. >>> THIS MONTH MARKS 50 YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF LEGENDARY MARTIAL ARTS ACTOR BRUCE LEE. >> THE SAN FRANCISCO NATIVE WAS THE MOST VISIBLE ASIAN AMERICAN IN HOLLYWOOD IN THE '60s AND '70s AND HIS INFLUENCE IS STILL FELT TODAY. NEW SEASON OF THE TV SERIES "WARRIOR" HONORS HIS LEGACY IN SAN FRANCISCO'S CHINATOWN. WE SAT DOWN WITH ACTRESS OLIVIA CHENG ONE OF THE MAIN CAST MEMBERS TO TALK HISTORY, ACTIVISM, AND REPRESENTATION. >> WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT LEAVING TOWN. >> IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT. PLUS, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK TO PUT THIS DRESS ON? >> Reporter: OLIVIA CHENG IS FIERCE IN HER ROLE IN THE TV SERIES "WARRIOR." THE SHOW IS INSPIRED BY THE WRITINGS AND WORK OF BRUCE LEE BORN AT CHINESE HOSPITAL ON JACKSON STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO CHINATOWN. "WARRIOR" IS SET IN THE LATE 1800s DURING THE CHINA TOWN GANG WARS. ATOY WAS ONE THE FIRST CHINESE WOMEN TO ARRIVE IN THE CITY DURING THE GOLD RUSH AND WAS A SEX WORKER AND MADAME. >> WHAT LITTLE WE KNOW OF HER AND I THINK IT IS REALLY TELLING THAT ANYTHING THAT IS WRITTEN ABOUT HER IS FROM A MAN'S POINT OF VIEW. I THINK IT IS SUCH A LOSS THAT WE WILL NEVER HEAR HER STORY IN HER OWN WORDS. >> THIS IS NOT CHINA. IT'S CHINA TOWN. >> REALLY. YOU GOING TO START A REVOLUTION IN A BAR? >> BARROOMS AND BROTHELS ARE WHERE REVOLUTIONS ARE USUALLY BORN. >> Reporter: TO BE AN ASIAN WOMAN AT THAT TIME, TO ARGUABLY BE MAYBE THE FIRST ASIAN WOMAN TO USE THE COURT SYSTEMS TO HER ADVANTAGE, TO TAKE ON CUSTOMERS WHO SWINDLE HER, TO TAKE ON THOSE WHO TRIED TO BULLY HER, THE TENACITY AND RESOURCEFULNESS AND THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO PULL THAT OFF IN THAT TIME, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE. SHE STARTED PEEP SHOW BY ALL ACCOUNTS AND THEN FRANCHISED IT. >> IT IS WAVERLY STREET. >> BACK THEN IT WAS ON WAVERLY STREET. TODAY IT IS BUSINESSES AND HOMES. >> THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN WHERE SHE DID HER PEEP SHOWS. >> THAT BLOWS MY MIND BECAUSE I'VE BEEN DOWN THIS STREET. I CAME DOWN THIS STREET LAST YEAR WHEN I CAME INTO TOWN TO SPEAK ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATLANTA SPA SHOOTINGS AND HAD NO IDEA I WAS SO CLOSE TO A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT HAS SO AFFECTED MY LIFE. WHEN YOU ARE A KID GROWING UP IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, SO FAR FROM THIS THING IN HOLLYWOOD. AS A KID GROWING UP I REMEMBER STAGING TABLE READS AT RECESS. I WOULD ASK MY TEACHERS INSTEAD OF ESSAYS COULD I SHOOT A SHORT MOVIE ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER? COULD I WRITE A PLAY? >> CHENG ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A CREATOR AND BEFORE SHE WAS AN ACTOR SHE WAS A NEWS REPORTER. >> WHILE ONE GROUP WAS SINGING IN A ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR POLICE SAY SEVERAL MEMBERS FROM THE OTHER GROUP BURST IN. >> Reporter: I WENT INTO PROBABLY EVERY NEWSROOM IN TOWN AND VOLUNTEERED. I WASHED DISHES, PULLED CABLES, ANSWERED PHONES, UNTIL ONE NEWSROOM ACTUALLY GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAIN AS A SCRIPT ASSISTANT AND THEN WHEN I GRADUATED ME THEY OFFERED ME A FULL-TIME POSITION AND I SAID I WANT TO BE A NEWS REPORTER. >> Reporter: DURING THAT TIME CHENG ALSO TOOK JOBS AS AN EXTRA IN CHRISTMAS MOVIES. IN 2006 SHE GOT HER FIRST BIG ACTING JOB IN THE WESTERN MINI SERIES "BROKEN TRAIL." >> WHAT IS CHANGING IN THAT LANDSCAPE IN THE CREATIVE ARTS AND WITH ASIANS AND ASIAN AMERICANS? >> ANECDOTALLY I DEFINITELY SEE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHARACTERS AND BREAKDOWNS THAT JUST DID NOT EXIST SIX YEARS AGO. IF YOU WERE TO STATISTICALLY BREAK DOWN THE NUMBER OF ASIANS ON SCREEN AND IN EXECUTIVE POSITIONS AND BEHIND THE CAMERAS WE STILL REPRESENT A VERY, VERY, VERY SMALL NUMBER. IT MAKES ME A LITTLE SAD I CAN NEVER JUST TALK ABOUT BEING AN ACTOR AND BEING A PROJECT. THAT SO MUCH OF MY CAREER IS GOING TO BE TIED INTO MY RACIAL IDENTITY. >> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT MAYBE SOME OF THE MOMENTS IN RECENT MEMORY THAT HAVE REALLY IMPACTED YOU AND WHERE YOU FOUND YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR VOICE AS AN ACTOR. >> LOOK TO THE ASIAN WOMEN AROUND YOU. LOOK TO THE ORGANIZATIONS -- >> Reporter: THE ATLANTA SPA SHOOTINGS, I THINK THAT WAS THE POINT IN THE PANDEMIC WHERE I FELT AN EXTREME HOPELESSNESS BECAUSE IN THAT MOMENT I WAS LIKE, EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER DONE IS CHILD'S PLAY. >> HOW DO YOU USE WHAT YOU WERE GOING THROUGH, THOSE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS, HOW DO YOU USE IT NOW IN THE ROLES THAT YOU PLAY? >> WE CAN'T AVOID WHAT HAPPENED IN HISTORY. OUR SHOW CAN'T AVOID IT. BRUCE LEE'S IMAGINATION WAS STOKED BY THAT EXCLUSIVE ERA BECAUSE OF THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT. HIS PRESENCE ON THE SCREEN AS WE ALL KNOW LIT A FIRE THAT LASTED BEYOND HIS LIFETIME. SAN FRANCISCO HAS BEEN SUCH A MECCA OF ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY. >> THAT WAS A POWERFUL INTERVIEW THERE. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BRUCE LEE'S LIFE, CAREER, AND SEE HISTORICAL
