Geekscape Interviews: ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’ Star Samantha Jo

I just had the opportunity to speak with Samantha Jo, who plays the fan-blade wielding assassin, Princess Kitana, in the Mortal Kombat: Legacy web-series. She discusses her role, how she became Kitana, and how awesome she is. Be sure to also check out my interview with Mortal Kombat: Legacy director Kevin Tancharoen!

CS: “What’s your favorite thing about playing Kitana?”

SJ: “There are so many to choose from. I think it would have to be that she uses fans. I was actually trained to use fans in Wushu so that would be my favorite thing just because it’s so random and quirky, I mean, who the hell uses a fan as a weapon? I do! *laughs*

CS: “What’s your least favorite thing about Kitana?”

SJ: “If the wardrobe was the same as in the game then that would be my least favorite thing. It was actually very respectful and conservative given the game’s wardrobe.”

CS: “Do they keep in mind the costume when it comes down to the stunt work and moves you have to perform?”

SJ: “I don’t think it was specifically made for the stunt work. I think that Kevin just had an idea in his head that Kitana and Mileena are female assassins and in order to do their job you can’t really be wearing little flimsy bikinis and I thought it was absolutely great that that was his idea because that’s what was in my head to I mean we’re assassins and we go out and we kill people, that’s our job and it wouldn’t really make sense if we’re falling out of our costumes. If you know what I mean.” *laughs*

CS: “Were you more interested in the stunt work when you started out in your career or did you always see yourself getting more serious about acting?”

SJ: “It’s hard to say. I never really planned out exactly where I thought I would be. When I was younger I did commercials and print modeling then I joined martial arts and got really into the competitions and that led me to stunt work and now stunt work has kind of come back to acting from what I was doing as a kid so I think in general I just absolutely love performing so anything that presents itself as an opportunity I take it. I’m really just trying to get as much experience in life as possible but seeing as the acting has been more prevalent lately I find it really interesting, I’ve been taking more classes and getting more into it. It’s a lot of fun and I like exploring what my brain and my thoughts can come up with as opposed to what I can just physically do.”

CS: “What are some common misconceptions people have about actors that you’ve noticed?”

SJ: “I think as a kid, and anyone not in that world, it looks extremely glamorous and you’re like ooh look at their hair, their makeup, it’s so pretty and all these big dance numbers and these big action scenes and you’re like that must be so cool to hang out on sets but I think once I started in stunt work and I was on bigger film sets I got to see that a lot of the time it’s rolling in the dirt, being messy and really silly stuff and it’s not all that glamorous. It’s a lot of fun but a lot of times on set it’s very messy and your hair isn’t always blowing perfectly in the wind. That was my big misconception, I thought it was more glamorous and all these starlets being all perfect but it’s not; everybody is just people and things happen, things get messy and that’s just life.” *laughs*

CS: “If you could play every part in a movie which would you pick and why?”

SJ: “You have awesome questions! I would have to say….ah man….all I can think of in my head are those Eddie Murphy movies where he gets to play everyone.” *laughs* “I guess for now I’d say Miss Congeniality because I’d like to explore all the different personalities of pageant girls. I’ve met a couple of them and they’re just so different from each other. I think that’d be a lot of fun.”

CS: “You’d also have to play Michael Caine.”

SJ: “Oh, of course! That’s the best part.”

CS: “Are you much of a gamer in your free time?”

SJ: “The only games I actually just played was Mortal Kombat and my husband tried to get me to play Call of Duty but I’m a big fail at that so no I’m not really a gamer. I do enjoy MK because it was a huge part of my childhood but I get confused by all the buttons and end up button mashing and especially in games like Call of Duty my thumbs can’t move at the same time so I end up looking in one direction and to other players it looks like I’m just running sideways.” *laughs* “I admit, I’m no good at games.”

CS: “What do you think you did differently to stand apart in your audition for the role of Kitana?”

SJ: “I met Kevin at a gym and he saw me practicing fight and thought “Wow this girl can really fight,” and I seemed to have looked the part so it just kind of happened from there. He hired me for season one and everything went well and then season two came along and there was a little bit more dialog so I did audition and I’m not really sure if there were other casting choices but I think I had a one-up in that I was already Kitana in season one and the character kind of hits close to home for me.”

CS: “How’s that?”

SJ: “The whole family dynamic. I love my brothers to death, they are the best brothers in the world, but growing up you do have your issues with them and so they were two boys and I was the only girl so it was always like them two and then me left out so I understood the idea of feeling alone. That whole sibling rivalry, competing against each other all the time and not being friendly with each other, that whole dynamic I really understood. Of course now I want to clear my brothers and admit that I love them.” *laughs*

CS: “How does Samantha Jo start her day and end it?”

SJ: “I start my day after waking up from a good nine hours of sleep. I’ll either make pancakes or breakfast or I’ll go to Shoops on Santa Monica because they have dog bowls so I’ll get my dog, my husband and I breakfast. Check the mail. Go home. Read for a long time. Go to the gym and then maybe a coffee shop and read some more. Go home and then watch a movie or two and then go to bed. Yeah, sounds about right!”

CS: “Okay, you’re Kitana and you’ve just won the MK tournament and saved the realms from Shao Kahn. What’s the first thing you do?”

SJ: “I go back to Edenia and be with my people and I make sure that they’re okay and I just live and be happy and spread some happiness! Mmhmm.”

CS: “What other projects or personal ambitions do you work on as well?”

SJ: “Personal projects? My husband and I have recently got into woodworking stuff. I always want to have a project going like building a new coffee table or building a new bed, those types of projects I really like or even just projects around the home. I love HGTV so it really inspires me whenever I’m bored I find something around the house to upgrade.”

CS: “What else do you think fans will be excited to see when it comes to Kitana?”

SJ: “I think the words ‘Fatality’ have been around the board lately so I think fans can definitely look forward to that. People who were at comic-con did get to see quite the scene and I think that scene in particular, our fight scene’s dramatic ending, is surprising and might I say gory so I think fans will be really excited by that scene. Other than that it’s just diving back into the family dynamic with Kitana and Mileena and their sibling rivalry. You don’t want to miss that episode but how could you because they all come out at the same time! I can’t wait, I think I’m just going to put on my sweatpants and sit in front of the TV and just go at it.” *laughs*

Mortal Kombat Legacy’s second season debuts on September 26, 2013 and can be viewed in its entirety on the Machinima YouTube channel. Also, be sure to listen to last night’s Geekscape, where Jonathan interviews Legacy‘s Liu Kang, Brian Tee!

http://youtu.be/46l9Zc7DBxE