I remember back when Grace Park first portrayed Boomer in the Battlestar Galactica remake and how eyebrows were raised by her, an actress of Korean descent, taking over a role originated by a Black actor. Of course, both Park and the BSG quickly proved themselves and the members of the Herbert Jefferson, Jr. Fan Club called off their planned suicide bombings of the production offices. Park has already set her sights on another remake, and another role originated by a male, this time by a guy named Zulu of all things.
Entertainment Weekly spoke briefly with Park, who has a role on the upcoming Hawaii Five-O reboot, where she’s portraying Det. Kono Kalakaua. Zulu (real name, Gilbert Lani Kauhi), originated the role in 1968. Park attributes her trend of role reversals with the changing times: “Back in the day, we used to have much more male-centric shows,” she
says. “You still have male-heavy shows, but having a woman in there
adds a new dimension.” And her plans after this job? “My next goal is to do J.R. from Dallas. Then maybe Larry
from Three’s Company.”
Personally, I was hoping she’d take over the lead in Big Love or Hung and get it on with multiple chicks, but that’s just me…
4 comments
She will NEVER be mistaken for a guy. That is one smoking hot woman. I watched her for 4 seasons on BSG and I can honestly say that between her, Tricia Helfer and Lucy Lawless, I would have gladly sold out the human race to the Cylons. Jesus Christ those robots were goodlooking.
Uhh… this was announced months and months ago. I even distinctly remember her role mentioned during the previews they played during the LOST finale. And it was old news by then
That's not just you
try #7
The gender switch is fine with me. I like her, and I like that she's been added to the show. And I appreciate that there will be two Asian leads on this program now — her and Daniel Dae Kim. But she's not Native Hawaiian or even a Pacific Islander. Koreans and Hawaiians are not interchangeable. Sure, she could "pass," but I don't know if that's a good thing. On the levels of both fidelity to the source material and respect towards the community in which this show is representing, they'll need to address this somehow. I don't think it's something worth boycotting the show over or anything, it is something that the show-runners should think about. In the few episodes of Hawaii Five-O I've seen, I was actually pretty surprised in the way the show made great use of the Hawai'i's local culture and was actually pretty respectful of local issues — see "Stranger in Our Own Land."
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