When Brenda Song firstauditioned forDollface, she was feeling a bit delirious.
Shed spent the night and wee hours of the morning filming theNetflix thrillerSecret Obsession.
There was a big speech that Madison had to say while on the treadmill.
I was insane and did the whole scene running.
While Songs unparalleled commitment to the material scored her the part, she wasnt too sure of her performance.
I thought I bombed it.
I was so tired, my eye was twitching.
I was such a mess.
or the emotional nuance she brought to the Paris Hilton-like heiress.
We went back to work literally 12 weeks after he was born.
It was super intense.
I was still breastfeeding, Song says.
I look back on it now and I was like, Why did I do that?
But I’m so grateful.
I’m really lucky because I have such a great support system at home and on set.
If theres a challenge, Songs going to accept it.
Youre not one for slowing down, but prior to landingDollface, you were doing just that.
What was the impetus for that choice?
So we went to Thailand for seven weeks to shoot it.
Right up until we were about to film, I actually had a couple roadblocks.
I was like, “Am I not meant to go?
My manager was like, “Are you sure?
You’re turning down this job to go do a little indie…
I’d never really done that.
Youd been too booked and busy on Disney your whole life!
I’m just a homebody.
But he’s been everywhere.
So we were like, “Let’s just go.”
Spending time traveling, you really get to know someone.
So we did that for about almost a year.
Where did you guys go?
We spent a lot of time in Europe.
He was living in Paris and I’m like, “Oh, really?
You have a place in Paris?”
We also traveled within the U.S. We went to Montana, New Orleans, Vermont, Amsterdam, Germany.
Wherever we felt like going, we kind of just went.
And it was really nice and I feel very fortunate to have been able to do so.
Coming back, I was in a place where I wasn’t sure where I fit in this industry.
We were actually in Europe when I got the call forSecret Obsession.
I was like, “What?
This is a thriller.
I’ve never done anything like this.
In the middle of that is actually when I got the audition forDollface.
What made you realize going dark wouldnt be right for you?
I think there’s this stigma about coming out of Disney where people are almost ashamed of it.
Theres a lot of pressure when you come out of it to become an adult actor right away.
I had my first kiss on camera.
Sorry, guys.”
People were really surprised.
Theres real power in saying no.
How did you develop the conviction to stand your ground?
Seth Green actually gave me great advice.
You have to really stay true to your priorities in life.
Your partner also famously walked away from Hollywood.
How has being in a relationship with him further empowered you to say no?
Watching that was shocking because it’s also very different for me.
He’s a white male.
I’m a 33-year-old Asian American.
There’s always that fear that the opportunity will not be there again.
That’s something that I’ve had to get over.
That fear of going, “I don’t have a lot of opportunities.
So if I say no, they might not come back.”
The scarcity of roles for Asian Americans is something youve dealt with throughout your career.
What did those early experiences teach you about your racial identity?
Being a child actor I learned rejection at a really young age.
I’m not going to play Harrison Ford’s biological daughter, you know what I mean?
Thank god the industry has changed so much in the last just 10 years.
But because I’m 33, I’ve been in this industry for 29 years.
If I had an audition for that, that was a big deal.
Now youve carved out a niche for yourself playing uptight yet comedic characters, whether itsDollfacesMadison orDaisy onNew Girl.
What draws you to these unapologetic neurotics?
Where does that come from?”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onFeb.
