Locke & Key’s Genevieve Kang, Unlocking Her Potential

MIXED ASIAN MEDIA - November 5, 2021

By Alex Chester

Locke and Key fans, rejoice! Season two is out now on Netflix. Dark and scary at times, but with a sense of humor, this comic book adaptation is a crowd pleaser for those who love fantasy and magic. Locke & Key reminds us adults what it’s like to view the world through the eyes of a kid, where anything is possible and magic is real.

Genevieve Kang, who plays Jackie, is an incredibly grounding presence. She’s warm, smart, self-aware, and has the feel of an old soul. It’s easy to see how she slipped so naturally into this role. Genevieve’s approach to her career is holistic in nature, and she’s worn many hats before finally calling herself a professional actor.

What was it like for you growing up mixed, and how did you get into acting?

I grew up in a smaller city in the interior of British Columbia, which was predominantly white. It was pretty interesting, in that my family kind of stood out. In terms of how my parents raised us, I felt very equally exposed to both cultures. My dad's Chinese and my mom's Portuguese. That was just our normal. It wasn't until we started socializing and meeting other people that they would be like, "Oh, that's so unique.” I didn't know that people would find it fascinating. My dad was Asian, versus my mom being Asian. This is kind of a topic of conversation right now, the stereotypes around that.

Yeah, my dad was Asian too.

I find that more people make the assumption that your mom is Asian. In terms of acting, my family was very academic, and that's where I kind of gravitated away. I'm the youngest of four, and I was very much the artsy one growing up. Still am. Getting into acting as a hobby was something my parents didn't know much about. It wasn't until high school, when I did my first play, that I really got to explore it more. That's when I really fell in love with it. My parents knew at a very young age that I loved performance and putting on shows at home and stuff, but they didn't really know where to find that or where to explore it further. I felt like I had to push my parents to let me do it as a more serious hobby, and then eventually professionally. I went on to pursue it, but it's taken me many years. It's really just the past four or five years that I was able to even call myself an actor (even though I've been pursuing it for 15 years) because I just didn't have the examples in my family to pursue the arts in a professional capacity. It was more like, go to school, get a secure job, become a doctor or a teacher. I didn't have a lot of examples on screen in TV and film to show me that it was possible… or to show my parents that it was possible either. They didn't see anyone like me on TV.

So, you were homeschooled. Did I read that correctly?

Yeah, I was homeschooled from kindergarten up until age 12. Until I went to grade eight high school. We were all homeschooled for a period of time. My two older siblings went to public school up until I was [in] grades four and five. One of the reasons my parents pulled them out was because my oldest brother was actually getting made fun of for being mixed. He was getting bullied. My parents went to sort it out, but the school wasn't really willing to do much. So my parents had to, unfortunately, pull them out of school, and that's when my mom started homeschooling us.

I always love to meet other fellow homeschoolers because I was homeschooled from seventh grade onward. I love to connect with others on their experience. Did you enjoy it? I, myself, enjoyed it cause I was also being bullied.

I feel like a lot of people end up homeschooling their kids because they're being bullied, and maybe nothing is being done about it.

I loved being homeschooled. I didn't realize it until I got to public high school. There were certain rules — like you had to ask to go to the bathroom, you couldn't enter certain areas of the school at certain times. I was just so used to having a certain kind of freedom, and I think, because my parents entrusted us with a lot of responsibility at a very young age, there's also a certain sense of self-agency and self motivation you have to have, because you're not surrounded by a whole bunch of kids in a classroom to bounce off of. It was me and my three siblings.

You have to have the motivation and drive in order to get through your curriculum. I'm so glad to connect with you on that.

Let's talk about Locke & Key. I read the first graphic novel, then devoured the TV series, and I'm so excited for season two. Do you have a favorite episode? And what can we expect to see with Jackie?

I think what I can share in terms of the season, and what we're exploring with Jackie, is that her relationship with Tyler evolves a bit more. The two of them get to explore this idea of becoming adults. As you may know, as you become an adult, you no longer remember the magic. So with the anticipation of their 18th birthday, they're exploring that idea and what's going to happen.

How have you had to navigate being mixed on set? As far as I'm aware of, you're the only person of mixed Asian heritage as a key member of the cast.

Interestingly, there's a new character in season two who’s coming on, and also mixed Asian, so that's exciting. She's a new member of the Savini Squad. And then Griffin Gluck, who plays Gabe/Dodge, I believe his dad is half Japanese. So Griff and I would always be like, “Oh, we should play siblings or something,” and would always kind of have our inside jokes that we got to stand strong. We represent the Asians on the show. 

I love that!

But in terms of my experience in the show, it's interesting. I think of when I was little and, again, didn't see myself represented on screen. I feel very much that responsibility now for young girls who are watching the show and, honestly, people my age too. I get messages through social media and whatnot from people who are  like, “Oh my gosh, I never saw anyone like you on screen when I was younger, and now to see you on screen, it feels important, feels substantial.” I also like that as much as I think it's really important to share our stories as an Asian community (our authentic stories), it's also important to have a character like Jackie. They could have cast anybody, and they ended up casting me.

Something we strive for at Mixed Asian Media is to show the varying degrees of representation within the mixed Asian community. It's so lovely to hear that there are more mixed Asian people in Locke & Key that audiences aren't necessarily aware of, and you're at the forefront. You really are paving the path for fellow mixed Asians. It's very exciting.

How has your holistic background influenced your acting career?

