Ming-Na Wen On ‘Karate Kid: Legends' And Film's Challenge To Persevere

Ming-Na Wen is still wondering how — after kicking butt as Melinda May in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and as Fennec Shand in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett — she didn't have any fight scenes in Karate Kid: Legends.
Plus, let's not forget that the iconic actor is also a force to be reckoned with as the long-time voice of Disney's Mulan.
'I didn't get to throw a punch after all the characters I play fighting all the time — and I was working with Jackie Chan,' Wen said, laughing, in a recent Zoom conversation. 'But I did try to convince Jonathan Entwistle, our director, that since [Jackie's]
Wen stars in the pivotal role of Dr. Fong in Karate Kid: Legends, which merges the worlds of original Karate Kid franchise star Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso and Chan's Mr. Han from the 2010 reimagining of The Karate Kid.
In Karate Kid: Legends, now playing in theaters, Ben Wang stars as Li Fong, a karate prodigy who studies under Mr. Han in Beijing against wishes of his mother, Dr. Fong. As it turns out, Li's brother, Bo (Oscar Ge), was killed in an incident stemming from a karate tournament and out of fear of losing her other son, Dr. Fong tries to keep Li away from the martial arts.
After Dr. Fong lands a new job at a hospital in New York City, she and Li move from Beijing to get a fresh start. However, when Li settles into his new surroundings, he starts to get bullied by a local karate champ, Conor Day (Aramis Knight), and wants to fight back, so he enlists the help of Mr. Han — who in turn contacts Daniel — to train him.
If all the pieces fall into place, Li will advance far enough in the New York City's prestigious 5 Boroughs Karate Tournament to take on his bully and help some friends in need in the process.
Karate Kid: Legends also stars Sadie Stanley as Mia Lipani, whom Li befriends when he arrives in New York City, while Wyatt Oleff plays Li's tutor, Alan. Joshua Jackson also stars as Mia's father, Victor, a former boxing champion who hopes to get back into the ring with the help of Li's training.
While Ming-Na Wen doesn't throw a punch in Karate Kid: Legends, that doesn't mean her character hasn't been in past battles, particularly those dealing with mental anguish. Since Dr. Fong has already suffered the loss of her son, Bo, she's desperate to keep Li safe.
As a parent in real life, Wen admitted that playing out the worst fear every father and mother faces was tough to wrap her head around. Luckily, she added, the film also has an important element of hope.
'This particular Karate Kid film is quite dark and serious at times. It's more than just about a coming-of-age story in which Ben Wang plays Li so beautifully,' Wen said. '[Them losing Bo] is a huge loss and so incredibly tragic, but instead of making that the focus of the story, it's also about persevering. It's about being able to survive and go through the pain and still try to find meaning.'
As such, Wen said Karate Kid: Legends presents a story from her character's standpoint that everybody can relate to, including herself.
'We've suffered several different losses in our family recently, and I took all of that emotion and pain and filtered it into that into my character,' Wen explained. 'Also, I've seen how other family members work through that pain and still try to find meaning in life and that is what Dr. Fong is all about.'
Helping Wen channel those real-life emotions into Dr. Fong in Karate Kid: Legends was Wang, whom she said immediately felt like a family member when she met him.
'When I met Ben, I immediately had maternal feelings for him and playing his mom was very easy,' Wen said. 'He's such a lovable guy and it was easy to build a relationship and a chemistry with him.
'Art gets easier when you can just tap into the nuances of who you are and be able to work them into your character,' Wen added. 'So, it was quite easy for me to become Dr. Fong and be that mom who wants to protect her kids and guide them and set ground rules, which they always break.'
That's not to say, however, that Wen is a super-strict mom in real life like Dr. Fong is in Karate Kid: Legends.
'I'm a much cooler mom than Dr. Fong,' Wen enthused. 'I'm kind of like the rock and roll mom!'
In addition to working with Wang and Jackie Chan in Karate Kid: Legends, Wen was thrilled to have the opportunity to star in a project with Ralph Macchio for the first time. Of course, making the opportunity even better was that her work with Macchio happened to be in a Karate Kid film.
'I'm friends with [Karate Kid Part II star] Tamlyn Tomita and I've met Ralph a few times through conventions, upfronts and things like that, and he's always so gracious and so lovely to finally get to work with him and to see his passion and his love for this franchise and how protective he is of it. It's just so lovely to see.
'I think Pat Morita would just be patting him on the back and saying, 'Good job son,'' Wen added. 'He is really endearing, lovely, hard-working and detailed. It was so great that I got to work with the original Karate Kid.'
Karate Kid: Legends is playing in theaters nationwide.

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