Ah Sahm is single-minded and hotheaded to the point of recklessness when he arrives in San Francisco, but not without cause. He’s an exceptional fighter, and that increases the expectations placed on him by his new associates and by the Chinatown community. But he’s also “a guy with a lot of anger and pain trying to navigate new ideas of right and wrong, which was something I really connected with,” Koji says. 

A memorable Warrior moment: Just as Ah Sahm’s life radically changes when he shows up in town, the Warrior role tested Koji. “Going from a bit actor to a show of this scale” was daunting, but also a challenge he’s glad he took on. “Some of the best moments of my life were on that set,” Koji says. He’s one of many actors who praised how collaborative the production was: “I’ve struggled in the past to voice my opinions and thoughts, but I realized I had a voice on this show, and that it was valued and welcome.” 

Bullet Train, Peaky Blinders, Worth the Wait, Boy Kills World

Ah Toy, the madam of a brothel in Chinatown, is partly based on a historical figure of that name. In Warrior, the calculating Ah Toy is a charismatic force, a savvy businesswoman, and a consummate survivor who, it turns out, cares deeply for her community and for the few people she lets in emotionally. And no matter what, she looks sensational as she conducts her business: Her wardrobe, hair, and makeup are to die for. “Over three seasons, you go from thinking of Ah Toy as untouchable to seeing how vulnerable she is under her armor of beauty,” Cheng says. “We pull her apart, and you see what it costs to be a warrior in a world that isn’t kind to women.” 

A memorable Warrior moment: Recently, Cheng says, she “rocked up to a dance event on Venice Beach in a hoodie and sunglasses and was immediately spotted by the founder of the event. He expressed such beautiful gratitude for Ah Toy and her queer storyline, and then we danced.” Those kinds of experiences aren’t rare for the Warrior cast, Cheng says. The show “brings so many different kinds of people together who see themselves in the flawed humanity of our characters. Bruce Lee would have wanted that — one family.”

Marco Polo, See, The Stand, Supernatural

Dozens of people inside and outside San Francisco’s Chinatown rely on the dapper, discreet Chao for any number of goods and services. He’s always got a fine selection of weapons on hand, but he’s also a fixer, an information broker, and an adviser essential to the deals and the often fraught negotiations among Chinatown players, the police, and the rich men who run the city. Chao has contacts in all those realms and beyond, but for the most part, he plays his cards close to his chest, so when he is able to trust someone, even temporarily, it comes across as a major event. “Chao embraces the promise of America — that you can transcend any sort of limitation or danger if you can strike the right deal with the right person, whether that’s lawful or not,” Lee says. “His life philosophy and his fierce need for independence require mercenary detachment, but he often finds himself connected to people despite himself.” 

A memorable Warrior moment: Lee was also part of the writers’ room for the third season, an experience he calls “seismic.” “As an actor, Warrior has always been tremendously satisfying — wonderful community; meaningful, personal content; and sheer fun,” he says. But writing and collaborating with executive producers and showrunners Tropper, Josh Stoddard, and Evan Endicott “taught me a whole hell of a lot in a big hurry, and gave me the opportunity to set my castmates up for success in a way that is not possible as [just] a scene partner.”

Banshee, See, DMZ, Outcast, Bosch, The Monkey King

If there’s a party — or a battle — in Chinatown, chances are Young Jun is at the center of it. Impulsive but brave and forthright, Young Jun and Ah Sahm are a formidable pair, both as friends and fighters. But despite all that — and despite his status as Father Jun’s heir apparent — the character often feels like an outsider. “I think the princeling son of the most powerful boss in Chinatown said it best when he said, ‘I’m a Chinaman who’s never been to China. I was born in San Francisco but I’m sure no fuckin’ American. I don’t belong anywhere,’ ” Tobin says. The actor, however, found a deep sense of belonging with the Warrior team. 

