‘Army of the Dead’ star Samantha Win’s Asian heritage has been challenged most of her life by Hollywood, but she’s done worrying what others think

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Army of the Dead."
• Samantha Win tells Insider how she first met director Zack Snyder and thought he was a stunt person.
• Win is OK with her death in "Army." She's happy with the way the zombie tiger took out Martin.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Growing up, Samantha Win always felt her ability to identify as Chinese was challenged by her peers. The actress said she was often quizzed by other kids in school because of her half-Asian, half-Caucasian background.

"It was, 'Oh, you're half-Chinese. Have you ever been to Hong Kong or have you ever been to China?" the "Army of the Dead" actress recently told Insider.

After she went, the goalpost moved, Win said.

Then "it was, 'Do you speak Chinese?' I don't. I grew up in a small town and my dad tried to teach us. It didn't stick, I guess," she continued.

The scrutiny continued when the Canadian actress, who started her career starring in toy commercials before landing her first stunt job at 14, began working in Hollywood. Win recalled she'd often hear "she doesn't look Asian enough" when compared with other actresses, but it's always been ingrained in her identity.

At the behest of their mother, Win and her two older brothers trained in Jujitsu from the age of 4, something she credits with shaping her work ethic and discipline. She then transitioned into the performance martial art of Wushu, a skill that landed her a spot on the Canadian National Wushu Team where she became a double Gold-medalist in the 2006 and 2008 Pan-American Wushu Championships.

Her training led her to double for Jena Malone in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," before regularly working with Zack and Deborah Snyder on films including, "300," "Man of Steel," and "Justice League."

Now, as she enters her 30s and transitions into more acting roles, Win doesn't care how others label her.

"At this point in my life, people can think what they want," Win said. "I know who I am."

Currently a scene-stealer in Snyder's zombie heist movie "Army of the Dead," playing the no-nonsense Chambers who gets killed far too early, Win chatted with Insider about how she mustered the courage to text Snyder about "Army," spoilers on the film, and external pressures she faced over her cultural identity.

The first time Win met Snyder she didn't realize who he was.

Acuna: How did you get introduced to the Snyders?

Win: I first got hired through Damon Caro, who is their second unit director. He's an amazing martial artist and he was one of those responsible for scouting new talents in different athletics. He was the first one that had reached out to my parents to see if they were comfortable with me flying out.

Once we got to set [of "Sucker Punch"] was the first time I met, I believe, Zack first. The funny part is that I didn't realize he was the director. The first time I saw him, he was just training in the stunt gym in the morning. He was doing like jump kicks across the floor and just hanging out with everyone like he was one of the guys.

It took me a good 30-40 minutes of asking around to realize, "Oh, that's the director," and yet he's doing martial arts and just training with everyone.

Did you find that it was more difficult for you as a woman entering the stunt double world than a man?

I may have lived a slightly sheltered career. [The Snyders] were at the forefront of using so many women and having so many roles for strong women that by the time I got to "Sucker Punch," which was my first long run on a film, there were five lead women and five lead stunt doubles. For me, it was almost like, "Wow, this is what the world is."

But the other stunt women were telling me how rare it truly is to be able to work with each other. There's usually just one female stunt double. A lot of them hadn't even gotten to work together. They knew of each other as other main stunt doubles.

I'm so grateful that I fell into the Snyder camp so early in my career because they made it not a part of my reality. I feel very fortunate.

After years of playing a stunt woman and smaller roles, Win texted Snyder for a chance to audition for "Army of the Dead"

I spoke with Snyder about the over 10-year journey to bring "Army" to life. When did you become a part of the film?

I had known it was in pre-production from other friends that were working on it. When I read the synopsis, I was like, "Oh my God, it's zombies! It's Las Vegas. Look at that cast." This is going to be so cool. It would just be a dream come true. But my phone wasn't ringing.

I was at a point in life where I was trying to stop being scared of going for things. I wanted to allow myself to really go for opportunities without coming across a certain way.

After three days of deliberating with friends, convincing me that Zack would not hate me for asking to audition, I finally just texted and asked if it would be OK to audition and that it would just be an honor to show my work.

