Wildfire

Actress Gets ‘Rich Girl’ Roles, Not Ethnic

My ethnic background is not something I tell people very much anymore, confesses Nicole Tubiola. The star of the ABC Family series Wildfire says some of that is due to her multi-ethnicity. But she is more concerned that discussion of her background might limit her acting roles and opportunities.

“I don’t want to tell people I’m one thing and then have them see me as only that,” she says. While Tubiola does not deny her Korean roots — or her white or Italian ones, for that matter — she stresses: “I’m an actress. There are many different roles I am able to play. As soon as I say I am one thing and not another, it closes doors for me.”

Fortunately, Tubiola’s racial makeup opened doors on the set of Wildfire. Tracing the lives of a group of young people on a horse ranch in the American Southwest, Wildfire cast non-whites in several key roles.

Originally, Tubiola auditioned for the role of Kris, specifically written as a Latina character. Tubiola’s exotic beauty and dark complexion seemed ideal for the part. But when Genevieve Cortese was cast, producers offered Tubiola the role of Danielle “Danny” Davis. “I think they thought [Danny] would be the blond rich girl,” says Tubiola. “But as the casting process continued, it turned into something else.”

And as Tubiola’s character grew during the second season, so did the program’s audience. “During season one, Danny was manipulative and would stop at nothing to get her man at any cost,” Tubiola remembers. “In our second season, you see the reasons behind that so she isn’t such a one-dimensional villainess.”

But her character remains ethnically mysterious. Danny is written as “an everyday American,” which hits home for Tubiola. She suspects that, like many younger generations of Asians and Asian-blends born and raised in the United States, she finds it hard to identify with a particular ancestry.

“My family is not overly tied to any particular part of our ethnic background,” admits Tubiola, whose father is half Italian and mother is half Korean. “My parents were not born in those countries, so we spoke English in our home.”

“You want to have those roots. You want to have those ties, but it’s not really a huge part of my life,” confesses Tubiola. “I’m sorry to say that on one level, because I know it’s really important to other people, but it’s never been something I was raised with.”

One thing she did grow up with was a love for performing. “My mom says she knew from the time I was two, I’d be an actress,” she says. “I have never wanted to do anything else.”

Tubiola could “barely wait” to turn 18 and leave Bullhead City, Ariz., for Los Angeles. Soon, she got her television start playing a cheerleader on Saturday morning children’s program Hang Time.

Since then, she has appeared on The Steve Harvey Show, Boston Public and The District. Like so many of Tubiola’s roles, Wildfire’s Danny is defined by wealth, not ethnic background. “Most of the roles I’m cast in tend to be ‘rich girls,’” she notes, “and that’s not ethnic-specific.”

Also starring on the show is Tubiola’s husband, Kieran Hutchinson, previously of WB’s hit One Tree Hill. Both share on-screen romances with other characters — and routinely watch one another kiss other actors. Tubiola says it never presents a problem for their personal lives.

“Filming loves scenes is not sexy or romantic,” she shares. “It’s not a difficult thing. It’s our job. I don’t think kissing another actor on a show, in front of 80 cast and crew members, is going to weaken our bond!”

Tubiola says it would be great to do other work, but the show’s choppy filming schedule so far prevents that. Of the roles she would enjoy tackling, race and ethnicity seldom come into play.

“Actors portray human issues,” Tubiola points out. “You can be jealous of somebody no matter what your ethnicity. You can love somebody no matter what your race is. Actors portray life.”

“Of course, certain stories require somebody of a particular ethnicity,” she admits. “But in general, I feel roles should be colorblind. People seem to think that just because you have brown skin, there are certain emotions you cannot understand or portray, and that’s not true.”

posted by Meredy @ 9:33:00 AM