Arrow is returning to The CW tonight, and we just
happen to have caught up with the lovelyCelina Jade, aka Shado, for this week’s Femme
on Fire. Jade started acting in 2008 in the hit film Legendary Assassin
and also starred in The Man with the Iron Fists alongside Byron Mann; she
learned all her moves from her father, American Kung Fu star Roy Horan. Be sure
to tune into tonight’s episode of Arrow at8/7c!
Playboy.com: What
can we look forward to from your character Shado in season two of Arrow?
Jade: The first
season delved into the story of Shado teaching Oliver how to do archery and
martial arts. We saw that there was a bit of a spark between the two
characters. This season we’re five months down the line after the hiatus. We’re
getting to explore the relationship between Shado, Oliver and Slade because now
they [Shado and Oliver] are in a relationship five months later, so it’s a
question of how it affects their team’s dynamic. It’s quite cool, I’m really
enjoying it. Last season was a lot of fighting and getting into more character
development and drama, really exciting stuff. A lot is happening on the island.
Playboy.com: I’m
assuming that you do a majority of your own stunts. Were there any new things
that you got to learn that you didn’t know how to do before Arrow?
Jade: Definitely
archery. I had done archery before, but no more than school camp. So when I got
the role, I started training with a wonderful lady named Patricia. We’ve been
learning how to walk and shoot, run and shoot, move and shoot…everything! I
love it; I actually have my own bow now. It’s just a matter now of trying to
get it through immigration. I’m trying to figure out how to bring it from Hong
Kong; I’m thinking of saying it’s a wall decoration or something if I get
stopped. [laughs]
Playboy.com: You
got to go back to Hong Kong during summer hiatus. What did you do?
Jade: I was
doing a musical while I was back! It was my first musical ever; it was a
rock-and-roll musical, which was even cooler. So when I arrived, I ended up
going straight into rehearsal six days a week. I’ve never done so much singing
in my life, but it was fun. The performances went on until around June and were
a pretty big success, so that was my hiatus! [laughs]
Playboy.com: You
started in music. What made you take that leap to acting?
Jade: I never
actually knew that I was going to go into acting. I released my first album
when I was 16 and then I took a hiatus to finish my studies. When I came back
to Hong Kong to givemusic another
go, I ended up signing to a record label. My music manager one day asked me if
I would be interested in auditioning for a movie and if I knew how to fight,
since my father [Roy Horan] was a martial artist in the old Jackie Chan, Bruce
Lee movies. I told him I was okay with the idea and in fact I could
fight. There was a role he had in mind for me, and he didn’t think I would get
it because they already had three really big Asian names in mind for the lead
actress role, but there was no harm in trying. So I went in, did the audition
and totally forgot about it since there wasn’t really anything riding on the
role for me. I just thought I’d never get it. And then he called me back and
said, “Oh my god, Celina, you got it!” I freaked out!
Playboy.com: What
was it like growing up around martial arts?
Jade: My dad
used to play fight with my sister and I a lot and would tell us the stories
about fighting with Jackie Chan in the movies he’d done and what it was like to
live in the Arctic….We loved my dad’s stories. We used to play fight a
lot….It’s the only family where when getting beat up or fighting, you don’t
call the cops.
Playboy.com: I
heard that you hadn’t met a lot of the Arrow cast who were shooting
in the city. I’m sure you had the chance to meet them at the wrap party?
Jade: I didn’t
actually get to meet them at the wrap party because I had to head back to Hong
Kong, but I met them eventually. One day we shot a half day “present day” and a
half day “island day” because we were shooting in the studios. I met quite a
few of them and it’s really nice! We all knew of each other but we had never
properly met. It was about season two before we actually said hi.
Playboy.com: What’s
been your favorite memory from set so far?
Jade: There are
a lot of really cool memories from season two so I can’t really tell them [laughs]
but I think the funniest memory from season one was sparring with Slade. Manu
[Bennett] is a real method actor, so we’d spar and I’d end up on top of him and
he’d put a knife on my back so when I’d get on top of him he’d be like, “Yeah,
really strangle me!” and I was a little shocked, so I’d ask “Really?” and he’d
say, “No, it’s fine, just give it a real good strangle!” [laughs] First we used
a prop knife, so it was a little flimsy; it looked like it would bend when he
was really putting it in my back, so we ended up using a really blunt but real
knife, so that was quite scary. It didn’t hurt or anything. And I must say,
getting shot was actually my first time ever even though I have done a lot of Chinese
movies and martial arts, so that was interesting. They put this tiny
little explosive on my right shoulder and they tell you not to look down or to
your right when they detonate it because it could take out your eye or cause a
lot of distress. So that was nerve-racking because the bad guy shoots Manu, who
is on my right, so obviously I have to react and look at him and then look back
at the shooter before the thing explodes, so—this happens all the time, but
because it was my first time it was definitely an adrenaline rush!
Playboy.com: What’s
your…
Favorite food: My
favorite food in the world has got to be Italian. The food in Italy is
incredible.
Favorite drink: Fresh
coconut.
Worst pickup line: It’s
got to be “How do you like your eggs in the morning, scrambled or fertilized?”
Most embarrassing
moment: When I did my first movie, Legendary Assassin, there was a
scene where a guy saves my life and there’s already a definite attraction; he’s
my hero and I’m a policewoman and he’s showering in the police quarters and I
walk towards him to give him a towel. I throw the towel over the railing and as
I’m walking past the camera is rolling and I look at him and he’s pretty hot,
so that thought of “Oh he’s hot, he looks good!” went through my mind and then
I continued onwards. And the director called cut and I asked for direction and
he said, “No way! That looked way too perverted! You can’t check him out!” So I
just said, “What do you mean, I can’t check him out? He’s showering right in
front of me!” and he just says “No! A Chinese girl would very coyly shy away
and giggle.” Oh man, so that was rather embarrassing that my thoughts were read
on screen.
