Credit: ABC
Krista Marie Yu plays Molly, the daughter of Ken and Allison Park on ABC’s new comedy series Dr. Ken. The snarky, intelligent, and quick-witted Molly brings heart and laughter to the new sitcom, currently in its first season.
We had the chance to chat with Krista Marie Yu about what attracted her to the series, how excited she was to work with Joel McHale and other Community guest stars, and how she hopes to be a role model to young girls.
Read on for our exclusive interview with Krista Marie Yu here:
What inspired you to get into acting? Was there anyone who influenced you?
Krista Marie Yu: I’ve always loved to perform. I started in a singing and dancing group when I was really young. It was a group that would go to, like, senior homes or the boys and girls club and different charity events and perform whenever we can. As much as I loved the singing and dancing itself and just being on stage, it also just really made me realize what kind of impact performing can have on other people. From there I’ve just always been in love with it.
Is there anyone you would love to work with someday, if you could pick anyone?
There’s so many. Ming-Na Wen has always been on the top of my list of people. She is the voice of Mulan and she’s an Asian American actress who has been in the industry for so long. Rosalind Chao. They’re so gorgeous and they represent strong women in the industry and I’d love to work with them and watch and learn from them.
Can you talk a little about your role on Dr. Ken and what originally attracted you to it?
Sure. My role on Dr. Ken [is that] I play the 16-year-old daughter of Ken and Allison Park. She’s great on social media; she’s really fashionable and quick-witted so she’s definitely half of Ken and half of Allison. She has Allison’s smart wit and she has Ken’s kind of snarky attitude at the same time. So it’s really fun to play her, that’s for sure.
I was drawn to her for many reasons. I was just excited for the show in general making such an impact with diversity on TV. And I also just am proud to be representing a young Asian female on TV. I just hope that young girls know that they can follow their dreams and no one can tell them that they can’t.
How has the experience been working with the cast? Have there been any memorable moments for you that stand out?
Oh, yes, it’s such a dream. It’s my first big role. Almost every day I kind of stop and remind myself and wipe my eyes like “Is this really happening?” The other cast mates and the crew and the whole team, they all put 110% into the whole process. It’s so incredible to work with people who are so passionate and excited and want to see you shine too.
That’s always good to have that kind of an environment to work in.
It’s really incredible and I just learn from that and the kind of actor that I want to be.
One of the more recent episodes featured a guest appearance by Joel McHale. Was that exciting for you?
Yes! Him and Danny Pudi. It was so exciting. I’m a huge Community fan and I have all the DVDs. It’s been a show that I’ve followed since it started. To meet them, I could feel myself shaking out of excitement but to watch them work was more of an exciting thing. They’re so free and loose and confident with their comedy. It’s just incredible to watch their process and how magical things can come out of just being brave.
You must have been freaking out when you heard you’d be working with them.
When Ken [Jeong] told me that… I don’t think I even formed coherent words. I think I just kind of made noises, I was so excited.
Are there any other familiar faces we can look forward to in the rest of the season?
Yeah, there’s another Community guest: Jim Rash who played the Dean. He was really exciting to watch work as well. In the past we’ve had Margaret Cho and Will Yun Lee and they’re just all really great actors and nice people who have been in the industry awhile and have good stories to share.
With the new season premiere, can you tease a little about what we can expect from your character in the upcoming episodes?
In my opinion, the season gets funnier and funnier. Molly definitely tests the boundaries of her parents often and can be pretty snarky, but in the upcoming episodes, you can definitely see how she has a lot of love for her brother and parents as well and just wants the best for the family in general.
What else are you working on? What can your fans look forward to from you next?
Right now I’m just excited for the other episodes of Dr. Ken to come out!
How has the support been for you so far? Do you enjoy interacting with your fans on social media? Do you feel you’re a role model for young girls?
I hope to be one. I’m really grateful for anybody who tunes in and anyone who tweets at us and follows us on Instagram. It means a lot to every single one of us on this project. We all just work so hard and want to bring laughter to everyone’s TV, and just to see that positive response is really gratifying and makes us feel like our hard work is really paying off.
Thank you so much to Krista Marie Yu for taking the time to chat with us! We really appreciate it!
Keep up to date with Krista Marie Yu by following her on Twitter: @KristaMarieYu.
Be sure to tune in to Dr. Ken, Fridays at 8:30/7:30c on ABC!
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