‘That person’s like me, I can do that,’” Watson says. “That’s more rewarding than [the fear].” But it’s not just Hawaiians she hopes sees themselves in Hana and Finding ‘Ohana, it’s anyone who feels marginalized or left out of mainstream Hollywood narratives. “I think at the end of the day, it’s going to be super rewarding to know I might inspire, not just Hawaiians, but anyone of an ethnic background that hasn’t seen themselves on screen,” she says, adding that she especially hopes that audiences from “little islands” feel inspired when they watch the film.

Watson has high hopes for the future of Hawaiian representation in Hollywood, but she also knows that one movie can’t change everything. She’s well aware of the realities of industry that views her as “ethnically ambiguous.” Reflecting on her seven years of L.A. auditions, she rattles off all the various ethnicities she’s been asked to play — Indian, Native American, Asian, Japanese, Chinese — most of which do reflect her “big mix” heritage. But none are native Hawaiian, the ethnicity she identifies with the most. Still, she’s confident that, as time goes on, there will be more and more Hawaiian stories that make it to the big and small screens. And, if she doesn’t find them, she’ll write them herself. “I’ve always had some idea of how I can take my career and go full circle and help Hawaii,” she says. “I want to write, and I want to tell the stories, and I want to cast Pacific Islanders, and I want to cast Hawaiians, and I want to give work to them.”

Looking to the future, Watson is clear: she wants to represent her culture and help elevate others to tell their stories along with her. “If I can use my platform to be a voice for other people,” she says, “I would just love that because there’s so many beautiful cultures and stories out there that need to be told.”

Olivia Truffaut-Wong is a movie and TV obsessed writer and editor who loves to spotlight Asian voices in Hollywood. She can be found in many corners of the internet, and is most likely currently marathoning a Netflix show with her cat, Minou, by her side. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @iwatchiam.