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Live-action or animation? Ming-Na Wen loves both - but one is easier
Voicing characters like Mulan and Madame Kaji in Blue Eye Samurai lets Ming-Na Wen immerse herself in the world of a story without heavy makeup or costumes
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Even if you're not sure if you've seen Ming-Na Wen in a live-action project, you've definitely heard her voice somewhere. She was the voice of Mulan in the original Disney animated film, and has also voiced characters in shows like Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, Blue Eye Samurai, and American Dad. With such an illustrious career across film and television, the question remains: does she prefer working in live-action or animation?
At Emerald City Comic Con 2026, our host Martin Vavra popped this question to her in a video interview, looking at the past, present, and future of her career.
"I love live-[action] because for me, it's like I get to be working with the other actors, working with directors, working with the crew, putting on the costumes, being a little kid in a sandbox and pretending. So that is always a lot of fun. But it's great doing voice work because I don't have to worry about makeup, I don't have to worry about how my body looks that day. I don't have to worry about a blemish on my skin or if I'm having a bad hair day. You just go in and you just perform with your voice, and it's sort of freeing. It's very freeing as an art form for an actor," Ming-Na Wen said.
It's also worth noting that last year, Wen voiced Dairon, a character in The Mighty Nein animated fantasy show from Critical Role. This type of project exemplifies what Wen said about the benefits of doing voice roles, because she can have all the creative freedom of acting in a fantasy story without being worried about donning extensive makeup and unwieldy costumes. What could be more fun than a little make-believe?
You can watch the full interview between Martin and Ming-Na below.
Re-live the best of Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con 2026 with:
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