IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHELLE MAO

interview by JANA LETONJA

Michelle Mao is poised for a breakout year. Early next year, she joins Netflix’s global phenomenon ‘Bridgerton’ as Rosamund Li, a major new character and one of the season’s central antagonists. Recently, she appeared opposite Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell in Kogonada’s ‘A Big, Bold Beautiful Journey’, and will reunite with the acclaimed filmmaker as the lead of 'Zi', which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

sweater GUIZIO
shoes JIMMY CHOO
earrings JEAN DOUSSET

You’re joining ‘Bridgerton’ as Rosamund Li, a major new character. What excited you most about stepping into the world of the Ton?

I came into the project as a huge fan of the series, so booking this project felt like winning the lottery. After Season 1 aired, I texted my friends saying “I need to be in a period piece.” And I suppose the way Shondaland and Netflix worked together to expand the possibilities of what a Regency period piece could look like really sparked my imagination. I allowed myself to believe, for the first time, that I could be in one. Then to actually step into the world 4 years later and see all these familiar faces and places in real life was surreal. I remember I was freaking out at every small thing – getting fitted for my first ball gown, holding a Whistledown pamphlet in my hands for the first time, meeting the rest of the cast and crew. I was truly a kid in a theme park. 

Rosamund is described as one of the season’s central antagonists. How did you approach playing someone who disrupts the social and romantic balance?

I was grateful that I was able to do a Zoom call with Jess Brownell, the showrunner, prior to shooting, where we mapped out Rosamund’s arc as an antagonist together. Katie Leung, who took my breath away every time she stepped into Lady Penwood’s shoes, was also central to helping me conceptualize Rosamund. I knew immediately that I didn’t want to shy away from Rosamund’s vanity and cruelty because it plays as the perfect foil to Sophie’s character. Their diverging paths illustrate an important lesson in the Ton, I think. Rosamund is also such a product of her mother’s upbringing, so doing Rosamund justice was also key to understanding the Penwood house’s dynamic. Approaching it that way freed me to really lean into the antagonism. 

sweater ATELIER SOLANO
jeans SIGNIFICANT OTHER
earrings and rings JEAN DOUSSET

What can audiences expect from Rosamund that feels fresh or unexpected within the ‘Bridgerton’ universe?

I am really excited for eagle-eyed audiences to see how the season incorporates Chinese culture into the aesthetic and cultural melting pot that is the ‘Bridgerton’ universe. There are details and moments that I hope fans of the show, especially those who share my culture, will notice and delight in. 

You can currently be seen in ‘A Big, Bold Beautiful Journey’ alongside Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. What was it like working under Kogonada’s direction? 

They say never meet your heroes, but I was lucky enough to meet three of mine on this project, and not only did they not disappoint, they somehow surpassed my already very high expectations. From day one on set, Kogonada made me feel at home, respected, and valued, even as a supporting character. There were hundreds of people on set that day, an auditorium filled with background actors, a ton of supporting cast and two of the biggest stars in the world, yet he found time and energy to connect with every single one of us. 

Kogonada is known for his visual poetry and emotional precision. What did you learn from collaborating with him? 

That trust begets trust. The more you trust your collaborators, the more they open themselves to you. Filmmaking is inherently a risky endeavour, so understandably, it’s easy to get precious and fear-based about things. Kogonada is that rare combination of being both precise in his filmmaking language, yet still open, carefree, and deeply trusting in the moment. The love and curiosity he has for the art-form he’s dedicated himself to is palpable in every interaction and truly infectious. 

bodysuit and tights COMMANDO
shoes JIMMY CHOO
bracelet ALEX AND ANI
earrings JEAN DOUSSET

How do you balance emotional vulnerability with technical precision when you’re building a character?

The moment when I’m acting, or “in action,” sits in a completely different part of my brain than when I’m breaking down a script or preparing a character. I tend to lean on literary analysis and extensive research in the preparation process. Maybe my academic background is why I over-intellectualize to a fault. But over the years, I’ve learned that bringing all of that with you on the day can be suffocating and snuffs out the playfulness and freeness of the moment, so now I leave all of that at the door and enter every scene like a newborn baby, trusting that all of my prep is baked into the cake that I’m serving. 

What kinds of stories or characters do you hope to help bring to the forefront as your career expands?

Maybe it’s because I’ve just seen ‘Hamnet’, but at this moment, there’s something in me that really wants to see how we can harness the potential of cinema to heal people. Don’t get me wrong, I love art that disquiets, disturbs, and disgusts. In fact, I think it’s critical that we use art to confront what’s broken and ugly about our world. But increasingly, I also hope to use art as a balm. Not to pacify or numb by any means, but perhaps to be a place where tired souls can dock for a moment and feel safe enough to open their hard shells and show their gooey insides, to open a skylight into the rat-race of modernity and let the sun shine in. 

With such a momentum-filled year ahead, what excites you most about this next chapter?

I like to tell people that I took the scenic route with my career, in the sense that it didn’t happen overnight, and for so many years felt like I was planting all these seeds without any idea of when they would grow. There’s a line in Tarkovsky’s ‘Sacrifice’ that is something to the effect of “all my life has felt like waiting at a train station.” I finally feel like the train has pulled into the station. Actually, I just learned that a film I shot recently in Hong Kong, that's very close to my heart, got into the Sundance Film Festival. It's experimental and we took kind of a French New Wave approach to it. I'm very excited to attend such a monumental year of this iconic film festival. In all the upcoming whirlwind, I don’t want to place too much expectation on what may or should happen, but to enter next year with an open heart, ground myself in the day to day, and continue to work hard for my dreams.

coat GIUSEPPE DI MORATO
dress SIGNIFICANT OTHER
earrings and rings JEAN DOUSSET
bracelet ALEX AND ANI

sweater GUIZIO
skirt AFFECTION BLVD
shoes CIDER
earrings JEAN DOUSSET
tights STYLIST’S OWN

sweater BANANA REPUBLIC
earrings JEAN DOUSSET

dress SIGNIFICANT OTHER
earrings and rings JEAN DOUSSET
bracelet ALEX AND ANI

TEAM CREDITS:

talent MICHELLE MAO
photography RETO STERCHI
producer JESSE SIMON
styling SAVANNAH MENDOZA at The Wall Group
makeup MELANIE INGLESSIS at Forward Artists
hair JOHN D at Forward Artists
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
editorial director and interview JANA LETONJA