3 Body Problem’s Jess Hong recalls touching response from women in science
3 Body Problem star Jess Hong feels "super-proud" of her role after receiving a touching response from women in science.
Hong plays physicist Jin Cheng in the sci-fi series, which is based on author Liu Cixin's book The Three-Body Problem. The characters in 3 Body Problem are faced with impossible decisions, devastating circumstances, and a daunting enemy in the form of an advanced alien race, the San-Ti.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Hong and co-star Zine Tseng (young Ye Wenjie) discussed the importance of representing both women and diversity in STEM.
Related: 3 Body Problem stars discuss the importance of male intimacy on the show
"I wasn't thinking about that when I was playing it, because I was so driven into the character, to focus on the emotional part of it. But then I learned, as a result, that is a sign of strength from women – that aspect. I felt proud afterwards," explained Tseng.
Hong echoed the feeling of pride, recalling a recent conversation which made her "tear up", knowing that "the female-to-male ratio in STEM is very disparate".
"We should be proud. F**k yeah. I met someone named Vicky last night who is an actual astrophysicist – a female in the scientific world – and she's young. She's in her 30s or something – early 30s. And she came up to me last night, and was like, 'Thank you, because that's the first time I think I've ever seen myself on screen.'
"I was like, 'Oh, s**t, this is what we do it for, so that people can relate and see themselves.' And hopefully more than just scientists see themselves in this," Hong added.
Related: Game of Thrones star shares why he almost turned down 3 Body Problem role
Hong revealed how "extremely, extremely grateful" she felt to have landed her first big role, describing self-taped auditions as "here goes another one into the void. We'll never hear back from that again."
She continued: "So, I was grateful just to get a call-back audition, and then they wanted to meet me on Zoom. So I got to meet [creators David Benioff, DB Weiss, and Alexander Woo] on Zoom. I was like: 'What?!'"
"Needless to say, we're just super-proud to play these strong, female characters. Not just strong because they act like men, but strong because they feel everything. They feel everything to the core – and they act strongly as well, and have very clear intentions. I think we need more of that."
All episodes of 3 Body Problem are available to stream now on Netflix.
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