Jen Van Epps is a rising star with a background in theatre, performance, and acting. Born in California to African American and Chinese-Taiwanese parents, she spent her youth perfecting her craft in the U.S. before relocating to Auckland in 2018. There, she began her professional acting career. It wasn’t until 2022 that she landed her first major role as Tess in M3GAN, playing the part of a skeptical, logical robotics engineer. Ahead of the sequel release of M3GAN 2.0, Asia Blooming spoke with Jen Van Epps about her career path, her experience as a person of color in Hollywood, M3GAN 2.0, and more.
While growing up, Van Epps always knew she wanted to perform, but this initial passion was for singing. “It’s been a journey my whole life,” she began. “We always thought singing would be the thing, because I was doing, like, Chinese, Taiwanese karaoke contests in Mandarin and I hosted Mandarin TV shows. But, the first time I was ever on stage, I was five, and I was Goldilocks in the school play. Obviously I’m not goldie or locks-y, but they needed a kid that could sing and act, and I was like, I like doing those things! This is kind of what started this whole journey for me.” A lot of where she drew this passion from was her surroundings, as she performed in school and church. “I found this love of acting and performing when I was young. I sang a lot at my Chinese church called Mandarin Baptist Church, and, you know, we’d sing and do plays and all that kind of stuff.”
Loving something and wanting to actually pursue it as a career are two separate things, and Van Epps realized this during her senior year. “It was always a passion and something I loved doing, but the first time I really realized the power of art and how it really could impact other people, was actually my senior year. I was the senior soloist, and I was singing this song from Ragtime, this musical, and I just remember looking down at an audience member, and she was crying. I was just like, wow, the power of art to move someone that you’ve never seen or met to tears [was unbelievable]. This story is about a woman who’s burying her child, and I’m an 18 year old that’s never even had sex at this point, but I’m able to kind of create this world to suck someone in, and it was so impactful.” It didn’t take long for Van Epps to realize that, though she loved to sing, her true passion was in performing in general.
Thinking back to her youth, Van Epps is reminded of several shows, films, and musicals that helped grow her love for the arts. “The movies that I can think of that I still love and impact me to the core are Wizard of Oz, Annie, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Musicals in particular have left like an indelible mark on my own creative journey. I also really loved I Love Lucy, and also Schindler’s List,” she listed off. “Schindler’s List was the first movie I saw that really shook me. It traumatized me in the best way possible. That’s what art is, right? Not just joy, but all the raw emotions and everything you can feel.”
Now that she had made up her mind to pursue her passion professionally, the next part was actually getting casted. “The first audition I had was for something that wasn’t commercial. I had a friend who was a model who asked if I wanted to go with her to this audition. I wanted to do commercials more than modeling, but I went with her, and they signed me and not her, which is a lesson to everybody to not bring your friends,” she began with a laugh. “No, no, please take your friends! I want everybody to win. But, I went in, and I discovered this whole different avenue I could take. I was so focused on music and singing and maybe what that could bring to my life creatively, that I hadn’t thought about other routes.” Van Epps also credited knowing the right people for helping get her foot in the door. “Right after college, I was working for my god brother, and we were part of this premiere Asian American nightclub called Garden of Eden. I would help him work the door, and through that, I met a couple people, and I ended up auditioning for this Asian American sketch comedy group called OPM.”
Beginning to book gigs and working on small projects here and there, M3GAN was truly a pivotal point in Van Epp’s career, years after she first began. “M3GAN just surprised me. I had no idea what we were making, because on paper, like, it sounded crazy, like Chucky in a skirt. Of course, it turned out not to be that, though.” Not only was this her first major film role, but it also brought Van Epps some new and valuable connections. “That role linked me to this writer slash director that I love, Ian, who watched it and asked me to shoot this short film. He’s such an amazing mind. M3GAN helped me further my career in a practical way in Hollywood, and that’s great, but it also helped me make connections to people I find really creative and juicy. It just really hit at the right moment.”