He removed all of my fears and insecurities about it because he was happy to have me audition. Three weeks later, I learned that I got the part, which just was a whole other emotional journey.

Win is happy with her 'Army of the Dead' death even if it left you screaming at your TV

What was your reaction when you learned you were going to be one of the first people dead in "Army"? I did not pin Chambers, this bad-ass woman, going down so early.

Honestly, I was just in shock that it was going to be a main title, billing role. It was such a big step forward from things I had done.

Reading through the script, I truly felt Chambers got so much with her death that I was very excited to be able to perform it.

Anytime you give a character a friendship or a relationship it feeds that emotional journey that the audience can go on when you die, so much more. It would've meant so much less to people if they couldn't see in Guzman's reaction, the pain it was going to cause for her to die ... I knew that it was going to feel good and hopefully it was going to tug on some heartstrings.

I was yelling at the TV because I thought Chambers shouldn't have died. I thought, "Why didn't she crawl to safety? Why isn't anyone coming to save her?" She already fought her way through this impossible situation. Is that something that you had spoken with Zack or screenwriter Shay Hatten about?

You couldn't see in the actual cut of it, but [the zombies] grabbed my ankle from behind. So there was a moment of, "I can't," and then Guzman's trying to get an aim on me, but I'm kind of in a way so kicking them off without shooting me was a struggle.

There was probably some conversations that happened in the editing room after we had filmed. It seems to be a strong reaction from people and it wouldn't be news to me if that was intentional to provoke people, to be standing up screaming at their TVs.

Anytime you get that emotionally involved in a scene, whether you are judging the characters or you're for it, anytime it evokes, something like that, I think it's a good thing. I'm sure it was intentional.

Win really did break through the window and nailed it on the first try.

Chambers busts through a window to escape the dead before her death. How many of the stunts did you do yourself?

I did break through the window and I was so elated that they let me do that because I know that there could be liability issues. They used a candy glass, which is made from melted sugar, as opposed to tempered glass so it's far less likely to cut and it's a much safer version. I felt so comfortable doing it. I'm sure most people don't desire jumping through windows, but for me it's so fun.

The rest of the stunts when it comes to the on-camera performance, it was me. They let me do everything. But so much of the job is also in the preparation and things that happen off-camera that I need to also give credit to Natalie Padilla, who was Chambers in all of the pre-vis[ualization] fights. She was the one working with the choreographers to kind of iron out kinks in the choreography and get everything prepared.

How many times did you have to go through the window?

They had a few of them, but we actually got it on the first take. So I was a little bummed that I didn't get to do it again [laughter].

Win is satisfied with Martin's zombie tiger death.

What was your reaction to learning that the zombie tiger would kill Martin? I think Martin totally got what he deserved, but how did you feel?

I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud and had the biggest smile on my face. When someone just deserves it so much, when that fate happens to them, you can't help but feel like everything is right in the world and it's the most satisfying experience ever. So, absolutely.

When I read it or heard about it, I don't remember which came first, I'm sure I got up out of my seat and I was like, "Yes!" Just envisioning a zombie tiger mauling someone to death, especially with "The Revenant" having come out just a couple of years prior, it was bringing a scene like that to a whole other level. It was upping the ante and I couldn't wait to see it.

I read in another interview that when you made the transition from stunt double to actress, you initially felt like you had a case of imposter syndrome. How did you overcome that or is that something you've overcome?

I probably have yet to find out. I probably feel like that in most things I do in my life.

On "Army of the Dead," what made the difference was the beautiful, amazing cast. Everybody came from different walks of life. We had different cultural backgrounds. That is what ended up uniting us instead of separating us.

I expressed openly how much less than I felt, because I wanted to pay my respects to everyone in their careers ... They really brought me into that ensemble lifting me up and making sure that we all knew that we were all valuable and we were all supported and we were there to work as a team.

This interview has been edited and shortened for clarity. "Army of the Dead" is currently streaming on Netflix. Win also stars in the short film, "Unwelcome," which she cowrote. It can be viewed here.