About a third of the way into our conversation, Yvonne Chapman pauses, laughs, and admits something that sticks with us for the rest of the interview. Yes, she’s still looking for her old “Sailor Moon” card collection. Somewhere on this planet, there are over a thousand of them gathered in a box, having been assembled one quarter at a time from card-dispensing machines in Calgary’s Chinatown.
It might seem like a passing detail in a conversation, but it tells you everything you need to know about Yvonne Chapman.
You may know her as Zhilan, the scene-stealing villain-turned-series-regular in “Kung Fu,” Amanda McCoy in “Superman & Lois,” or more recently as Avatar Kyoshi in Netflix’s live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a role that earned her a global fanbase overnight.
But spend some time with her and the résumé quickly takes a backseat to the person behind it: someone who, not unlike the character she plays, has quietly mastered more than one element.
We caught up with Yvonne over video call while she was in Hong Kong, all smiles as she slides in with an easy energy. It’s the kind that makes you forget, almost immediately, that you’re speaking to someone currently starring in one of the biggest shows on television.
The Secret Performer
Long before Kyoshi, before flying fists in “Kung Fu,” before the finance quest, Chapman was a teenager delving into high school drama. Well, the theatrical kind, not the sandwich-hurtling-in-the-cafeteria type, of course. But this was kind of secret, in the sense that her parents had absolutely no idea how much it meant to her.
“I don’t know if it was so much a struggle,” she says, chuckling at the memory. “I think it was me being kind of cheeky doing it in secret, you know, just doing what I want to do without asking permission, being kind of naughty.”
But there was something more searching underneath the cheekiness; a quiet negotiation with herself about that identity. To her, there was an idea that actors had to be loud, extroverted, and highly expressive in their personal lives. However, in reality, she was none of that. She was introspective, softly spoken, shy, in company.
“In front of a camera, for some reason, I just felt comfortable to be that way instead. Maybe because there’s a bit of a filter through the lens of a camera or a character.”
“For me to go and pursue that, I think, was my way of exploring myself and seeing if I could do it.”
But First, There Was Anime…
Ask Chapman what she watched growing up, and you get a mosaic of a childhood shaped by whatever her two older sisters and cousins were already glued to.
“I grew up on a lot of anime. I grew up on a lot of cartoons. ‘Sailor Moon,’ ‘Pokémon,’ ‘Dragon Ball Z’ — you know, the big hitters,” she says. “I loved ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ My sisters watched ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘90210,’ and that was all part of it. Very kind of eclectic mix. But what they watched is basically what I watched.”
Sure, it’s easy to dismiss these as childhood nostalgia, but they help explain why Chapman feels so at home in worlds built on sprawling mythos. Indeed, there is a familiarity with these storytelling languages that traces back to those early obsessions.
From the Boardroom to the Call Sheet
Before all of the studio lights, Chapman was a financial analyst. Though she’ll tell you she started in bio-sciences before switching lanes, she went into corporate development, spending roughly four years in the world of mergers and acquisitions.
Well, just like a Dwight Schrute mantra, it was: ‘Bonds. Budgets. Bloomberg terminals.
She was deep in her CFA studies when she needed an escape valve. “I just needed a stress relief. And so, I signed up for an acting class.” The class worked. Rather too well, as it turned out. What started as a weekly exhale became something she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Eventually, she decided to fold her corporate hand. She asked for a leave of absence, packed whatever fit in her car, and drove west to Vancouver.
“As an actor, you’re essentially running your own business. You’re an entrepreneur. You have to understand the business side of it as much as the art. And I’m really grateful that my past career has given me that.”
“When I decided to pursue acting, it was later in my adult life. I was in my late twenties. So, when that happened, it really was my decision,” she says. Her parents, naturally, had thoughts. “They did voice their opinions that maybe it wasn’t the best move for me. Fair enough. Because, regardless of what household you grew up in, a career in the arts can be very difficult. It’s very unstable. There are a lot of unknowns to it. Their concerns that were voiced were legitimate, based on real-life experiences of many other people that we’ve seen. I understood where it’s coming from. I was older, and I just decided to pursue it on my own.”
