Lyrica Okano Talks 'Runaways' on a New Marvel's Voices

Nico Minoru, the teenage Super Hero with murderous Super Villain parents and the magical “Staff of One,” first came to life in 2003 in the pages of RUNAWAYS #1.

Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, the character has learned a lot about love, loss, and the power of friendship over the last 16 years. For so many comic book lovers, particularly Asian-American women, Nico represents a character that they can relate to on a personal level.

That’s why I was particularly excited to sit down with Japanese-American actress, Lyrica Okano, who plays Nico Minoru on "Marvel’s Runaways" on Hulu.

A native New Yorker, Lyrica’s interest in acting and performing started early, but her acting didn’t get into full swing until she returned to the United States after completing two years of high school in Kyoto, Japan. She is the daughter of two artists who actually moved to America to pursue careers in music; this not only gave her an opportunity to dream big but also the support system necessary to pursue those dreams.

I had a chance to chat with Lyrica to talk about her journey as an actress, working with the cast and crew of "Marvel’s Runaways", and how being a trained gymnast and a black belt helped her with some of the cool action scenes from Season 2.

Download this episode of Marvel's Voices from Marvel.com/podcasts and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts now!