From 2000 to 2007, Agena who is of Japanese descent endeared herself to a generation of viewers as Lane Kim, the best friend of Alexis Bledels Rory Gilmore, on the beloved comedy-drama series.

Appearing on the Dear Felicity podcast this week to reflect on the experience, the actor acknowledged that playing the role was a survival mode situation though shes grateful to have had the chance to bring some much-needed Asian representation to the small screen.

For myself, it was such a survival mode situation, and I didnt kind of think of it that way at the time, she said.

At the time of her Gilmore Girls casting, Agena was 27, more than a decade older than her 16-year-old character. The Hawaiian-born actor also said she doesnt think shed be considered for the role of Kim, who was Korean American, if Gilmore Girls were being produced in 2024.

The best thing is to have a Korean American writer [and a] Korean American actor, she said. I dont think that that role, cast that way, would happen today. But at that time, in 2000, it was such a different time that I definitely know I wouldnt have said no or pulled myself out of that situation at that time.