Traci Shannon (AKA StarTraci) is a blogger at A Star in My Own Universe and is a new author on FSM Media.
Have you been sucked into the drama of “The Cleaning Lady” yet? If not, what have you been doing with your Monday nights?
Well, after you meet one of the stars, Filipina-Australian actress Martha Millan (“Succession,” “The OA”), you will likely be hustling over to Hulu to catch up and then carve out an hour of appointment television on Monday nights at 9 pm est. on FOX.
StarTraci: Thank you for speaking with us. So I wanted to know a little about your journey. I saw that high school was where you started, how did that come about?
Martha: Exactly. I just took an elective and it was The Importance of Being Earnest and somehow I got the role of Gwendolen. I was just like is this something that you just kind of do for a living? And it turns out that you can. That’s pretty much where I got bitten and then straight after that I was at The University of Sydney. I just wanted to defer for a year just to really pursue my interest in drama. Then I got into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in LA first, but then I discovered New York.
StarTraci: I think (acting) is the only job you have where you never feel fully employed.
Martha: I know. It’s like, Oh, my God, what’s the next? What’s the next consistent kind of check that I can get? It’s definitely one of those vocations where you really gotta love it, to just see it through. I think it’s just about persistence, but I think New York toughened my skin, in every way. It’s just such a city full of energy that you’ve got to fight for your own space to walk on the sidewalk, to sit on a subway, all of that really builds that determination and persistence.
Throughout the interview, Martha’s lilting Australian accent is peppered with full-bodied laughter. There is never not a smile on her face making the joy of her work with “The Cleaning Lady” obvious throughout.
Representation in Prime Time
StarTraci: How did you come to be a part of this amazing production of the Cleaning Lady?
Martha: I knew that it was based originally on the 2017 Argentinian television series La chica que limpia, and that Miranda Kwok had developed the series along with Melissa Carter. I know that the reason why Miranda Kwok wanted to focus on the Filipino culture was that she had visited Hong Kong at one point and she saw a lot of the domestic workers that were there, just always in the park congregating… and most of them were primarily Filipino. Also, her best friend is also Filipino, which I am so glad she didn’t tell me till the end of the pilot that the Fiona character is based on. When she told me that I was like, Thank God, you told me after we shot, because it’s a lot of pressure and then I finally met the real Fiona, during Miranda’s birthday.
StarTraci: I guess that could be a burden to carry to have known that you were playing someone that she knew and loved.
Martha: Yes, it was definitely like a wonderful honor. But definitely, a lot of pressure had I known that from the start, but then after meeting her, you know, she is just this spirited character, and to embody her, I just wanted to, I guess, embrace the Filipino culture. I think both of us were able to get in touch with that essence.
Storytelling Still Matters
StarTraci: What drew you to the part of Fiona?
Martha: First of all, the fact that they were putting the Filipino culture at the forefront of the show was just something that I never thought could happen and let alone being on a primetime network show. I think the fact that they’re highlighting so many topical and relevant issues in such a way that is humanized but also layered with entertainment value through the dynamics of the relationships and at the same time, just all the explosions and steaminess of Arman and Thony. Miranda Kwok and Melissa Carter had really beautifully shaped the narrative in a way that is exploring the world and the plight of the undocumented and immigration in general but at the same time still adding in all the necessary elements for entertainment.
It’s a tough story to tell, in terms of just balancing the truth, and at the same time being entertaining, but I think they’ve done such an amazing job. I’m just so incredibly proud to be part of it. Then, of course, you have Elodie Yung, who comes in like a force…
StarTraci: It must be exciting to have a show that features Filipinos.
Martha: It’s so incredibly exciting. I mean, just to hear the applause and the acknowledgment from the Filipino (community), who are finally just happy to be represented in a way that is, yes, I am playing a stereotype, but at the same time, it’s humanized. The way that stories are told, it’s about why people are in those situations and how they have (come to be) in those situations. I don’t think anyone ever wants to be illegally in a country or undocumented. That’s never anybody’s dream. But it’s just the reason why this country brings so many people in because of the hope. I think the American Dream is what they all want to share. Obviously, this is a very unique way of telling it. But, I think many reasons why this country, is able to have that dream or hope is that there is such an energy of possibility. I mean, even for me, I’m from Australia, and I could have worked there, but at that time, there was no work for me in terms of my ethnicity, etc. I came to America knowing that there were just doors opening and finally, I think the doors are now opening in a beautiful, wide way, and it is so exciting to be part of that movement. I would love for it to become just a normal kind of situation, instead of it being like, a phase or something.
StarTraci: I think that’s the dream. That’s the hope is when it just isn’t even a story point.. And I’m sure that’s for any community, it’s when it’s just every day, right? It’s not the plot point. You’re just a point in the plot.
Martha: Very well put, because if you think about it now in the world today, it’s just inevitable to show representation and necessary, because you see that all over people traveling, people immigrating more and more obviously, in the last decades, that every culture is represented in an office, in a block, a street, you can’t avoid that and to deny that I think, would be a disadvantage to a lot of shows because everybody is so exposed to social media and they know that that’s not the real world if all cultures aren’t represented these days, so I think they really have to listen to the numbers.
Working in a Dream Team
StarTraci: Continuing on the front of representation, has there ever been a moment in this process that you’ve ever felt like there’s been a challenge against the way you felt as a Filipino; that you’ve ever felt that you needed to question or address anything being represented on the page that you wanted to say? And did you feel you were able to set that right?
Martha: In terms of the whole process of collaboration with Miranda Kwok and Melissa Carter, they have been the most open in terms of really making sure that authenticity and representation of every culture on the show is, served and justified in a very honest way. I think that’s why the show is successful, because of the authenticity and the specificity that they bring. I always refer to it as when you travel and you go to another country, nobody changes or explains things for you, you are thrown into it, and you are immersed in it. I think that’s the experience that Melissa and Miranda have developed for the audience.
As a Filipino, I really think that a lot of the things that they have explored with the food, the way we carry ourselves, and singing have just been so specific that Filipinos straightaway identify with the fact that this is how we deal with life by dancing, singing or eating, praying. I think that that is something that I just am so grateful that they have always been, so open and wanting to make sure that it’s represented in the right way. So it’s not even just the Filipino culture. It’s all the other cultures, as well.
StarTraci: Well, I know. I’m not allowed to ask you for spoilers but if you wanted to give one…
Martha: Well, I can tell you this. All I know is that in terms of season two, with the heightened stakes, the consequences are definitely going to come to light in terms of what happens toward the end of the season because I almost died. So, just know that everything’s gonna come to a head in one way.
StarTraci: Anything else that you would like to share with our audience about either this show or, just that going into the holiday season?
Martha: The one thing that I am so in awe of is how amazing the cast is, and just how we all really get along. I mean, that’s why I think our performances transcend because of our relationships off set. We’ve become like a family, as well, especially with my situation with the kids. I’m not a mother. So for me, it’s like, “oh my god, I really have kids now. It’s like, this is so stressful”. So, I think the relationships and I think it’s reciprocated and it shows so much on-set and through our performances that there’s something that’s magical, it’s so wonderful that we love each other.
Martha’s acting is intense as a woman living on the edge. She is as delightfully at ease in person. Tune in to The Cleaning Lady, Monday nights 9/8c on FOX to see the transformation and the equally talented cast. This season is heating up fast and she already gave us a spoiler – it’s just going to get hotter around this place.
Remember, folks. You heard it here, first.
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Dianna Ranere