Meet the talented Regina Ting Chen! You may recognize her as Ms. Kelly, the guidance counselor at Hawkins High School in the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things.” This exciting new season premiered on May 27th and is not one to be missed! If she isn't fighting in the upside-down world, you might have seen her in one of the other 30 commercials, movies, or TV shows she has appeared on, not to mention "Marvel's" The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," HBO's Emmy-winning limited series "Watchmen," and the CW's "Dynasty." In addition, when Regina is not acting, you can find her helping Vegan Meals that Heal, a nonprofit organization, teaching HIT kickboxing, or as an animal lover, painting pet portraits, or teaching her dogs tricks! Continue reading our exclusive interview below to learn more about Ms. Kelly, her time on set, Vegan Meals that Heal, and the other activities she enjoys!

Where are you based?
Atlanta, GA, but I can work in all markets — LA & NY!

You have truly set a name for yourself in the entertainment industry with being booked for more than 30 commercials, movies and tv shows. What inspired you to get into Acting?
My grandma was a non-English speaking immigrant who came to the US and was always afraid to step outside of the house. So everyday, I would come home from school as a child and tell her stories about my day; so, that she could live vicariously through me. Sometimes, well, often those stories were embellished, but as long as I could make her laugh and feel what I felt, that’s all that mattered to me.

Acting isn’t your only involvement, you also modeled and have done runway shows. Do you still model or do you focus more on acting? What made you transition to acting?
I only ever did some local modeling so my time doing that was short. I didn’t enjoy staying so thin though! I love being fit and eating well these days. The transition to acting was mostly because I just loved expressing through storytelling with all of me instead of only focusing on featuring a product (modeling) whether it was clothing, item, or me in 2D.

Are you super excited about the latest Stranger Things release? As a SciFi junkie, how did you respond to joining the cast of Stranger Things?
I am beyond excited about the latest Stranger Things release! What an epic season! I was already a fan of the show prior to getting an audition for it; so, you can imagine how stoked I was to receive the actual audition. When I got the call that I booked the role, I was driving to a friend’s house, and it was raining outside. I was so shocked that I literally forgot how to drive, and it became dangerous! I had to pull over. Even now, it doesn’t feel real!

Can you tell us more about Ms. Kelly, and what you have taken away from your time on set?
Ms. Kelly was such a fun character for me to play. I don’t get to play this side of me often — the caring, compassionate persona. It’s funny because I live and breathe this side of me every day! Working with Sadie was such a blessing. She is such a genuine and kind human, and on top of that, her talent knows no bounds. We had an instant connection and sense of familiarity upon meeting which made the scenes play out even more effortlessly.

There is a rumor floating around that Ms. Kelly is “pure evil”, anything you can share on that?
You know, it’s such a huge honor to be part of this fan theory! I honestly only know as much as the fans do and I’m eager to find out more! Even my character is kept in the dark. 

The new season of Stranger Things is divided into two parts. We see your character in the first part, but will we see you again in the second?
I was not in the second part, but I guess we’ll find out if I am coming back in Season 5! What an epic ending to this current season. I’m also obsessed with Kate Bush’s Running up that hill song now!

Stranger Things is set back in the 80s, which is the time when you were born, how is it reliving that era on set each day?
I actually was at the very end of the 80s so I don’t remember much, but the magical thing is that you don’t have to have lived through the 80s to have some sort of connection with that time period. I don’t know what it is about the 80s, but it seems like it means something to literally anyone of any age. I have to believe that’s magic!

In “Stranger Things,” it evokes an upside-down world, and it seems like our world today is “upside down,” with all the issues our kids are dealing with like COVID, gun violence, and bullying. Has playing a school guidance counselor made you think about what kids in real life are dealing with every day?
Yes, it has, a lot. I’m also a mentor in a foster children mentorship program local to Atlanta. Being involved in the community this way is very eye opening and shows how important it is keep being proactive in elevating the community and especially areas that are hard to reach. Children soak up the world around them. Being present with them and setting a good example can go farther than we will ever realize!

It looks like you have been involved with a lot of superhero/sci fi shows. Do you have any genres you would like to be part of in the future?
I am so lucky that I am in the genre of my dreams! I loveeeee sci-fi and superhero shows and am a huge nerd myself. Big fan of Doctor Who, I carry a sonic screwdriver in my backpack everywhere I go! My dogs are named Chewie and Leia; I even have an R2D2 dress hanging in my closet that I bust out from time to time. The Magicians, The Expanse, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, the list goes on and on! I hope to be able to play more prominent characters in these worlds as I continue my career.

Jejune loves that you work with Vegan Meals that Heal, a nonprofit organization, where you cook and deliver plant-based meals as well as bring other necessities like socks, blankets, and clothes to low-income neighborhoods that are homeless or facing food insecurity. Can you tell us a bit more about Vegan Meals that Heal?
Of course! We gather a few Sundays a month and pick up food from grocery stores that have reached their sell-by date but are still good to eat, then we take it to a parking lot in a low-income community and start cooking. About 6-8 of us gather with tools to cook and containers to fill and we hand out the meals to the homeless nearby. Not many people want to drive over to the area we are in for understandable reasons, as it is always a risk. But the work we do is so important, even at a risk. That area has no actual grocery store, just a corner store with mostly packaged/frozen meals. Eating veggies and beans/rice is crucial to a healthy diet. Getting to provide these meals won’t change someone’s health entirely but it’s a start. And so much food is going to waste if we didn’t do this!

