Ottawa Comiccon 2016 – Ming-Na Wen

Ottawa Comiccon’s Day 2 (Saturday) kicked off with a great celebrity panel featuring Ming-Na Wen. You know her as Agent Melinda May on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but she has an extensive resume, including memorable roles in The Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter (the movie), Mulan, ER and SGU Stargate Universe.

We’ve been long-time fans and, even though we saw her at the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel at Comicpalooza 2014 we were pumped at the opportunity to see her on her own panel.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MING-NA WEN PANEL

Ottawa Comiccon doesn’t allow any recordings of their panels, but we were able to capture some great moments and quotes from Ming-Na. Here are a few of the best:

• “Who’s excited about the season finale,” speaking about  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.… “You guys are gonna cry. We cried so much at our table read.”
• A fan asked about her voice-acting work, like Mulan. “I love voice-acting, because I’m generally a little bit on the lazy side (just kidding). I can go in and not worry if I am bloated that day…. it’s just about the purity of acting with the voice.” She mentioned that Mulan took three years of recording.
• On “White-Washing Hollywood” (casting caucasian actors in essentially asian-roles) : “I find that trend a little disheartening, because I have been in this business for like thirty years and I feel like it’s taken so many steps backwards. It’s just not fair … The asian actors don’t get a lot of roles …. I hope that trend stops and I’m glad that conversation is out there.
• Another fan asked “Do you do most of your own stunts?” : “I do about 80% of my stunts. It kind of astounds me that I’ve learned so much about stunt-fighting, because that is a whole art form in itself. It’s a lot of fun and I’m just glad I can do it.”
• Ming-Na’s part in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t specifically written Asian at the time.  Her name in the pilot was Agent Althea Rice …. Rice.  When Ming-Na was cast, they decided to change the name.
• #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan – Ming-Na said she was “Team Captain!”