What she didn’t leave behind from that life, though, was the analyst’s eye. For Chapman, that background has proven to be an invaluable edge, one that follows her seamlessly to the set.
The ‘Kyoshi-ness’ of It All
Of course, for audiences around the world, Chapman is now most closely associated with one character. And with the second season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” raising the stakes, she is barely keeping a lid on her excitement.
“So excited,” Yvonne exclaims, more than once, and she means it both instances.
For Yvonne, coming back to “Avatar” alongside Gordon Cormier and the Gaang, as they put it. felt more like a whole-hearted reunion. “It’s such a collaborative, warm, welcoming set that allows everyone to do their very best work. So, it was no different coming back. It was welcoming with open arms, and just having so much fun playing in that world.”
In the original lore, Kyoshi is one of the most formidable Avatars to have ever lived. She’s a towering warrior who preceded Aang by centuries, and whose legacy is defined not by diplomacy or mercy, but by an absolute, uncompromising sense of justice.
For Chapman, the pressure to do justice to her character in “Avatar” was immense from the start. Before season one even began filming, she immersed herself in the source material and the Kyoshi companion novels, to understand not just who Kyoshi was, but why she mattered so deeply to the people who grew up with her. The fans who’d read every page, watched every episode, and spent years expanding the lore in every direction imaginable deserved that much.
And by the time season two came around, that foundation was already built. Judging by what she’s seen, the rest of the production held up their end. “My goodness, are the sets incredible. The artistry that the set deck carpenters put into season two, you guys are going to be so thrilled with how this looks. It is unbelievable. It’s not going to disappoint.”
As for Kyoshi herself, Chapman remains tight-lipped but does tease an evolution. “There’s a little bit more of a facet to her that I got to express. I can’t say much more without giving it away. It’s a little bit more of a personality thing for her, but I’m excited for people to see.” And for those seeking reassurance: “You’ll still have Kyoshi. You’ll still have her fierceness.”
That unyielding power was something Chapman fiercely protected from day one. A specific shorthand even evolved on set to keep the character’s legendary stature intact. “They use it almost as a verb,” she notes, visibly tickled. “The ‘Kyoshi-ness’ of it all.”
“When you see the care and attention and intention people bring to their work, it makes all the difference when you get to wear that. And I am very proud to wear it. I’m wearing artistry.”
That appreciation extends to every corner of the production. While other performers in other productions might find the hours of precision airbrushing and sharp colour boundaries gruelling, Chapman views the makeup chair as a place of genuine camaraderie.
“To be honest, I don’t remember even timing it. I always have so much fun in the makeup chair with them. This stuff does take time, making sure that the lines of the red and the black don’t bleed into each other. I’m happy to sit there for as long as they need me. It’s just always a good time. They’re a great crew.”
A Hong-Kong-coming
Hong Kong has surfaced repeatedly throughout Chapman’s life, as a place of family, work, memory, and now creative reinvention. It’s where her father’s family is from. It’s where she spent part of her earlier years working as a model. It’s where her grandfather, Chapman Ho, helped shape an earlier generation of filmmaking. And when we speak, it is where she is once again, dealing herself into another chapter.
That history made filming “The Season” feel uniquely personal. The Viu series was shot entirely on location, transforming familiar streets and neighbourhoods into something both nostalgic and entirely new.
“Memory is so valuable,” she reflects. “Stepping back into it, it’s like: oh, I remember it. But also, it’s different at the same time. It was a nice melding of the past to the present.”
In the series, Chapman plays Madeline, a character who, on the surface, appears entirely distinct from her prior roles, yet shares a spiritual thread with the women she typically inhabits.
“There’s a common thread in a lot of the roles I’ve played. The characters have come from unconventional paths. They’re misfits, in the most lovable sense. And they’re all looking for something, whether it be redemption, identity, rebuilding, trying to find their place in the world again.”
