Agents of SHIELD’s Chloe Bennet Talks Asian Representation in Marvel

There are many things we'll miss about Agents of SHIELD when it comes to an end in two weeks, and at the top of that list is the cast. Not only do all of the actors excel in playing their individual parts, but it has been a joy to see such a diverse cast play a band of heroes. Recently, Agents of SHIELD fans were surprised to learn that the former head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb, made some derogatory statements about Asian characters to the Daredevil writers. Considering two of the main characters on Agents of SHIELD are played by Asian American women, it was certainly disheartening to learn someone in power believed "nobody gives a sh*t" about Asian characters. In a recently interview with Looper, Chloe Bennet (Daisy Johnson/Quake) was asked about playing Marvel Studios' first Asian hero, and whether or not she's noticed changes when it comes Asian representation onscreen.

"I mean, as long as we're talking about it, the change isn't necessarily complete, if you know what I mean," Bennet explained. "I think that right now, especially to people who aren't Asian, there's a trend of Asians in Hollywood. They're like, 'Oh, Asian movies work,' and that kind of thing. But being Asian isn't a trend to me. And what I loved about SHIELD is that they cast me because I was right for the role, and ultimately ended up writing to fit my ethnicity and my diversity, and made that a part of the character, and it only added richness to the character."

She added, "I think that's such an organic and cool way to do things, and that trickled down from Maurissa [Tancharoen], who's one of our showrunners and who happens to be Asian and happens to be a woman, but she's also incredible at her job. And I think the more that it can be not a trend and just be like, 'We're casting people who are awesome for the roles and they happen to be Asian,' that's when I think things will really start to change."

During the interview, Johnson also addressed the idea of playing Quake again:

"I definitely would," Bennet said when asked if she'd return. "I mean, I have such a soft spot for her. I started shooting the show when I was 20, and then I finished when I was 27. To get this time right now, in isolation, to kind of contemplate the past seven years and how much it's meant to me — it hasn't really hit me yet that the show is over, so it doesn't really feel like I'm done playing her yet."

Agents of SHIELD airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 10 PM EST.