A memorable Warrior moment: Tobin has experienced his share of off-set thrills, including the time he woke up to a DM from Shaquille O’Neal, who was enjoying the show –– and who, according to the actor, had thoughts on Young Jun’s leadership (“Not as good as Father Jun. But still a great leader!”). 

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Better Luck Tomorrow, Jasmine, A Thousand Blows

Mai Ling starts off with “no power or control over her life in Chinatown,” as Doan notes, but over the course of three seasons, this ambitious woman ascends the ladder of power — not without some setbacks. But Mai Ling wants to become “a leading force” in the community, and using her grit, political savvy, and intelligence, she does exactly that. 

A memorable Warrior moment: Mai Ling “doesn’t fight much” but Doan loved visiting the stunt unit, to “support the cast and geek out at the fight choreography.” Part of the attraction was watching fight coordinator and director Brett Chan put performers through their paces, but there was another lure: Chan ordered a lot of food. “Whether it’s Korean food or doughnuts,” Doan says, “it was always a treat to be on set!”

Vikings, Descendants, Agents of SHIELD, Good Trouble, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

Bew aptly sums up Big Bill’s problems when he says that the show’s writers “enjoy Bill squirming.” The Irish immigrant is beset by financial worries, an ever-growing family, his contacts in Chinatown, and his superiors on the San Francisco police force, who don’t much care how the cops keep a lid on Chinatown’s broiling tensions as long as the job gets done. Through Bill and labor leader Dylan Leary (Dean Jagger), another Irish immigrant, Warrior explores how racial bias and economic disparities are not just used but amplified by the powerful in order to keep their pockets full. Bill isn’t above using his fists to solve problems, but he knows Chinatown like few of his colleagues — and his story offers a way to show “the complexities of policing in San Francisco, and the effects of political prejudices on the communities,” Bew says. In times of stress, Bill’s vices and questionable “coping strategies” come to the fore, but as a consolation, Bew notes, he does have an “incredibly handsome beard.” 
 

A memorable Warrior moment: “The fan art we have received has been phenomenal,” Bew says. “I have two retro Warrior movie-style posters up in my house. I’ve even bought them as gifts for people.” He also greatly enjoyed working with Hoon Lee, especially in one key police-station scene with Chao that was full of “so much subtext, things we cannot say out loud or even confirm.”

House of the Dragon, Doctor Who, Beowulf, DaVinci’s Demons, Liar, Crusoe, The Street

Father Jun is the powerful leader of the Hop Wei tong, a group of tough, disciplined men who wear sharp black suits and wield immense power in Chinatown. But Father Jun cares about far more than just the Hop Wei and its mercenary interests. Other priorities include the survival of his son and the protection of Chinatown, which is frequently under threat from various factions of “ducks” (white people) from elsewhere in San Francisco. Exploring Father Jun’s varied and sometimes conflicting motives gave Yung an opportunity to display many sides of his character: “The journey of going from an archetypal Hollywood villain to a multi-dimensional, caring father was both a great challenge and a dream come true for a Chinese-American actor,” Yung says. 

A memorable Warrior moment: Warrior’s second season premiered in the fall of 2020, arriving not only during the depths of the pandemic but amid a “rise in anti-Asian hate,” Yung says. “Fans reached out and asked me to condemn the violence. In doing so, I ended up speaking at anti-hate rallies around New York City and even as a keynote speaker at the first Unity March in Washington, DC, in June 2022. I have remained close friends with many of these organizers.”

The Knick, The Equalizer, Boogie, John Wick: Chapter 2, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist

Many characters on Warrior are deeply conflicted, but even in that group, Lee stands out. As a police officer, he actually cares about finding the right culprits — not exactly a priority for many cops at the time — but he’s also tormented by the events that caused him to flee the South. “Lee starts Warrior as a golden boy running from his past, hungry to help those in Chinatown. But he suffers a fall from grace, chewed up by its underbelly,” Weston-Jones explains. Lee starts out as Bill’s police partner, and despite the obstacles he faces in his personal and professional life, he can’t stay away from the place. “Chinatown brings out the best and worst in Lee: either idealistic and hopeful, or sanctimonious and obsessive.”

