From Palmerston North to Netflix - it's been quite the ride for up-and-coming Kiwi star Jess Hong.
The lead role in hit sci-fi series 3 Body Problem has thrust the actor into the big time. She stopped by the Newshub studio for a chat with Kate Rodger.
From the team behind the monster hit Game of Thrones, sci-fi drama 3 Body Problem has been winning over audiences around the world.
Based on a bestselling book series this adaptation topped Netflix for weeks on release.
Season 2 was almost immediately greenlit by the streaming behemoth.
Helping lead the charge is Jess Hong, who plays genius physicist scientist Jin Cheng.
"It was so cool. Once I finally read the source material I was like 'ooooh this is absolutely wild, no wonder they wanted to do this'," she said.
"It's so epic, so vast. It's been labelled 'unadaptable' but they've adapted it and I think they're kind of geniuses."
The young actress had never seen an adaption of this scale before as she was thrust into a rigorous nine-month shoot.
"Seven months in London, one month in New York and one month in Florida," said Hong.
So, no pressure then? Nah... she'll be right.
"There's a lot of pressure when you walk onto the biggest set you've ever seen in your life and everyone's eyes are on you," Hong said.
"Because I have that foundation being a Kiwi and growing up in Aotearoa where nobody really cares that much, like what you've done and who you are, it's more about can you do the job? All I need to focus on, is doing my job."
We just love a Kiwi accent on a big global hit but this wasn't just a casting choice, it was a creative one.
"I met with the showrunners on Zoom then shortly after that I was reading little things in the script like 'those years I spent in NZ' and I went what?" she said.
"And they said 'yeah it's just a cool different accent we don't really hear that often and we wanna put it in the show'."
Kiwis kicking butt on the world stage, it's time for Hong to buckle up once again as season 2 has been confirmed.
