Japanese-American actress Ally Maki on Asian representation in Hollywood, doing animated series ‘Hit-Monkey’

The 34-year-old actress was also in the Marvel TV series “Cloak & Dagger” where she portrayed Mina Hess.

“It’s really amazing to be back in the Marvel Universe. This is my second role in this Marvel Universe and to be able to portray not one but two so far is simply exciting. I pinch myself every day. It’s such a dream,” she said.

“Hit-Monkey,” an animated action-adventure TV series created by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, tells the story of a wronged Japanese snow monkey who is mentored by the ghost of an American assassin.

Other voice actors in the series include Jason Sudeikis (Bryce), George Takei (Shinji Yokohama), Olivia Munn (Akiko), and Nobi Nakanishi (Ito).

We were able to interview Ally and below are excerpts of our conversation.

Talk about your character Detective Haruka. What do you admire about her?

I love playing Detective Haruka. She is so filled with strength. When I’m looking for roles, not only do I look for just the amazing cast that we have, but also, I love playing women who are maybe underrepresented or undervalued in some way. And I love being able to bring that heart and strength to the role. So, I love everything about her. I think she’s so fierce and I love how she discovers her voice and her values, and what they mean throughout the season.

You mentioned about being proud of representation, especially in Hollywood. Do you think Hollywood is opening up more now to Asian American actors and giving them more parts?

Absolutely, I think. And this is just the beginning. I think we’re finally recognizing our power. With the Gold Open movement that’s happening, where we’re essentially buying out theaters and we’re all coming in droves to see these movies and support. We had “Parasite” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” You see these moments and they’re glass shattering for all of us.

So, I definitely think this is just the beginning. I’m so excited for us all to continue walking into more leading roles in front of and behind the camera. It’s really about building that pipeline for the next generation to continue, like you said, to walk into these creative fields. So, I think it’s very exciting.

Do you have any inspirations in acting, Asian American actors who inspired you to become one?

Yeah, definitely. Well, I have two. Sandra Oh obviously is one of them. I think her role Cristina on Grey’s just broke down everything of “Wow, that’s who, I feel like I am her.” And I think so many women felt that way. And that’s why her role specifically was so special and important. And then there is Lindsay Price, who is now a dear friend, who I grew up watching on “Lipstick Jungle,” and just so many of her amazing shows that she did, is such a friend and ally to me, and someone who I go to for advice. And I so admire the women who walked before us so that we could continue to do what we love.

Were you familiar with the comic book “Hit-Monkey” before?

I was not familiar with it. And once I got educated, I was like, “Hit-Monkey is awesome.” And I think people are going to really fall in the love with “Hit-Monkey.” Because you think about a monkey as the lead character, wow. What an interesting take. But I found myself falling in love with Hit-Monkey because he’s so uniquely himself. And even though he doesn’t speak in a language that we understand, you really get what he’s trying to come across, the emotion in his eyes, the choices that he makes, he’s such a fun character. So, it was a fun show to be on.

What makes being part of a TV animation exciting and challenging?

I love doing voice-over. I think it really reminds me and takes me back to the reason why I love performing in the first place, because you don’t get to see anything. You just walk into a room; you get a script and you’ve got to kind of make up choices on the fly. And for me it feels very much like when you’re a kid again and you’re just using your imagination for your dolls or whatever.

I really enjoy those parts of it. But challenging in a sense that we recorded a lot of this during the pandemic and that was a new world where we’re learning how to run sessions on Zoom. And thank goodness for my fiancé, who’s Filipino. And he is into music, and so he had a lot of equipment at home. And so, I found myself putting my head in these boxes and recording off in Zoom. So, that was challenging.

So, your Filipino fiancé is cooking for you Filipino food?

Always. Okay, so sinigang is my favorite probably meal of all time. He cooks that all the time. And then obviously for the holidays, we always do lumpia and he’s always making adobo. What else do we like? The ube cakes and… Yeah, I definitely know my way around Filipino cooking for sure.

Have you been to the Philippines?

I have not. I’m really excited to go at some point. It seems like he’s been a few times in his life and everyone is so lovely to him and he just has a great time every time he is there. So, one day I will make my way there.

Asian parents are very strict with their children when it comes to their career choices. They want them to be doctors, lawyers, or accountants. How were you able to convince your parents when you said, “I’m going to be an actress?”

What’s so funny is I’m very grateful that my parents have, from day one, always supported me. My mom was the mom who took me to every single thing. I started my first musical theater production when I was six or seven years old. And from then I did all the things, show choir and dance. And her whole life was basically just taking me to different arts programs, which I’m so grateful to her for because that created such a solid foundation.

I would say I’m very grateful for them because they really made me feel like it was possible. And that all the things that I wanted to do was a really viable way of living my life. So I’m very grateful for that. And very different from other Asian American parents I would say, like you said.

Are you the only actress in the family?

I am, yes, definitely.

How is it growing up in a culture where you have Japanese parents and you’re Japanese American. How is it growing up in that kind of multi-cultural environment?

What I think is so unique about my family and my perspective is that, because I am fourth generation Japanese American, my family has been in this country for so long. So, I guess the way I approach the world is that I am all American in a sense. And there’s so many parts of my culture that I so love being Japanese American, but my grandmother was interned when she was 16 years old. And I think that brought a lot of resilience and strength to my upbringing. My grandmother never let that define her.

And so, I take so much pride in being Japanese American as well as obviously in the grander scope, Asian American. And it really means so much to me. Obviously, I am so excited about where we’re headed in terms of representation.

George Takei is also in the series. Have you ever met him personally?

It’s so funny because I don’t really get star struck by many people, but I remember many years ago when he had his animated film come out, I was at a screening and everyone was going up to George and I was like, “Ally, this is your day. You’ve got to find a way.” So, I finally snuck my way up to him and I think I may have scared him because I was like, “George, hi, I’m Ally, it’s so nice to meet you.” And he’s like, “Hi, how are you?” in his big bellowing voice. And we got to take a picture together, which I have somewhere, but that was actually the first time I met him. And we didn’t see each other at all during recording. So, I’m always happy that I had that moment, that I met him in real life.

Do you have any dream roles?

I would love to do like a big, high budget, adventure comedy. I love the “Jumanji’s.” The world feels very big and I can have that kind of heightened sense of environment. I got to do that a little bit on “Wrecked” and I really enjoyed those parts of myself, of playing the grounded reality of it all, but the world feels so big. So yeah, I think that would be fun.

And if you would advise your younger self, what would you tell her?

I think just knowing that anything is possible for you. I think growing up, I felt a lot of boxes placed around me and I just didn’t think that a lot of things could ever happen for me. Even in this moment it’s like, I could never imagine myself being here right now. So, I think I would tell myself and any other young person that maybe is doubting what they can do, just know that anything is possible, just know what your dream is, and really just go for it and take those risks.