Emy Coligado on revisiting Piama and the chaos of ‘Malcolm in the Middle’

DA: Did where Piama and Francis are at the start of the reboot line up with what you imagined for them over the years?
EC: I definitely wondered if they’d still be together and whether they’d have children. What I loved is that it felt very true to real life. Those core relationship dynamics don’t necessarily change. The challenges you have early on can still be there 20 years later. I thought the show captured that really well, especially Francis’ need to get his mom's approval to be her favorite.

DA: How was it sharing scenes again with Christopher Masterson and the rest of the cast after so much time?
EC: What surprised me most was how easily we all slipped back into those roles. It was like no time had passed at all. At the same time, it was amazing to see everyone like Chris Masterson, Frankie Muniz and Justin Berfield as adults now, with their own children. But performance-wise, it felt like we just picked up where we left off. I really credit the writers for capturing that same nostalgic type of comedy.

DA: As an actor, did you approach Piama differently this time around?
EC: I have never left the acting business, so I felt like the 20 years that I have behind me helped me to feel more confident. I just feel like a more grounded person today than I was back then. I remember feeling nervous before my lines like, “Oh my God, here I come, here I go.” I don’t have that kind of voice stuck in my head anymore, which is so nice. That confidence and life experience naturally inform how I approach the character now.

DA: Looking back at the original series, you’ve said it was a kind of “school” for you. What were some of the biggest lessons you took from this reboot experience?
EC: I think one of the first days, Bryan Cranston told something to the younger, new generation actors that came in. He talked about how all the no’s in his career felt like disappointments at the time, but looking back, everything happened for a reason. He said if Malcolm in the Middle hadn’t ended, Breaking Bad wouldn’t have happened for him. That really stuck with me that things do fall into place the way they’re meant to.

DA: Do you remember your audition for Malcolm in the Middle? What stood out about that experience?
EC: Malcolm in the Middle was, for me, my school for on-camera acting. I learned how to hit my mark and all the basics that I really couldn’t learn until I got on set. I started my career doing musical theater, where there’s more emphasis on singing rather than acting, so I was still very new to that side of things.

I remember auditioning for the casting directors, and I started the scene by pantomiming that I was chopping something. I finished the scene, and afterward they said, “That was really good—could you do everything you did, except the chopping at the beginning?” I was so embarrassed. But they were really protecting me and teaching me.

Then for the callback, when I auditioned for show creator Linwood Boomer, I remember it was down to me and one other person. I did all the scenes, and he said, “Could you do it, but less dramatic?” I said, “Which part?” and he said, “All of it.” In that moment of panic you can easily go into self-criticism. I grounded myself by focusing on listening to the other person. I told myself, focus on Francis, not on yourself. Listen better. That helped ground me.

That’s how I imagine my audition went, and I was super excited when I found out I got it. My agent told me, “This show is critically acclaimed. They have a great reputation for how they cast, so this will really help your career.” So when I got it, I was so excited. It was a big deal.

DA: Was Piama always intended to have the longevity she ended up having, or did that evolve over time?
EC: When I came in during season three, she was described as feisty, someone who would challenge Lois, and fiercely loyal to Francis. There was also a hint of a darker backstory with maybe a father that was either negligent or abusive. I really had in my head that she was always going to go head to head with Lois. There was growth between Lois and Piama. Lois was more accepting of her. Piama could let her guard down, so she definitely became a softer version.

DA: At the time, did you realize how significant Piama was in terms of representation?
EC: I knew there was very little representation for people of color on TV, especially Asian actors, so just being on screen felt important. The character was written as Alaskan Native, and at the time they were open to casting across different backgrounds. It’s interesting, out of my 33 years in the business, it was only about six years ago that I actually played a Filipino role. So the industry has definitely changed in some positive ways, though there’s still more progress to be made, especially for Native representation.

DA: Have you had meaningful interactions with fans over the years because of Piama?
EC: I’ve had some fan interactions that have really stayed with me. A few colleagues who are Millennials have told me, “You were the first Asian actor I saw on my TV.” And I was like, “Are you serious?” Because I give so much credit to the people before me, like Margaret Cho and others who really paved the way. But I was very surprised to hear that. And actually, just the other day, someone came up to me and said that they and their friend used to write down all the lines from the show while watching it because it meant so much to them. She started tearing up. I didn’t realize how much the show impacted people. I think it’s because it’s such a relatable family. People finally felt seen. It wasn’t a perfect family, it was quite dysfunctional, but at its core, it really was about love.