CHLOE MAGAZINE
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NOW STARRING IN THE WEINSTEIN’S SERIES,
“MARCO POLO”, CHENG IS TRAVELLING THE
WORLD, FEELING FULFILLED, AND LIVING
THE LIFE MOST ACTORS ONLY DREAM OF.
Who are you? (And yes, that can be taken as
philosophically as you’d like!)
Hi, I’m Olivia Cheng! Most people know me
lately as the actress who plays Mei Lin on Netflix’s
“Marco Polo”. I’d describe myself as your friendly
neighbourhood drama geek who’ s always down
for a good dance party or personal growth workshop.
Why did your parents move to Edmonton/
Canada?
My mom and dad immigrated to Canada separately and actually met in Edmonton protesting
against a media outlet. They had different reasons
for why they left Hong Kong and settled in Edmonton, but I think Canada represented hope for
more and for better.
It seems as though you take your life/career/
destiny into your own hands, which is very
admirable. Are you happy with where your life
and career are now, or do you foresee another
career change?
I’m really happy with where I’m at, but I also
invite more. I’m not someone who’s capable of
staying stagnant. Believe me, I’ve tried to stay put
in my hard-won comfort bubbles because growth
isn’t easy, but I feel most alive when I live with
purpose. It’s funny, I was running around like a
chicken with its head cut off to make ends meet
before I landed “Marco Polo”. The show has given
me the space to breathe and reflect on where I
want to go next. I don’t have all the answers yet
and I pray a lot for clarity and guidance, but I
know some major life expansion is around the
corner. On the career front, I think it means
exploring other facets of this business as I search
for meaningful content to participate in, and on
the life front, I want to find someone awesome
to share this crazy ride with. I’m good to hit an
amusement park on my own, but it’s much more
fun when you’ve got a playmate to eat too much
cotton candy with.
Has your experience as a videographer and
print journalist informed or affected the way
you see the world around you and your performances in FRONT of the camera?
My experience as a journalist opened my eyes in
so many ways. I met people from all walks of life
who were often experiencing the worst moments
of their lives. It was humbling. I realized there
are so many superficial things that divide us but
we all feel the same hurts no matter what race
or socioeconomic class we’re from. Emotion and
matters of the heart are universal truths. So with
every role, I always figure out what the beating
heart of the character is to hopefully channel
something real. People may not understand how
actors do what we do but they’re affected when
emotion’s authentic. They feel what you feel.
We’re all connected like that. My experience as a
journalist helped me understand how intelligent
the heart is and to put heart into every performance as an actor.