Christina Chong Interview: Kexian in Impact Winter Season 3

Interview: Christina Chong spoke to The Natural Aristocrat® about voicing Kexian in Season 3 of Audible audio drama series ‘Impact Winter’.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV): What can ‘Impact Winter’ fans expect from your character Kexian in Season 3?

CHRISTINA CHONG: Kexian is a part of the council. She’s one of the siblings, but she’s also an explorer and goes off on expeditions for long periods of time.

When we first meet her, Kexian is coming back and we don’t really know if she’s good or bad. Kexian’s mysterious… What’s going on with her? It seems like she’s holding a secret.

And towards the end of the show and throughout it, Kexian is kind of an outsider. You don’t really know what side of the line she’s on until the end when Kexian reveals a big secret towards the end.

Which drives the remainder of Season 3 and potentially the season after that. If there is another season!

Impact Winter Season 3 Promo. Art provided by Audible

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Do you feel this Audible adaption of ‘Impact Winter’ could be a kind of ‘tryout’ to expand it into a full live-action series?

CHRISTINA CHONG: Yeah, I hope so! And I hope if it does go to live-action, I would be able to play Kexian.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: When you record for ‘Impact Winter’ is it like a traditional anime dub setting where everyone records separately or do you record together with the other actors?

CHRISTINA CHONG: I have no previous experience of audio drama recording. So I wouldn’t know the difference… But in my only experience, everyone’s in the same room. It’s very similar, I guess, to being on set in that way.

But the difference obviously is that you don’t have to worry about all the technicalities, like walking into furniture, not tripping over it, props, costume makeup. Obviously I can turn up in my pajamas! (laughs)

I work on the lines and I’ve learned them to an extent… But I did wonder going in if it would be essentially reading. Since I’m looking down at the script a lot, I wondered if there would be a lack of connection and a lack of emotion because we’re not always looking into each other’s eyes. And we don’t know the dialogue by heart.

But actually, I completely felt the emotional energy in the room and got lost in it. I just had an incredible time recording!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Did you read series lore for ‘Impact Winter’ prior to being cast for Season 3? Or did you listen to the first two seasons on Audible?

CHRISTINA CHONG: I listened to some, but I didn’t wanna listen too much ’cause obviously Kexian is a new character.

I listened to a few episodes of the first two seasons to get an idea of the show. But for me, it’s important to bring my own take on it and not be too drawn into trying to fit in necessarily.

I completely trusted Travis Beacham. I had a long talk with him beforehand. Two hours of recording in and I could understand what his vision was. I was focused on making sure I was giving him what he wanted.

But yeah, the rest I just went by instinct as to what was gonna come out after doing all my script study. Trying to figure out who Kexian was! Travis is a great director, so he pushed me into the right directions.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Do you feel you have a different kind of acting preparation going into the recording studio compared to a traditional live action series? Or getting into the character is still the same?

CHRISTINA CHONG: Getting into character is still the same! I personalize Kexian, I put in elements of my life that are similar to hers.

The only difference is I don’t learn the lines as much as I would for live action. Right? There’s so much to learn and you have less time to prep.

I know I can have the script in front of me, so it’s more about understanding the character and prepping it to an extent. But yeah, I don’t learn the lines.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: How many retakes are you allowed then in an Audible show like ‘Impact Winter’?

CHRISTINA CHONG: As many as other media… I mean, more than on screen. Well on-screen you do get the extra closeup now that I think of it.

But, with the audio, I remember there were a few scenes or lines where I did maybe seven times, eight times. So yeah, I guess it’s similar.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: How were you first approached to be a part of the ‘Impact Winter’ series?

CHRISTINA CHONG: I was offered this role straight away and I listened to some of the episodes and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve never done an audio book before!’

I loved audio books as a kid! And so what a great challenge and what a great show to be a part of. And I already knew Caroline (Ford) and Sasha and I’m really good friends with Andrew Gower.

So, for me it was a no brainer. Absolutely yes! And Travis, I love his work. I love Carnival Row!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: There’s a notable fanbase for ‘Impact Winter’ over on the /Audiodrama subreddit on Reddit. Would you consider doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread over there for Season 3?

CHRISTINA CHONG: You know what, I have no idea how Reddit works. (laughs) I mean, sometimes when I Google things, Reddit comes up, but I don’t know what it is or how it works. But I’d be up for the idea for sure!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: In terms of production values, ‘Impact Winter’ reminds me a bit of video game series Dragon Age audio quality wise. Is gaming voice acting work something you’d like to expand on further as an actress?

CHRISTINA CHONG: I have done some video game stuff in the past and I did some during the pandemic, but it was kind of like the research stage. Mo-cap (motion capture). They were still trying to figure it out, but video game work is harder for me, especially the kind of roles I’ve been in.

I love this Audible work more because it feels more intimate and real. With video games, I feel like you really have to have more impact and more strength behind the vocals to keep the player on their toes.

Whereas with this, I can just be the character. It’s more about bringing the audience in. Within games, I feel it’s more about keeping the audience alert and excited.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: As a massive fan of TV show ’24’, I was wondering if you could share any parting memories from working on that series?

CHRISTINA CHONG: Wow, that’s a flashback from the past! One of the memories that stand out for me from that show is working with Benjamin Bratt. He was so lovely to me and so kind and he’s of Asian descent, or partly Asian descent as well.

And just connecting with him on that and him giving me the encouragement and support to keep going. Even though at that point in my career it wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to be.

Yeah, it was a really lovely experience and my first American show. It was nice because it was shot in the UK, so I still felt an element of familiarity without having to fly all the way to America and just be thrown onto this big set.

But I definitely experienced a different way of working, a more American way of working, which is very, very professional, very hardcore, longer hours. But yeah, a great memory!

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Thanks Christina!

CHRISTINA CHONG: Thank you! Thanks so much!

Headshot Credit: David Reiss Photography (Photo provided by Audible)

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