Page 15 - MidWeek - April 19, 2023

Mahina’s Rising: Young Actress Cast In ‘Walking Dead’ Series
FROM PAGE 14
“I like that on this set in particular, we make an ‘ohana out of it,” explains Napoleon. “Everyone is re- ally nice and kind to each other. Vanessa, my mom on the show, and Kian (Talan),
meaning “moon” or “moon- light” in Hawaiian, you could say she was destined to be with the stars.
name was and she said Ma- hina,” shares Napoleon, who is of Chinese, Hawaiian, Fil- ipino, Spanish, English, Irish, Dutch, German and Scottish ancestry.
forming Arts. “I’ve also been singing my whole life. I love singing. It’s just one thing that I do around the house, at school, everywhere. I just walk around singing.”
when asked about any celeb- rity crushes. “And Jeremiah and Conrad on The Summer I Turned Pretty, especially Jeremiah.”
Like her NCIS: Hawaii character, the actress de- scribes her real-life self as kind, funny and creative.
“Julie is very funny and I feel like I’m the funny friend in my friend group and the funny cousin in the family,” Napoleon says. “She’s also very happy and enjoying be- ing a kid, and she’s athletic. She plays soccer, and I run track (hurdles) — there’s running involved so I guess that’s similar.”
A fan of The Walking Dead series since she “was 4 or 5,” Mahina Napoleon auditioned for the role of Ginny in The Walking Dead: Dead City, and landed the part. The series premieres in June on AMC. PHOTO COURTESY PETER KRAMER/AMC
With her name Mahina (given to her by her dad)
“My dad had a dream of him and a girl playing and he asked that girl what her
While she’s been doing performing arts (singing, dancing and acting) since she was 4, and modeling since she was 3, NCIS: Hawaii was Napoleon’s first TV role. Before that, she was featured in various commercials, such as for Bank of Hawaii and Ka Malanai condominiums. She’s also performed on stage in numerous plays at Hawaii Theatre, including Little Mermaid, Shrek the Musical, Moana, Hairspray and, more recently, The SpongeBob Mu- sical.
When she’s not at school, on stage or on set, Napo- leon enjoys snowboarding and surfing. She can also be found eating at her favorite restaurants — Hawaii Pot or Kizuna Sushi Bar & Grill in Kāne‘ohe; shopping at her favorite stores — Hollister, PacSun and Nike; listening to music by some of her fa- vorite artists — Josh Tatofi, SZA, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd; or watching her fa- vorite shows Dance Moms, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Stranger Things and Outer Banks.
In February, CBS an- nounced it was renewing NCIS: Hawaii for its 2023- 2024 season, bringing the cast and crew back together for season three, which is expected to start production in June. Until then, Napo- leon is gearing up to promote the premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City, while also continuing her journey as a performer.
APRIL 19, 2023 MIDWEEK 15
Nazarene and Le Jardin acad- emies), so it was harder be- ing away,” recalls Napoleon, who’s in the seventh grade. “I wasn’t there for first and sec- ond quarter, so when I came back, I didn’t really know where my classes were ... it’s a big campus.”
my brother on the show, they are actually like my mom and my brother. They are the kindest and sweetest, most loving people in the whole entire world, especially Va- nessa, she treats me like her own daughter.
Among the highlights of her time in New York — be- sides filming The Walking Dead: Dead City, of course — Napoleon attended the Alice + Olivia show at New York Fashion Week, caught WICKED on Broadway and visited Times Square. When she finally returned home (likely with a magnet or two to add to her family’s refrig- erator, which is home to a collection of magnets from their travels), it was not just back to school for her, but also back to work on NCIS: Hawaii, which has become like a second family.
“One moment I remember very, very, very well is the first moment I met my brother (Kian). I was going into fit- ting and he was coming out of a fitting, and he was like, ‘Sis- ter?’ A nd I was like, ‘Broth- er?’ A nd we just clicked right then and there, and we’re just so close.”
(Clockwise from far left)
Mahina Napoleon enjoys a moment with TV mom Vanessa Lachey and TV brother Kian Talan at
the NCIS: Hawaii season
2 wrap party at Waikīkī Aquarium; and quality time with real-life dad Jeffrey Napoleon and real-life mom Amber Stone Napoleon. PHOTOS COURTESY NAPOLEON FAMILY Napoleon and Lachey film a segment of NCIS: Hawaii.
PHOTO COURTESY CBS
“I’ve always had a little bit of acting in my life,” shares Napoleon, who performs with Pacific Academy of Per-
“JJ, John B and Rafe from Outer Banks are very cute boys,” Napoleon confesses,
“I want to be on a Disney show, that’s something I re- ally want to do, or a Netflix movie, or Stranger Things,” says Napoleon on her dream role. “I definitely would like to continue being an actor, but I would also like to grow in my career as a singer.”