I've only been acting full-time for maybe the past four years. I did go to school for many things and got many degrees, as would make my parents so happy, before I transitioned into acting full time. I was [actually] working as a holistic nutritionist. My interest in holistic nutrition kind of came from my own personal health concerns. I was diagnosed with lupus when I was in my teens, which is an autoimmune condition. The doctors I saw at the time didn't tell me to do much of anything, except to take this really powerful steroid, daily, for the rest of my life to help alleviate my symptoms, which was very debilitating joint pain. After taking the medication for a few years, and upon further research of my own, I was like, “I don't think this is what I want to do.” So I started educating myself in ways that I could change my diet and lifestyle, to help alleviate my symptoms, versus taking this medication. I transitioned off the medication, and have been living virtually symptom-free ever since, just by changing my diet and lifestyle. I think there's a balance between conventional and holistic. I think people get really used to living and feeling a certain way in their bodies, not knowing they could actually feel better. We normalize feeling pain or being tired all the time, and sometimes those things are even celebrated. Like, “I'm just going to get old, and I'm going to develop this disease.” I say there are other ways that you can take care of yourself.

I decided to go to school for holistic nutrition. I was working a bunch of other jobs to pay my bills while I pursued acting, but I was getting so tired because they were things like working in restaurants and bakeries. They were great shifts in that I could get away for auditions and that sort of thing, but, again, not the most supportive of lifestyle and my health. I was like, I'm going to go to school, become a nutritionist, and start my own business. Then I can set my own hours, pursue acting, and go to auditions freely. It's kind of funny because, in a way, I became a nutritionist so that I could continue to pursue acting.

What I've learned in terms of holistic living and taking care of my body, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, is only gonna support my system for putting out good work. Whether it be acting, writing, or eventually directing too. Our industry can be really unhealthy in a lot of ways. Something I'm learning as I get older as an actor, and certainly in other roles within the industry as well, is that it can often be isolating. If you're traveling for work, you're in a different city, and depending on how often you're on set, you're just by yourself with your thoughts all the time.

If you don't mind sharing, what does your self-care look like?

Oh, it's always changing. That's actually been a big thing. I think, for me, a big piece of self-care is checking in each day to see what it is that I need on that particular day. Because I know, for my personality, I can get really into a routine where I'm a little bit on autopilot, so then I'm not checking in.

Something that I've tried to do a lot more in the past couple of years, in particular, is to check in each day and see what the non-negotiables are. They're simple. They're drinking as much water as possible during the day, staying hydrated, and prioritizing sleep. I think we undervalue sleep too much in our society. I think nutrition, movement, and all these things are super important, but rest and sleep are even more so. Other than that, I find I also need to have some form of connection in my day. I live on my own, so it's an effort to really connect with people — calling a friend, calling my mom, having a conversation with someone, going for a walk with no music, nothing just nature and my surroundings. I got a new dog. There's that too. Just like spending time with my pup. I have a cat as well. Yeah. Connection.

I love that. So what projects are you working on next? Do you have a dream project to act in, or direct, or write?

Great questions. I've been reading a lot of scripts and looking at a lot of new material, kind of working with my team to see what the next thing will be for me. I feel like a lot of actors don't talk about this, but it's hard when there are certain projects you want to do that you aren't getting to read for, or getting access to. I will say, I’m being much more selective and picky with what it is I want to do. I don't have so much energy, and I'd rather put it someplace that's going to be intentional and meaningful to me. Lots of reading scripts and figuring out what the next thing is for me.

In terms of writing/directing, I'm currently working on a script. I'm very much in the depths of it. I really need to rip the Band-Aid off and just finish it, because it's a story that’s close to my heart. It's very much based on parts of my childhood and growing up mixed race. It explores a lot of themes of identity, and not belonging, and culture, and racism. Not only is it something I want to share, it’s something I feel very passionate about, something I think a lot of other people would find useful. 

Absolutely. I, myself, would love to read it. Congratulations.

If you could create a magical key, what would it do?

Oh, wow. Whoa. That's tough. I mean, cause I think, what if I could have special powers? What would I want to have? I'm just going to go with something I could use practically in my day to day, maybe some kind of key that could provide a little bit of a shortcut to getting in a state of calm and groundedness. I tend to, again, going back to self-care, try and practice certain things every day to help make me feel nourished and grounded. But I’ve certainly also experienced my fair share of anxiety, so maybe something like a calming key, something to help with anxiety.

I could totally use that as well.

In the past couple of years, with the state of the world, I think maybe a lot of people could use something like that.

Yes. I think it would be beneficial to the world. What's one question you wish people would ask? 

Ooh, that's a good question. First I will say, I've actually really enjoyed the questions you've asked. I found they've been different from a lot of questions I usually get asked. We often get asked the same things over and over again. I appreciate anything very personable. I think that's such a nice way to engage and connect with people. Even asking about my homeschooling experience and my background in holistic nutrition and everything, I find those are nice questions. I'm obviously very passionate about nutrition, so it allows me to open up and share a bit about that. Things that are more personable.

Do you have any words of advice for a mixed kid growing up that would want to pursue acting and pursue the holistic route?

It's pretty cliché, just stay true to yourself. Like I said earlier, I didn't have people who looked like me represented on screen when I was growing up. It made it hard for me to believe it was possible. If there's a way for young people, who aren't seeing themselves represented, to break out of that at an earlier stage and be a trailblazer in that regard, do it. And don't feel like you need to see it before. It's possible.