The production also united a remarkably diverse ensemble, throwing together talent from classic Hong Kong cinema, Hollywood, and British television. Jessie Mei Li, Karena Lam, Chris Pang, Celina Jade, Toby Stephens, Kōki, Justin Chien, among others.
“When you have a makeup of people from different cultures and backgrounds, it does nothing but benefit the storytelling,” Chapman explains. “To bring different worldly perspectives into that creates a richer experience for the audience.”
“I’m excited to be a part of something that my family can really see themselves in. There’s something that hits differently about this.”
For Malaysian and Singaporean audiences, “The Season” landing on Viu carries an added resonance. Chapman’s mother’s side of the family has roots here, which makes this one feel closer to home than most.
“It almost feels like it’s not really ours anymore. It’s going to be the audience’s. The impact of what this has all meant is not going to truly hit me until I can really share this experience with my friends and family, and see their reaction to it.”
Both Sides of The Lens
Here is something that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime on Chapman’s press circuit: Yvonne Chapman is a multi-hyphenate creator. She writes, produces, and directs — with short films including “Ecotone,” “Date Night Facades,” and “Yesterday Was the Day We Died” earning spots on the festival circuit — among them Cannes, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
“I love working behind the camera as much as I do in front of it,” she says. “It’s all about creating this space for artists in all the different departments in storytelling to come together. My role behind the camera now is: I want to give more opportunities for everybody, and try to create a bigger space for everybody to be invited to play.”
That mindset is exactly how she is approaching her next massive chapter. While audiences might know her primarily through her television work, Chapman is officially moving onto the big screen.
When we spoke, she kept her cards close to her chest, teasing with a laugh: “I just finished something. I have ventured outside of television and into film.” The secret is now out: she has joined the ensemble of Oliver Stone’s “White Lies”, sharing the call sheet with a legendary lineup that includes Michael Douglas, Willem Dafoe, and Josh Hartnett.
Building New Decks
Looking ahead, Chapman’s appetite for unwritten worlds remains very much intact. “I’m always a fan of fantasy and sci-fi, because I love venturing into worlds that are literally otherworldly,” she says. “It takes another side of your imagination to surrender to that kind of world.”
For sure, she’s already played a wild card or two in that realm. Her recurring role as Amanda McCoy. Her recurring role as Amanda McCoy in “Superman & Lois” put her inside the DC universe, albeit on the mortal side of the equation, playing a cunning ally to Lex Luthor.
A full superhero role? She doesn’t hesitate. “Oh, yeah. I think playing a superhero would be so fun. Anything in that world, I think, would be an absolute blast to play.”
“We still need to show up and fight for that representation, both in front of and behind the camera — so that we’re having decision-makers that are representative of the marginalised voices we want to see on screen.”
Kevin Feige and James Gunn, you know what to do.
But Chapman’s ambitions extend beyond the roles she plays. Her perspective on representation is shaped by an unusual vantage point. It’s one that spans corporate boardrooms, television sets, and production meetings. She understands that meaningful change rarely happens through visibility alone.
“I think we have been steadily improving. We’ve seen some progression in the representation of Asians in media,” she says. “But the hurdle we do have to overcome is to make sure that the decision-makers are also diverse behind the camera as well. It’s a collective group effort that we have to build and compound on.”
It’s a pragmatic thought that lands differently coming from someone who is actively doing both, not simply waiting for a seat at the table, but quietly reshaping the rules of the house.
Somewhere in the world, a forgotten storage box holds more than a thousand cards, waiting to be uncovered. It’s the kind of thing only someone like Yvonne Chapman would still be thinking about. This is someone who has carried every version of herself forward, from the analyst who packed her car and drove west, to the actress now standing as a powerful master of the elements.
Chapman laughs when she talks about finding those cards someday. But as she describes the projects ahead, about the worlds she wants to build, the stories she wants to tell, one thing is clear: she’s already holding the right cards.
Watch the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Season 2 official trailer here:
Watch the trailer for “The Season” here:
“Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2” premieres on 25th June 2026, only on Netflix. Watch all episodes of “The Season” now on Viu.
