She’s sweeping us off our feet. Elodie Yung stars as a maid-turned-mafia-accomplice in Fox’s The Cleaning Lady. And while the “fish out of legal waters” story has been done before, this show puts a Cambodian woman front and center—a first for broadcast television. But it’s not just representation we’re tuning in for, it’s also the stories of undocumented status, career loss after immigration, caring for a sick child, and other woes TV’s usual cis white guy rarely deals with. (Sorry, Walter White, it had to be said.)

Here, we asked the French native how raising her own kid helped her connect to a fictional one, what could be her ticket into the MCU, and how her daughter inspires her roles.

Does being an off-screen mom help you be an on-screen one?
Oh, 100%! Having my own daughter was the first time I experienced deep, deep love, and I brought that to the relationship [my character] Tony has with her son Luca.

How excited were you to bring a Cambodian character to primetime?
Extremely. I was shocked, to be honest. When I auditioned, the part was written for a Filipino woman. When I got it, they wanted to embrace my background, so I wanted them to make sure they had it straight. I wanted to change the name, and there were different scenes they consulted me on because I wanted to make Tony as authentic as possible.

You’re used to adjusting to new roles, but how has adjusting to mom life been different?
There’s a new phase every 2 weeks. Anytime you think you’ve nailed it, little things change quickly. It doesn’t feel like there’s been a transition for me. When she arrived on Earth, it just felt meant to be. The only real change is the fatigue.

[Spoiler alert!] Daredevil had a cameo in the latest Spider-Man movie. Since you played Elektra in that series, would you ever suit back up for the MCU?
If they invited me, I’d obviously be so happy to put my suit back on. Elektra was a really interesting and cool character who had so many aspects to her.

Do you ever think about what your daughter will say when she eventually sees you play these bada*s roles?
Oh, my kid is the real bada*s. She’s only 3 and I’m already suffering [laughing]. I hope she’ll be proud of those parts because I like playing complex roles rather than the “strong female character,” which I think is a little reductive to say. For example, Tony goes through so much and she has flaws. She struggles with inner turmoil and has to make decisions she never thought she’d make. But we’re all like this. There’s no black and white in life—only gray areas.