‘Kung Fu’s New Villain Ludi Lin Breaks Down His Surprisingly “Erotic Adventure”

When we first met the mysterious Kerwin Tan, played by actor Ludi Lin on The CW’s Kung Fu, he was being recruited by the villainous Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman) in his own car in order to track down the mystical weapons at the center of the series’ many mysteries. When we see him again in this week’s episode, “Isolation,” Zhilan and Kerwin’s relationship has, let’s say… Progressed.

“My character, when it was introduced, I think the tagline was already he’s going to go down this I think, quote, erotic adventure with Zhilan,” Lin told Decider. “We kind of knew what we had in store. We didn’t expect it to proceed so quickly, but I think that’s the storyline between them. One second, they’re in one place and another second, they’re killing people, and then making love while they’re going at it. They live hard and fast.”

In the episode, Zhilan and Kerwin discuss their new partnership, agree to track down most of the remaining weapons — Kerwin’s estranged father has three of them — and definitely explore their new partnership in other ways. But this is just the rest stop for the villainous duo; while Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang) is busy exploring her past, they’re getting ready to destroy her future.

To find out more about this, we chatted with Lin about his year of martial arts hits (he also played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat), working with Chapman, and what’s next as we head into the season’s endgame.

Decider: Looking back through your resume this year alone, you’re in Mortal Kombat, you’re in Kung Fu…. What do you think has led to this resurgence of martial arts in movies and TV shows?

Ludi Lin: I think we’re telling our story the way we want to tell it. I guess it’s got to do with that cultural appreciation factor, where it feels more authentic. And if we’re given the chance to do that, then why not right.

Yeah, absolutely. Let’s talk about Kung Fu specifically. How did you end up being approached for the part on the show?

I heard about Kung Fu ever since they decided to reboot it. I follow a lot of Bruce Lee’s old writings and of course, Kung Fu turned into a TV series in the ’70s. In this reboot, it turned into two editions. One is Warrior, based on his original treatments, and then another, this TV series where Nicky, an Asian-American girl takes the part of the heroine and goes through these adventures. And I just am really interested in reimagining and re-encrypting stories. Kung Fu is really fascinating, because I feel like it’s kind of subversive in a way. This name is Kung Fu, but it’s really about an Asian American family. So going through their dramas draws you in by the name, but then this is something else that is really, really digestible. They’re really fun to watch.

What drew you to this character in particular?

There’s definitely a nice romantic element; a complicated story. And it’s different from a lot of roles I’ve played before. And I haven’t done much TV. So I really was looking after the experience of falling in character in the season or more.

Your character is very much presented on equal footing with Zhilan, which we haven’t really seen before on the show. What was it like forming a bond with Yvonne Chapman?

She’s really, completely different from her character [laughs]. She’s really easy to work with, super charismatic, great in interviews by the way, and we became really good friends afterwards. During the process, I couldn’t imagine a better person to work the part with, especially during some of the really tricky scenes, but really easy to talk to. Negotiating these intense, intimate scenes, communication is key and exploring each other’s openness and how we can do it professionally, and still have a sense of some excitement for the audience. So I hope we got to pull that off.

I wanted to ask you about that in particular, because from a viewer’s perspective, you get to meet your character in a car, you’re wondering, “who’s this mysterious guy? What’s going on with him?” And the next time we see him, it’s him and Zhilan, all over each other. So how do you find that comfort level quickly, as actors on set?

We both go in with a certain understanding. I mean, my character, when it was introduced, I think the tagline was already he’s going to go down this I think, quote, erotic adventure with Zhilan. We kind of knew what we had in store. We didn’t expect it to proceed so quickly, but I think that’s the storyline between them. One second, they’re in one place and another second, they’re killing people, and then making love while they’re going at it. They live hard and fast.

Do you think he trusts Zhilan?

They have a very animalistic relationship. It’s kind of like they’re testing territories. I feel like it’s that story with the scorpion and the frog. You don’t know who the scorpion is or who the frog is, but they have their own bestial natures. They have to figure out a way to get along and maybe find some romance, true love, some hope… I’m not sure if there is some redemption.

We know very clearly from watching her throughout the series so far what Zhilan wants. But what do you think Kerwin gets out of this partnership?

She’s a little bit more wary in starting to trust people. And that’s the same problem with Kerwin, actually, because they both come from a traumatic past and a lot to do with their families, their upbringing, their parental nature. Like I said before, there’s a lot of martial arts action, but at the end of it, it’s based on family drama. So with Zhilan, she wants something that was taken from her that she feels it’s her right. This is Kerwin’s underlying story as well, that he’s been bred to inherit his father’s empire. But somehow he feels like that’s taken from him. So he’s raised the nest of vipers. It’s never easy to step safely when you’re in a nest of snakes. So that’s the challenge that both have to overcome.

I have to admit I was kind of surprised that we didn’t really get to fight this time out, other than little bits here and there. I imagine we’re going to be getting to see you kicking butt pretty soon?

Yeah, I don’t know how many episodes you’ve seen, but it’s funny because I was in Black Mirror before and all I did–there was some intimacy and some fighting and I guess this is along the same lines, but maybe the portions are flipped the other way around.

I’ve talked to a bunch of different cast members and it’s always interesting to hear what kind of fighting style they’re embracing on the show. What can you tell us about how Kerwin fights in particular?

Kerwin has this style because he grew up in Hong Kong. So his style follows some Hokkaido and then some street boxing. And he’s a stylish guy, so he’s got to be able to pull those moves in a suit and tie.

The last person who worked with Zhilan, very briefly and under duress, ended up dead. Should we at all be worried about Kerwin? Or should Zhilan be worried about him?

I think they’re both worried about each other, and I hope the audience really gets to worry about them as much as possible.

What, if anything, can you tease about your arc throughout the rest of the season?

Expect a lot of quick action; jumping from one thing to the next to the next, because from now until the end of season, they’re really on a very, very specific mission to collect all the weapons before Nicky does. And how Kerwin ends up and where he ends up… That’s going to be a revelation, I think.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Where to watch Kung Fu