Best known for her high-octane roles in projects like Nikita, Mission: Impossible III, and The Protégé, Maggie Q has built a career on action. Her latest project, the Amazon Prime Video drama Ballard, sees her once again in a tough, commanding role as the head of the LAPD’s cold case unit. The series, a spinoff from the world of author Michael Connelly’s Bosch, quickly climbed to No. 1 on the streaming platform’s charts following its July 9 premiere.
The enthusiastic reception wasn’t a total surprise to the actress. “When they made the announcement that I was doing the show, I got more texts, more messages, more people reaching out than for anything I’ve ever done in my entire career,” she says. “People love crime.”
Ironically, just as she begins starring in a series deeply rooted in Los Angeles, Q has decided to leave the city behind. The decision came after a traumatic experience with a mudslide that destroyed her home. “It was state land that fell on my house. When that happens… nobody helps you,” she explains. The lack of support from the city and her neighbors was a stark contrast to the community she knew growing up in Hawaii. “If that had happened in Hawaii, there’d be a line around the block of people with shovels and homemade food,” she says. “After that experience, I was heartbroken… I had to think about the kind of energy I’m surrounded with.”
Now transitioning out of California, with a newly renovated home in Arizona, Q also laments the state of the film and television industry in its own capital. She notes that productions frequently move to locations with better tax rebates, like Canada, Atlanta, or Albuquerque, leaving LA’s top-tier technical crews out of work. “They’re the best in the world,” she says. “Why don’t we have the kind of rebates that Canada has? It’s being done everywhere. Just not in Hollywood.”
While Ballard’s first season ends on a cliffhanger and a writers’ room is already working on a second, Q remains cautiously realistic about its future. “This industry is not what it was before. It’s barely recognizable to me, and shows are so expendable,” she notes. “I’ve had writers rooms hired before and then gotten canceled. So there is no ‘of course.’”
This pragmatism extends to how she has navigated her career, particularly the persistent battle against typecasting. “What you want to do and what they’ll let me do, that’s what it’s all about. That’s the battle,” she states. “I see myself as multifaceted, and they see me as one thing. I know I have more to give than they believe. Your whole career is spent convincing people of that.”
Q recalls a Bradley Cooper interview where he noted he always had talent but lacked opportunity. “That’s every single person’s battle. And it’s constant.” Her goal has been to get into audition rooms for roles she isn’t typically considered for. “If I’m in that room, and I’m not good enough, that’s OK. I don’t have a problem with rejection. But to not be in those rooms is a disservice.”
Her role in Nikita marked a milestone as the first Asian American lead in a U.S. network drama, a fact she attributes to former Warner Bros. TV head Peter Roth, who told her, “I’m just looking for the best actress. I don’t care what ethnicity you are.”
However, she is skeptical of the industry’s more recent, surface-level diversity efforts. “Just because the industry is now checking ethnic boxes still does not mean they’re seeing people,” she says, adding that many AAPI creatives feel the momentum has stalled. “That’s how you know that it’s not entirely genuine. Optics are the world we live in. Checking boxes makes people in their offices feel really good. But if they’re not the right person, then we get set back.”
To protect her mental health in a volatile industry, Q established a firm boundary with her team a few years ago: don’t tell her about a potential project unless the interest is serious and concrete. In the case of Ballard, her team had been in discussions with producers for a full year before she was ever told. “It’s healthier, mentally,” she says. “Creatives… we’re already a little nuts. You don’t need anything to add to that.”
Looking ahead, Q is content with her current balance. With a couple of independent films in the works, she is also focused on her personal life, having recently celebrated her marriage with a ceremony for family and friends. “I don’t want to work my life away. I’ve worked really hard for the last 25 years,” she reflects. “I want to be with my husband. I want to be with my dogs. I don’t have the big void to fill that I did when I was in my 20s, so I can say no to things with a smile on my face.”
