Olivia Cheng on Marco Polo and complicating the concubine
Olivia Cheng on her breakout role as Mei Lin in the new Netflix series, Marco Polo.
Guest host Tom Power talks to Canadian actress Olivia Cheng about her breakout role as Mei Lin in the new Netflix series, Marco Polo.
The upcoming 10-episode series dramatizes the famous Italian explorer's younger years in Kublai Khan's court in 13th century China. The journalist-turned-actress plays a royal concubine -- a role she didn't know she wanted until reading historical essays.
"These women were, on one hand, the rockstars of the time -- but also could be incredibly reviled," she tells Tom, adding that she now appreciates the complexity of the role.