More than just a sidekick, Katy is more or less the second lead of the movie and looks to have a big future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe \u2013 and recently we caught up with Awkwafina to find out how she established such a strong bond with her co-stars, and what\u2019s next for Katy and Shang as Marvel\u2019s Phase Four continues.<\/p>\n
Note: this interview has been edited and condensed.<\/em><\/p>\n So, first off \u2013 it\u2019s evening here. I watched the film earlier this morning. Really loved it. I\u2019ve got to say, you and Simu have great chemistry as friends in the movie. Did you guys know each other before, or was that all in the process?<\/strong><\/p>\n I did meet Simu before. I actually met him at the chemistry read. We got on great, and I had him on my show [Nora from Queens]. And he was really, really good in the episode of my show. So we definitely got to know each other then. And then out in Australia, we hung out a lot. So we genuinely were friends, yeah. He\u2019s a great guy.<\/p> It\u2019s really the heart of the film, this platonic friendship between Katy and Shang. I thought that was quite interesting, because I feel like another version of this film maybe would have had her as a love interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n You know, I definitely think that at the core of their relationship, they really are friends, right? And I think that their friendship is one that goes deep. So I could definitely see what you\u2019re talking about \u2013 there\u2019s an alternate reality.<\/p>\n But I think, you know, he has a lot of things afoot in this movie. I feel like adding on a girlfriend might be a lot, for the context of the times. But who knows?<\/p>\n Who knows?<\/strong><\/p>\n He\u2019s a very good-looking guy, so it\u2019s foreseeable.<\/p>\n Considering a lot of the things that happen in the film, it\u2019s not the wildest thing that could happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n [laughs<\/u><\/em>] No, it\u2019s not that crazy.<\/p>\n Katy kind of feels like she was written for you. Was that the case, or did you just really work to kind of inhabit it like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n You know what? It was. And that\u2019s a testament, really, to Dave Callaham and Destin, that they really shaped Katy. And Destin had said: \u201cThis is what I\u2019d imagined you\u2019d say, but if this isn\u2019t what it is\u2026\u201d So there was a lot of, also, improv and stuff.<\/p>\n I would read Katy\u2019s lines in the morning. Sometimes they\u2019d come out fresh, where we\u2019d change a scene, and I\u2019d always crack up. So I loved what was already written for Katy, and I really do feel like they did make her a little bit different. So it\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n Katy is kind of a grounding force in the film. She occasionally punctuates the tension, and she\u2019s that sort of link to the real world, as it were. What was it like balancing that, and the comedy elements, with the more serious moments, especially those really emotional beats towards the end?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think that Katy, throughout all of it, has a kind of unspoken understanding, or at least an unspoken, non-judgement of what [Shang\u2019s] dark past is. And she finds it out fairly late. So there is an element of: sure, she should feel betrayed by it. But at the same time, she completely gets it.<\/p>\n I always went into the character with this level of understanding that he has a lot of stuff that he has to kind of deal with. And she just wants to be there to support him.<\/p>\n Dealing with comedic elements in this world is really fun, actually, because there is a lot of serious subject matter there. So when you\u2019re able to come into certain things a little bit light, it\u2019s actually really fun. So I enjoyed that.<\/p>\n But, yeah, it\u2019s really important also that she doesn\u2019t lose that element of understanding of where he\u2019s coming from.<\/p>\n People might think you\u2019re just the best friend character, but you have some action. Did you know you\u2019d be doing that from the start?<\/strong><\/p>\n You know what? I didn\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t know the extent of how much I would actually be doing. We had an amazing stunt team on this movie. Like, incredible. These guys are more than capable of doing whatever. But more often than not, I did actually find myself falling backwards on a pole or something, which was really fun.<\/p>\n But it also was really fun to kind of step back and watch all of these things happen in the scene, and also just on the side-lines on set. So it was very rewarding. But I did find myself doing some stunts \u2013 mostly falling. Which is harder than it seems.<\/p>\n Falling with style.<\/strong><\/p>\n [laughs<\/u><\/em>] Yeah.<\/p>\n Without giving anything away, the film is a fairly self-contained story, but there\u2019s a hint at the end of where Shang and Katy could be moving in the wider Marvel universe. Would you like to see them at the centre of that world, maybe interacting with those other characters?<\/strong><\/p>\n I mean, I think it would be so cool to just be able to step into that world. Without giving away too much, I think there\u2019s an integral character that kind of links all that. It\u2019s really, really cool that we got to work with him, too. I think with that character, there\u2019s so much possibility for the exploration of other things, and also kind of the rules of Shang-Chi\u2019s world, and how it kind of fits into the larger universe. Yeah, it\u2019s very cool.<\/p>\n Obviously I have to ask, [Marvel fans] are saying: \u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d Is there talk of a sequel? Any ideas being thrown around? Or is it too early to say?<\/strong><\/p>\n I mean\u2026 I\u2019ve heard stuff about that! But I think we\u2019re going to see how this one is. I would love to do a sequel, if it happens, yeah. But we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n If there was a sequel, how would you like to see Katy\u2019s story develop? Where do you think she should go next?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know, actually. Maybe that\u2019s the same perspective Katy would have going into what\u2019s afoot. I don\u2019t know. I think it would be cool to see if she develops any interests in anything. But I think, really, I want to see where her and Shang\u2019s relationship goes.<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to slightly put you on the spot I\u2019m afraid \u2013 if you had to sum up the film in three words, what words would you use?<\/strong><\/p>\n Fierce. Frolicking. Four. [laughs<\/u><\/em>] It could have a \u201cu\u201d or an \u201ce\u201d in it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true. You didn\u2019t need to alliterate them, but I like that you did.<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, thank you. But if you think about it \u2013 like, stew on it, on those three words \u2013 it\u2019ll make sense.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll all tie together.<\/strong><\/p>\n I pre-planned it, yeah.<\/p>\n Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in cinemas now. To see how it fits into the wider Marvel world, check out our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order<\/a>, our dedicated Movies<\/a> page or our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The rapper-turned-actor opens up on her part in Marvel\u2019s latest adventure, where she plays Katy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3970,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/awkwafina-on-her-shang-chi-role-they-made-her-a-little-bit-different.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The rapper-turned-actor opens up on her part in Marvel\u2019s latest adventure, where she plays Katy.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Shang-Chi"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/Shang-Katy-2aaf856.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Shang\\"")
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