Favorite TV show as a teen?

Reruns of Wonder Woman, because I was besotted by Lynda Carter.

Most intimidating scene?

It was probably the scene where I find out that the death of my mentor has happened. There was just a particular approach I wanted to take with it, because it's different than just someone you love, or somebody you're close to.

Who was your first TV crush?

I think it might've been, not current Leo DiCaprio, but Growing Pains DiCaprio. I think that's probably what it was. I think for movies it was Ralph Macchio.

What inspired you to act?

It wasn't a female, weirdly enough, because I think [some might] see a female onscreen and think, "Oh, I want to be like her." Besides Lynda Carter — who I thought was the craziest, bravest woman onscreen at the time — it actually was a film that I saw when I was young. It was called The Killing Fields, and it was John Malkovich and Julian Sands. My mom is an immigrant, and it was a sort of story about what happened during [the Vietnam War in Cambodia] and how people were able to leave. And that to me, [Haing Ngor, who won the best supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal of Cambodian refugee Dith Pran], to be able to portray what my family went through, made me realize that emotions are the great equalizer with us. It doesn't matter whether it's a man or a woman, if somebody can give you the idea and the feeling of what happened to your family and their past, that is a huge gift, and that affected me profoundly.