Kung Fu: Ben Levin Dishes on Blending Mystery & Romance in Season 3

The following contains mild spoilers for Kung Fu Season 3, Episode 6, "Rescue," which aired Wednesday, Nov. 9 on The CW.

One of the biggest additions to Kung Fu Season 3 is Bo (Ben Levin), a mysterious figure with his own set of martial arts skills that immediately strikes up a romance with San Francisco Chinatown's resident hero Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang). Reuniting Levin and Liang since their time together on the show Legacies, Bo is a shadowy character with his own set of secrets and a backstory still shrouded in the unknown. As Bo becomes more involved with the mystical adventures of Nicky and her family, and his romance with Nicky becomes more serious, the question remains if this handsome new character is an ally or an enemy.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Ben Levin recalled how he joined the cast of Kung Fu Season 3. He explained how he developed his performance as Bo over his time on the series and teased what fans can expect as the season continues and the stakes escalate.

CBR: Ben, I know you've worked with Olivia Liang before and are friends with Eddie Liu, but how is it working with them on Kung Fu?

Ben Levin: It was truly a dream come true. I'd say three-plus years ago, Olivia was already sort of fanning the flames so that I could join her on this show. I was there when we all taped for Kung Fu. I even think I put her on tape here in Atlanta for one of the first Nicky auditions, and fast-forward to [getting] to be on there with them. In LA, I watched the Season 2 finale with the whole cast. I was just randomly in LA and got to watch it with them.

So I had already met almost everybody by the time that I got here. It's incredible, and I can't stress enough how lucky I feel to get to be around this entirely Asian cast and to especially work with Olivia. She's a dream scene partner, and I think that it's been easy to feel a deep connection to her. I'd say it's harder to feel adversarial towards Eddie! I like Eddie a lot, so that's a lot less natural because Eddie is a really sweet, goofy guy.

How did you find the character of Bo to inform your performance?

Right from the very beginning, I knew that they really wanted somebody who was going to be strong and confident without being an arrogant, posturing leader. That's been my main character trait that I've kind of leaned into, him speaking his mind and not necessarily trying to be something he's not. If anything, he's humble, and the jack-of-all-trades-ness of him, I didn't really try to play that. They're just sort of facts about him. He's into hacking and can make a mean flat white at the café or whatever. The thing I've been leaning the most into is that he's someone who speaks his mind and is going after what he wants. The arc, up until now, has simply been the magnetic attraction, almost the unexplainable attraction, that he has to Nicky.

Not to put you on the spot, Ben, but could you explain that attraction to Nicky?

I love it, Sam. That was a good pivot. [laughs] I think that, as he says in Episode 1, he has a real disdain for bullies. He knows Nicky is the protector of Chinatown, and he knows that her name carries weight in the series for now. That's what leads him to being aware of her. Half of it is the righteousness he sees in her that's noble, and the other half is that Bo is a loner and someone we'll find out a little more, after Episode 6, [about] where he came from. He is someone who is essentially alone and sees this beautiful, fighting warrior, and I think it just clicks with something in him. I don't know if you can put into words why we want what we want, but I don't think Bo is afraid to just pursue it for three episodes straight.

As you've gotten to know showrunners Christina Kim and Robert Berens, how has that helped you develop your performance in getting familiar with their writing?

Right from the beginning, Bob especially was great about giving me the trajectory of the character, all the way up until what you've seen. I don't think it's too challenging to get into the language of the show, and that, I think, comes with simply talking with the other actors when you're out there doing these scenes. I would say that the supernatural aspect is always a bit harder to digest, with something now revealed to be a big part of Bo's story. When the writing is good, which it is in the case of Kung Fu, you can reduce a lot of these moments to the relationships and human connections. As for all the magic, it's not been too hard to get too bogged down in it.

I found it refreshing that when Nicky explains this world of magic to Bo, he just rolls with it.

I just watched that scene this morning! There is a world where Bo would've been a little more taken aback like we would be if someone fights magic bad guys, but Bo has his secret, and I think that explains that he knows about magic as well.

With so much of Bo's backstory shrouded in mystery, how is it having that in your back pocket, and does that inform your performance?

I was told explicitly not to play up that dark secret that's been revealed now. I think it was buried pretty deeply. There might be a few moments where I reminded myself consciously on set that the reason I'm not expressing more through this person is because I can't, but it's built into the character. We don't know, at this point, why he's doing what he's doing. That's why the unexplainable magnetism is the driving force behind him up until now. For a storyline that they didn't want me to play up too much, I think you're going to see a little more [of] that kind of energy of somebody who is actively hiding something in the following episodes. Up until this point with Episode 6, it's simply the longing, and he's blinded by his longing, I think.

How is it working with the stunt team and fight choreographers to get down that physical side of your performance?

The entire stunt team is incredible. Andrew Chin, who is the head of the ship there, is just amazing. My main stunt double is a guy named Leslie Kwan, and he's been amazing. He's really gone out of his way to train me. I would say that he's responsible for any sweeping kick that you see, but there is the occasional hard punch that I throw and the occasional shoulder or elbow-type move. I've put off fighting for a long time in my life, and the time has come when I'm starting to stand up again, get on my feet, and move around. The stunt team is incredible, and I feel lucky that, on top of getting to work on this amazing show, I also get to learn some boxing, kung fu, and karate.

What else can you tease about Bo's journey in Kung Fu Season 3?

There are so many juicy storylines going on in the show, and as a quick sidebar, I want to say that I'm enjoying the political storyline with Anthony Chan and Jin; that's just been fun to watch. As for Bo, you're going to see his backstory revealed, which is going to really explain why he's ostensibly been betraying Nicky and everybody. I'm really excited for Episodes 7 and 8 to drop. Those involved really long days, and I was invested in the backstory. You're going to see a Bo who appears to be very malicious, but then we're going to find out that not everything is as it seems. Give him time because it's not as simple as what it looks like.

Developed for television by Christina M. Kim, Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on The CW, with new episodes released the following day on the CW App.