Kim Rhodes is one of those lucky actors who has cultivated a fandom from multiple major projects. For a certain generation, she was possibly best known for playing Zack and Cody’s mom Carey Martin on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody; for the CW audience, she is remembered for her memorable turn as Sheriff Jody Mills in Supernatural – a role that led an attempted spinoff pilot called Wayward Sisters. Tonight, Rhodes makes her first appearance on Kung Fu in the recurring role of Carrie, part of an investment team that may be able to help Mei-Li save Harmony Dumplings. Without spoiling, her scenes with Kheng Hua Tan are phenomenal and add more to what is already an excellent show.
KSiteTV had the opportunity to interview Kim Rhodes about her Kung Fu role, and of course, we got a Supernatural question or two in there, because how could we not? You can find it below.
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: What can you tell us about Carrie?
KIM RHODES: Oh, my goodness! Where do I start? I can tell you that any time Robert Berens begins with “hey, would you like to…” I generally don’t let him finish the sentence before I say yes, so that was already a done deal.
Carrie is… now this is very interesting, because Robert and I worked so closely together for so long on Supernatural, and Carrie is a very different character than Jody…. however, the things that make me love Robert’s writing and the way he creates are still there. She has a heart, she has a sense of purpose, and she has perspectives that are all really grounded in reality. So while she comes in as a foil and kind of a situational adversary, she’s doing it from a place of humanity and love, which to me, makes for interesting human conflict.
Which is also great, because on this show, you’ve got this beautifully-written, power of good and evil story, and also, the tones of humanity and life as light. I love getting to represent an aspect of life that creates conflict without having to be the bad guy.
How does it feel to have fellow cast members who grew up watching you on TV?
I never thought about it before it happened! I was delighted that these talented, effervescent, incredible actors… people that I admire, who are so great, would look at me and say “hey, you matter to what we do. You matter to what we’re doing in our lives, and how our lives led to this.” It made me feel valued in a very special way, and it also was lovely that I could contribute to their joy… that something that I did makes them happy.
I saw that Olivia Liang and Shannon Dang put together a Suite Life tribute video with you on Instagram. Can you talk about that?
That was all Shannon and Olivia. Shannon was like, “I have an idea. Can we do this?” The crew was laughing so hard at it. They were just like, “you guys have way too much time on your hands!” And we’re like “yes, yes we do!”
Can you talk about the kind of relationship that Carrie has with Mei-Li?
I would love to! I don’t have words to describe what an incredible actor Kheng is to work with. She is creative, and generous, and fluid, and resilient… so going into this relationship, I was inclined to have my character like her simply, because I love her so much as a human and as an actor. Carrie mainly wants the same thing. They want success, but they want it from different places. I think Carrie is coming from a place of cerebral financial, proven decisions, and Mei-Li is coming from a place of vulnerable risks from the heart. Other than that, they’re both very smart, capable women who really see eye to eye on most things.
Carrie doesn’t hide her her admiration for Mei-Li and wants very much to work with her, because they they come across as kind of the same in a lot of ways… and then Mei-Li takes like Carrie has taught herm and uses it… much to Carrie’s frustration, at some point!
It’s a really interesting relationship between people that we don’t get to see a lot of – when people work a different way yet ultimately are on the same team.
Has Sebastian tried to charm Carrie yet, because he tries to charm everybody!
No! I can’t really say more about that, other than that Sebastian and Carrie do not find each other charming at all.
Supernatural has a new spinoff premiering this week with The Winchesters. If they came to you and asked if you’d like to play Jody Mills’ mother or something, would you do it?
Oh my God… yes! I love the fact that people ask me. I feel like there is nothing about Supernatural that I would ever say no to. So… yes, yes, yes! If they were like, “hey, we’re doing a musical version on a cruise ship” I’d be like “wow, all right, I guess I’m going on a cruise!”
The material, and the people, and the fans are so cherished. I root for them. I want nothing but success for them, and if they ever think that I could be of service to them, I would be there in a heartbeat.
Beyond Robert Berens, are there any crew members that you knew from Supernatural who are now working on Kung Fu?
No. It’s interesting. I had assumed that there would be that but no, I think they all managed to find some other jobs. That was a talented group of people, so I’m sure they got snatched up as soon as Supernatural came down.
Are you in the episode that Richard Speight Jr. directed?
I was about to say… there’s a very notable exception! He’s an incredible director. It’s funny because I know him from conventions, and it was very hard giving him sh!+ as I am compelled to give him, because he was doing such a great job. I had nothing to make fun of him for!
You have legions of fans, between Supernatural, The Suite Life, and everything else. Why should they be tuning in to Kung Fu if they aren’t already?
I will say to my specific passionate fans that I rank maybe #11 or #12 of the list of reasons to watch Kung Fu. It is so engaging, exciting, and expansive, and it is unpredictable, funny, and touching. The acting is immaculate, the relationships are quirky. The personalities are so unique.
I think it’s also important to say that if you’re not familiar with a thing called the Empathy Gap, do yourself a favor and seek out things, and people, and stories that you maybe haven’t been exposed to before, because maybe there is a possibility that you don’t necessarily look like the people on camera. A lot of us have a tendency to gravitate towards things that look like what I already think I look like, and I really want to encourage people… now if we’re talking to my fans, they probably already do this, but I want to remind people that stories are infinite. Find them. This is one of the best to find. It’s so good, and you will love it!
Kung Fu “Risk” airs tonight (October 12) at 9PM ET/PT on The CW. See some preview images and a clip here!
