Canadian actress Ellen Wong fights family tradition (and other things)

In high school, Ellen Wong excitedly told her Cambodian-Canadian parents about landing a role in a play.

"What's a play?" they responded. They didn't know what a play was, they didn't want to know and they didn't want their daughter harbouring any thoughts of a career in acting. But Wong fought them on it – and won. And she kept on fighting: The Torontonian's most prominent roles include a sword-savvy Commander Misaki Han-Shireikan on Syfy's Dark Matter, the sparky badass Knives Chau in 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and a recurring character on the new Netflix female-wrestling comedy GLOW.

At this year's Toronto International Film Festival, she's taking part in TIFF Rising Stars, a professional-development program for blossoming cinematic talent. The Globe and Mail spoke with the 32-year-old actress by phone.

You're not in any TIFF films this year, but you're taking part in the festival's Rising Star showcase. What do you expect to get out of it?

The program gives us a platform to have a voice, and to meet directors, writers and producers to learn more about the industry as a whole. I've been pretty quiet, in terms of what stories I want to be telling and what I want to pursue. Rising Stars gives me a chance to explore that.

In your bio, it's mentioned that you were raised in a traditional Cambodian-Canadian household, and that you broke tradition by becoming an actress. What would tradition have you as instead?

My parents escaped the genocide in Cambodia in the late 1970s and came to Canada as refugees. They were starting their lives over again, and they were looking for a sense of safety and security. That was a big thing in our household. Not shooting for things that were risky. Just get a nine-to-five job and keep it as long as you can. Obviously going to university and studying to be a doctor or a lawyer would be even better.

So, acting wasn't something they wanted for their daughter?

That was very foreign territory to them. It was something they were scared of. They came from a place of fear of failing, before even trying things. So, they didn't even want me to say out loud that I wanted to be an actor. Because if I failed at it, it would be shameful.

What was that like? Lonely?

It was very difficult. I was secretly pursuing this career on my own. We got into a huge fight. At the time, I thought it was about them not caring about what I wanted to do. But it was actually about them not understanding. All you want is your parent's encouragement and support and guidance. That's not what I was getting from them on an emotional level. It took me some time to understand who they were and why they were the way they were.

How did that understanding happen? Was there a breakthrough moment?

It took me taking a trip to Cambodia on my own. I went on a backpacking trip after I graduated from university. I learned about the country's history and it made me understand my parents. So, it's come around full circle. It's part of my story now.

And your parents finally came around, too?

They're totally supportive now. There's much more dialogue.

Your character in GLOW is of Cambodian heritage, but her nickname is Fortune Cookie, which is a Chinese reference. What's going on there?

When I got the role, the character was not from Cambodia. I had some talks with the creators and they ended up changing the character to be from Cambodia. I was thrilled about it. What I've learned from working on this show is that we don't have to be relegated to reading what's on the page. It was really amazing after sitting down with the creators, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch. They said, "Yes, why don't you make her from Cambodia?" And so, there they were, sitting next to me, typing out what I was recounting about my upbringing. That's what makes the show so special. It's a collaboration.

What? Not all shows are like that, with an open, collaborative and respectful creative process?

No. [Laughs.] It's definitely not the norm in this business! But maybe it can be the norm with my career, you know? If I continue to speak up and seek that out. You can't change every character, of course. But what I'm learning is that you don't always have to be quiet. You can say something. And even if it doesn't make the cut, at least you tried.