Another project Van Epps considers a key moment in her career was her role in Don’t Make Me Go, another 2022 film release. “I was John Cho’s wife, and we had a daughter played by Mia Isaac, and I loved that. After that film, a lot of people came out of the woodwork and messaged me to say they were so thrilled to see Blasian representation. In fact, we linked up to this group with a Taiwanese mom, and her husband is African American. She reached out, and, you know, she even had my mom join this group that was only for Taiwanese mamas married to someone in the African diaspora! For me, it was just such positive representation. Growing up biracial, I never really saw anyone like me [in media]. It was always having to pick a side. Are you Asian enough? Are you Black? Well, I’m Brown,” she began. “In my senior year at USC, the last paper I wrote was actually about the lack of representation in the media for biracial and mixed people as they are, so this film just felt like a really full circle moment.”
When it comes to Black, Asian, and biracial representation onscreen, Van Epps also admitted there’s some additional pressure, but only due to her own drive and passion. ” I think it’s my own burden,” she starts. “Wasians get a pass to be Asian, right? Even if I am just as much Asian as someone who is half white and half Chinese, just by appearance, you suddenly are like, you’re not Asian enough. Even though I speak Mandarin, and even though I lived in Taiwan, even though I grew up in Arcadia steeped in the culture, and the list is just long, you know. This has created an internal struggle that I hate, but that I always feel like I have to somehow prove my Asianness or prove my blackness.” Speaking earnestly, she also admitted that the push she feels can come from all sides. “There is pressure on both sides, and the stereotypes are strong on my Black side. I think that’s shifting, but growing up, people would say all sorts of crazy stuff. My dad had a pager, and someone asked if he was a drug dealer. So it’s little things like that. It’s like, let me make sure I code switch, let me make sure I speak a certain, non-threatening way. And then on the Chinese side, it’s like there’s this inherent, unspoken need, probably within myself, to try and prove myself. I know there’s nothing to prove because I am who I am, take it or leave it.” Wanting to end things off lightheartedly, she also mentioned the plus side to being someone who is mixed and speaks fluent Mandarin. “People love it when I start speaking Mandarin, and you know what? It helps me get deals!”
With M3GAN 2.0‘s upcoming release, Van Epps also spent some extra time looking back on the first film and its sequel. “What I always want for any character I have is that there’s some sort of journey. Not only does Megan have an upgrade, but I think every character has one [in the second film], including Tess. I think Tess really comes into her own, and that was extremely important to me. As the only Asian character AND the only Black character, I don’t ever want to be a token character. I want my character to add to the story! With M3GAN, I think Tess was very much the eyes and ears and heart and soul of the audience, sensing something amiss. In M3GAN 2.0, she very much does the same, but I think she’s stronger and has more of a voice.” With the famed franchise being her first major film production, she shared that she experienced a bit of imposter syndrome, especially when it came to working with the other cast members, and she only had words of praise for them. “Allison Williams was incredible to work with, and she’s just such a guide. And Ronny Chieng, I wish we could have brought him back. I just learned so much from their experience and their wisdom.”
Ultimately, Jen Van Epps’s goals are quite simple, but extravagant: to provide representation without tokenism, and to share stories for everyone to relate to, even if it means she needs to start from the beginning and create those stories herself. “I’ve always been afraid to actually write, but producing is something that I’m really interested in. There are actually a couple books that I’m like, how do we make this a movie? I would love it if the M3GAN franchise leads to me being able to tell a story from the ground up, to have creative control, and to be able to tell a story that is steeped in reality, but fantasy. But, I just love telling stories! What’s interesting is, there was a book I read recently that I told my manager about, and I said there’s no role for me. I am not a person that’s trying to find my star vehicle. I just want to tell good stories that appeal to everyone, that honor whatever background, culture, and platform they come from. I just want to be a part of that, even if I’m not in front of the camera. I want to tell these stories and amplify these voices, because there’s actually really great storytelling happening and creatives that should be highlighted.”
M3GAN 2.0 dances its way into theaters worldwide on June 27, 2025.