How did you get involved with this organization and why is this important to you?
I’ve always been big about being involved with the community whether it’s through donations to charities, Christmas donations to kids, working in a mentorship program, etc. My family struggled financially, and we had rough circumstances growing up so I know there are others out there who lived just like we did, and far worse. Not everyone has access to fresh foods. Like I said earlier, many areas of each city don’t have access to an actual grocery store and the people are kept unhealthy and sick because all they can eat is fast foods or pre-packaged garbage. Change is hard work, but it starts with small steps like not wasting good produce and sharing it with the homeless or those facing food insecurity. It’s also an educational process for us to share this knowledge with people we run into on a daily basis and spread the word. The path to a better future always takes effort, but someone has to do it to start paving the way! I believe in having a positive and fun attitude while working hard at things like these so that I can inspire others to join in and have fun doing hard work that will ultimately having a lasting effect on the community!

I have legit tried to give a Trader Joes salad to a homeless person before, and they turned it down. How do you find the people respond to be given vegan meals? Do you have regulars or do you just handout food as you see people?
You don’t have to state that it’s vegan, since the term still has both good and bad connotations. We have both regulars and new people come through. The important part is to know to give warm foods in the winter, and light/cold foods during hotter times of the year. The homeless also don’t have good dental health so soft foods are VERY important. No apples, no crunchy items, etc. Keep it to rice, beans, tortillas, light salads, oranges, berries, bread, etc.

On the topic of veganism, you recently went vegan a year ago. What made you want to become a vegan? Why do you think it is so important? Do you have any favorite vegan meals?
I am a proud vegan and have been so for 1.5 years now. I actually started doing it myself out of nowhere when I got tired of eating meat every week. I started looking at my meals and thinking about where it came from and what those animals had to endure for me to have a meal for literally less than 5 minutes. After watching the documentaries Seaspiracy and The Game Changer, I decided to take the leap and try go vegan full-on. I skipped the whole slow transitions, that’s not my style anyway haha! I’m either committed or I’m not. I’ve been soooo much better, happier and healthier since the transition. It does have a learning curve at the start, but with the right mindset, anything can be learned when it’s a priority. I have so many favorite meals – Asian food is the easiest vegan cuisine. Mamak is one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta and they serve a full Asian vegan menu, and literally every item is to die for! I love curry, stir-fry’s, impossible burgers, fries, shakes/ice cream made with oat or soy milk, it’s so easy to be vegan these days and they keep coming out with more and more delicious items!

You have two dogs, Chewie and Leia, and we heard that you have taught them cool tricks. Can you tell us more about your dogs and some tricks that you taught them?
When I say the command “Who’s cute?” Chewie will lift one paw up and it’s the cutest thing! Honestly, if you just say “Who’s…”, he’ll do it. You can even ask, “Who’s ugly?” and he’ll raise his hand haha! I taught him to bow his head if I say the command “sorry” because one time he stole some food and it royally upset me. So, I taught him to bow down his head for the sorry command just so that I could say, “are you sorry?” and he’d bow his head and then all is forgiven, even though he’ll always be forgiven! He can also bark when I do a speak hand gesture. Leia is a lost cause. She can sit, lay down, and spin. That’s about it, haha! But I love her just as much!!!

You are also a teacher for HIT kickboxing. When did you get into kickboxing? How do you have time to do it with your busy schedule? Does this skill ever lead to you doing your own stunts?
I got into kickboxing five years ago when an acting coach told me to take either kickboxing or salsa dancing to learn more about how my body moves. I am so happy that I chose kickboxing because it led me on a wonderful fitness journey and into communities with the best attitudes and fight for a better life! I actually coach kickboxing Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:30am for an hour so I get it out of the way of my day first thing! And the warriors that come take my class are BEASTS! Each of them has a nickname because I want them to walk in as their full on confident fighter that they are and tackle all the hardships I throw at them within the hour. They all walk away having done a mean workout and a newfound reassurance that they can do the impossible. No stunt work yet, but I hope that I will get to do some in the future!

With the pandemic still being present, how has this influenced your acting? Is production still slow or is it starting to get back to normal? How did you stay positive during shelter in place?
Honestly the pandemic has allowed me to explore new ways to staying connected with the community. I started up a virtual scene study group and each week, the actors come together to work on our craft to stay sharp and continue learning. The shelter in place was tough for me as I’m such a busy body, but in order to still help others, I spent most of my time recording kickboxing workout routines at home and then arranging a zoom call for my warriors to meet at the same time every other day and follow along my routine on YouTube. We held each other accountable and still got to see each other’s faces and remind ourselves that we’re all in this together, we’re not alone!

Do you have any exciting projects that are coming up that you can tell us about?
There are a couple things coming out, but I’ve signed NDAs on all of them. So, I can’t share just yet! But I can’t wait for them to come out!

What is your motto in life?
Today is the day. I actually say that phrase a lot and live by it. Every morning I wake up at 5am and think TODAY IS THE DAY! I try to live it like it’s my last. I work hard, I share love to the people around me, and I try to make the most out of everything I can in my power each day. Just in case there’s no tomorrow.

To keep up with the talented Regina Ting Chen, follow her platforms below:
www.reginatingchen.com
Instagram: @reginatingchen
And she paints pet portraits! TingsPetPaintings

Photography by Bryce France.

Regina Ting Chen - Embracing Our Screens With Her Talent