Tai Freligh chats with actress Victoria Park about her role on The CW’s The Flash…
Victoria Park is an actor, director, and storyteller, born and raised in Chicago, IL. As a proud, second-generation Korean American, she is passionate about uplifting the marginalized stories that are often left untold. Victoria is best known for playing Kamilla Hwang on The Flash (The CW). She is also known for her role as Gaby Cho on the critically acclaimed show Sweet/Vicious (MTV), and for her leading role as Hayley in feature film Everything Before Us. She directed the short film To Borrow, To Keep, which was an official selection at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. Flickering Myth’s Tai Freligh caught up with her to chat about her work on The Flash, being a working actress during a pandemic, as well as her upcoming projects.
Tell me about your character on The Flash, Kamilla Hwang?
Kamilla is a Korean American woman. A photographer. A friend. Partner to the one and only Cisco Ramon. Fierce and loyal member of both Team Flash and Team Citizen. She’s a good human and one cool cat.
What was your audition like?
The first round of auditions was like any other – I tried not to overthink anything and just have fun. It was the callback where the nerves really kicked in. All I remember is taking a deep breath before walking in the room… then getting the call that I got the job. Everything between those two points, I’ve completely blacked out.
What have they told you about Kamilla’s overall story arc, as she is a recurring character on the show?
When I first got the job, it was only supposed to be a few episodes – maybe two or three – so I didn’t get an overall story arc. But over the years, Eric Wallace (our showrunner) and I have discussed all the hopes and dreams for Kamilla over the course of the show, from Kamilla’s relationship with Cisco to her growing involvement with the Citizen.
What’s it like being part of such an iconic television show?
Being a part of The Flash is as wonderful as you would expect it to be. The cast, the crew.. we’re all a family. And we have the best fans in the game. I’ve been so blown away by all the love and support for Kamilla over the years.
Any funny set stories?
Any day with Tom, Los, and Grant on the schedule is bound to be a circus. Those three can keep a bit going for hours. But I always love the days when I get to work with just my Team Citizen gals. There have been moments where we can’t even make eye contact because we’ll just dissolve into giggles.
What was it like filming during a pandemic? What precautions were in place?
Filming during a pandemic is so hard. There are necessary precautions like wearing masks and keeping your distance from others, but I personally miss hugging every single person every morning when I get to work. But I’m very grateful to both be able to work during a pandemic and for the safety precautions put into place that make that a possibility. Special shout-out to Kat for always keeping us masked up and hand-sanitized in between takes!
What’s your favorite storyline involving Kamilla?
I love Kamilla’s friendship with Iris. There aren’t a ton of female friendships on the show, so to see their friendship blossom over the course of Season 6 was really special. There’s a scene where Kamilla and Iris first find each other in the mirrorverse and Iris has to convince Kamilla she’s the real Iris. She lists a bunch of facts – where Kamilla works, how she met Cisco – but it’s a really silly little fact about how Kamilla’s the only person allowed to wear Cisco’s Chewbacca shirt- that shows how well they know each other. Candice and I worked on that part with the writers, and I just love how much it reveals about the depth of Kamilla and Iris’s friendship.
What other projects do you have going on?
I’m currently in early development for a documentary I hope to film later this year. It’s a personal project of mine that’s very near to my heart, and I’m excited to be back on the other side of the camera again.
Tell us about some of the causes you are passionate about?
There’s so much to care about, but here are some organizations I personally support that are doing amazing work:
– Child Hope International is an orphanage in Haiti that works to reunify children with their families. A majority of the world’s “orphans” are actually poverty orphans and have living family members that are simply too poor to care for their children. Child Hope helps families become self-sustainable so that children can be reunited with their families.
– Feed Black Futures is a local organization that helps feed Black mamas and caregivers impacted by incarceration. 1 in 3 households in LA are food insecure, and Black and Brown families impacted by incarceration are at a higher risk. Feed Black Futures works to provide high-quality healthy food to these communities and the means and skills to produce it themselves.
– The Bail Project fights mass incarceration by disrupting the cash bail system. In their words, they “restore the presumption of innocence, reunite families, and challenge a system that criminalizes race and poverty. We’re on a mission to end cash bail and create a more just, equitable, and humane pretrial system.” So much yes!
Any tidbits you can give us about next season of The Flash for your character?
You know I can’t give any spoilers! But you can expect Kamilla to always stay true to who she is and supportive of Cisco and their relationship.
Victoria Park is a breakout actress known for her role as Kamilla Hwang on America’s fan favorite CW show, The Flash. Victoria was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She studied film production at Northwest University, then made the decision to move to Los Angeles to pursue her love of acting full time. Victoria has trained with Diana Castle (The Imagined Life), Anthony Meindl, Margie Haber, Playhouse West, and the Upright Citizens Brigade. She landed roles in a few short films before guest starring in popular TV series such as Proven Innocent, Revenge, The Middle, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Cyber, and 2 Broke Girls to name a few. Victoria played Gaby Cho on the critically acclaimed show Sweet Vicious on MTV and landed a leading role in the feature film Everything Before Us. She has frequently appeared in Wong Fu Productions, including their five-part web series Yappie. Recently, Victoria’s projects include Amazon’s Too Old to Die Young and the feature film Plus One which recently won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
We thank Victoria Park for taking the time to chat with us – She can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and on her website.
Tai Freligh is a Los Angeles based writer and can be followed on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram and can be found on his website too.
Photo Credits:
Ep. 605 Photo by Jeff Weddell / 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Ep. 618 Photo by Shane Harvey / 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
