During a 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Kelly Marie Tran talked about the appeal of the new Hulu series Monsterland, voicing Raya in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, and whether she’d ever consider returning to Star Wars as Rose Tico, if the opportunity to do a Disney+ series came along.
It was cool to hear that you’re voicing Raya in Raya and the Last Dragon.
TRAN: Thank you so much. I am so excited.
How do you feel about getting to be a Disney princess but also representing that for so many other people who might not have gotten to see themselves in that way before?
TRAN: Oh, my gosh, you’re going to make me cry. It feels totally unreal. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a completely miraculous fluke. Jamie Roberts, who cast me in that, is just so incredible and has supported me from the beginning. I’m having trouble answering this question because I don’t know that I know how to put it into words. It’s an honor and responsibility, at the same time, and it’s a lot of overwhelming emotions. I’m really, really grateful and excited to be a part of it. I’m so excited for people to see this movie. It’s gonna be good. I’m excited.
At this point in your life and career, how are you approaching the types of roles you want to play and the projects you want to be involved in? Is it something where you know pretty quickly, if it’s a story and a character that you feel connected to?
TRAN: Yeah. There is no real requirement for me, if that makes sense. I’m not particular to a genre or a type of character. What I am particular to is the story itself, what it stands for, and who’s involved, and I always wanna avoid perpetuating any negative stereotypes about any particular type of person. That’s something that’s very important to me. But at the end of the day, I just wanna tell good stories. When I read a script, I’m always looking for what questions it’s raising and what world I wanna live in for a bit. I think that acting takes a lot out of you because you are not just on set for hours and possibly away from your friends and family but you’re also just living in someone else’s skin for awhile. It’s the idea of, “Who do I wanna embody for awhile?,” because it’s going to definitely gonna affect your mental health.
In December 2019, director Jon M. Chu threw his hat into the ring for making a Disney+ Rose Tico series. Is that a character that you’d like to revisit, if an opportunity came up to explore other aspects of her in a TV series?
TRAN: He’s so cool. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. It’s so strange. I had so much fun being in that world but I feel like the pieces would have to fall into a perfect little puzzle and everything would have to feel like it’s the right time and the right moment and the right story, like with any other project. But I don’t know.
She’s certainly a character that has more story to tell.
TRAN: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think there are a lot of characters in that universe that we have yet to hear enough about.
Read the interview in full here, and watch Monsterland on Hulu.
