British-Chinese star Jessie Mei Li discusses playing Alina Starkov in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone and why representation in the media matters
Before she appeared in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, the name Jessie Mei Li probably wouldn’t have rung any bells. But thanks to Netflix’s epic fantasy series, British-Chinese star Jessie Mei Li is now an actress to keep an eye out for, with the internet falling in love not only with her character and performance but her overall bubbly “ball of sunshine” personality.
The series, based on the eponymous book by Leigh Bardugo, spent its first 12 days on the streaming platform’s top 10 charts—the first show to achieve that in 2021. And with the popularity of the series, its cast turned into big stars overnight, particularly Jessie Mei Li who plays the lead character, Alina Starkov, one of the few Asian female lead characters in a fantasy series.
Hot on the heels of the show's success and positive reviews, Tatler chats with the breakout star about bringing Alina Starkov to life, why representation matters, growing up biracial and her favourite moment while filming.
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You started in theatre with Beat and All About Eve; what made you decide to switch to acting on screen, or was it something you’ve always wanted to do?
Starting out in the acting world, I think most people are keen to do whatever job comes their way, as often the hardest part is actually just getting seen for a role. I wanted to just have fun and do whatever jobs I could. I loved working in All About Eve; it wasn’t a huge role so it was like dipping my toe into the industry and having a look around at how it all works, without too much pressure. In a lot of ways, theatre and acting on screen are quite different and it’s a privilege to have experienced what it’s like working on the West End, on TV and film sets, and be able to learn so much from both.
You seem like a bit of a polyglot; did you always have an interest in language?
I’m definitely far too rusty to call myself a polyglot but I really do love language. I think my interest was piqued as a child growing up in a dual heritage household—my dad is from Hong Kong and mum is English—but all my extended family on my dad’s side live in Vancouver. My dad’s first language is Cantonese and my mum had a little from her time working in Hong Kong, so I think the idea was to raise us bilingual but not everything works out as planned.
When we did see my dad growing up, it was just easier for him to speak English to us as there was limited time to learn Cantonese. The summer holiday visits to my Ah Ma’s were the only times I had that much exposure to spoken Cantonese and while I always tried my best to learn for those two weeks, I would normally just spend my time listening and trying to work things out. Languages to me were like mysterious windows into worlds that I hadn’t been able to understand before and it was thrilling when I started to learn more and finally feel a part of my culture. I went to university to study languages but again, not everything goes as planned but I’m certainly happy to have ended up where I am.
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