Kelly Marie Tran was left gobsmacked after she was surprised by her childhood hero, Mulan star Ming-Na Wen during a recent TV interview.

The Star Wars: The Last Jedi castmember, who became the first Asian-American woman to play a main role in the sci-fi franchise, has long admired Wen for giving Asian kids their own Disney princess to look up to in the 1998 animated classic Mulan and admitted she has modelled her career on that of her idol.

“That was such a huge part of my childhood, I think I was nine when that movie came out,” Tran shared on The Drew Barrymore Show, which aired on Thursday.

“It was the first time I felt like I saw someone who looked like me living in these sort of spaces on that sort of scale, and Ming-Na Wen, who plays Mulan, is such an inspiration to me. I actually got to meet her at the (Star Wars) Episode IX premiere and she’s such a symbol of all the things I wanna be. (It was) such a cool experience,” she went on.

Tran, who was promoting her new Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon, was then reunited virtually with Wen as host Drew Barrymore introduced her surprise guest – bringing the young actress to tears.

“Oh my God, what?!” she exclaimed, gushing: “You did not tell me this was happening! I’m gonna cry!”

She then wiped away tears as The Mandalorian star beamed at her and admitted she can see so many similarities between their careers already.

“Congratulations on everything,” a smiling Wen began.

“I feel like I’m looking in a mirror… because I followed Kelly’s footsteps and became part of the Star Wars family (with The Mandalorian spin-off series), and now she’s following my footsteps and being a Disney princess,” Wen shared, adding: “I just feel like we have this whole mirror thing going on and I love it. I’m so proud of you…!”

– Cover Media