A memorable Warrior moment: “Laughing at myself mid-fall during a stunt,” Weston-Jones recalls, “only to hear Hoon and Kieran crying with laughter when I landed.”

Copper, Dickensian, The Terror, Not Safe for Work, Shadow and Bone, Sanditon

People occasionally underestimate this political operative, but they do so at their peril. As Kirkwood says, Buckley, who is the key adviser to San Francisco’s mayor, is “a wounded chameleon with a dangerous mind and a razor-sharp tongue.” As the pressures on San Francisco’s workers and its elite mount — and as Chinese immigrants are increasingly blamed for the city’s ills, even as industrialists rely on their cheap labor — Buckley has to evolve with the dangerous times. As he does so, he sheds “the skin of his chameleon and emerges as a dragon.”

A memorable Warrior moment: Kirkwood cited the flashback that shows when Buckley was wounded in the Civil War: There’s “nothing quite like looking down at the amputation of your own rotting leg crawling with live maggots.” 

ONE PIECE, Dredd, Banshee, Generation Kill, Invictus, Strike Back

Zing is a ruthless but patient man who never misses an opportunity to press an advantage, financially or physically. He’s a “power-hungry thug” who has enough smarts to rise to a leadership position in the Fung Hai tong and “manipulate certain elements around him” to cement his influence, Nguyen says. Zing takes particular pleasure in cranking up the pressure on Bill — but then again, many Warrior characters get a kick out of that. All in all, Zing “is arrogant, but with a sense of humor. For him, power is the equalizer in a country that is racist and exploitative of his people.” 

A memorable Warrior moment: Nguyen has also directed episodes of the drama, including a fan-favorite installment in which Ah Sahm, Hong, and Young Jun go to a martial arts tournament in a remote town. “Six hours from Cape Town, we were doing this big scene with horses and wagons, and it was essentially something out of a Western, and I’m obsessed with the Western genre. I remember looking around as we were setting up the first shot of the day — the sun is just starting to creep up, and the light was just glorious. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘I am directing a Western! But with Asian leads!’ I remember feeling so grateful and content.”

21 Jump Street, Little Fish, Blade of the 47 Ronin, VIP

“Imagine a stray street dog, if that dog was a golden retriever. A gay golden retriever,” Tang says of Hong, who arrives midway through the second season. He may actually be the most serene, well-adjusted character on Warrior — with the caveat that if someone comes at him or his crew, he’ll snap their neck without breaking a sweat and then affably continue with his day. “That dog grew up fending for himself, then escaping to a new world, and he finds his pack — all while happily welcoming (and eating) every new thing along the way.”

A memorable Warrior moment: Around the time when anti-Asian violence was peaking during the pandemic, Tang heard about two San Francisco police officers who were worried about potential violence in modern-day Chinatown. They “went off on their own to put up barricades at the border of Chinatown and stood guard all day and night.” He was touched to learn that they remembered the way the tongs stood together during the deadly riot depicted in Warrior. The officers, “both of whom happened to be Asian,” protected the neighborhood, and “hummed our theme song while standing guard,” Tang says. “And nobody got into Chinatown that day.”

Mulan, Bosch, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Being Mary Jane

A wealthy woman, Nellie is based on a historical figure who helped immigrant Chinese women escape sex work and slavery. This mission is one that some in Chinatown don’t appreciate and view as an interference. As the Warrior narrative progresses, her relationships and goals inside and outside of Chinatown “are turned upside down,” Raison says.   

A memorable Warrior moment: When she first arrived on the set, Raison felt like she wasn’t visiting a TV production: “I walked through a wormhole in time to 1800s San Francisco… I found myself in Chinatown more than 140 years ago, and it was spirit-altering.” 

MI-5, 24: Live Another Day, Doctor Who, Vexed, Nightflyers, and the video games Elden Ring, Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Absolution, Dragon Age: Inquisition