Nominated against Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Carrie Condon and Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chow may win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar on the night of March 12-13 for Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.
However, the actor was far from Hollywood when he grew up: from Vietnamese immigrant parents, he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1979. His family then settled in Louisiana, United States, thanks to his family’s acceptance.
After studying math, science and art at the University of Louisiana, he majored in film at Boston University. It was on television that he got his first roles in 2006 and we met him in the movie “How I Met Your Mother”, NCIS: Special Investigations or even CSI. From 2011 to 2013, he had a recurring role on Treme, an HBO series created by the father of On Listening, which focused on a group of musicians trying to rebuild their lives in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
In 2014, Paul Thomas Anderson offered her her first big screen role in Inherent Vice, a psychedelic journey through 1960s America. While continuing to star in popular TV series (Big Little Lies, Homecoming, Watchmen), Hong Chau received a Gold Award in 2018. Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Alexander Payne’s Downsizing. This social satire in the form of an SF story, in which people shrink to 12 cm to fight overpopulation, allows him to answer Matt Damon.
In 2022, the actor starred in Le Menu, a brutal satire on the world of gastronomy and the bourgeoisie more broadly. He is the right-hand man of the tyrannical chef, played by Ralph Fiennes. But it’s the whale in particular that puts him at the front of the stage. In this cameo, she is a caretaker and friend to Charlie, a fat man in search of redemption, played by Brendan Fraser. About this character haunted by trauma, Hong Chow says: “She’s looking for something to hold on to, like some people look for a cause or someone to devote themselves to. She genuinely loves him. But she’s, in many ways, complicit in Charlie’s worst behavior.”
About his appointment, this cautious actor admits New York Times To feel a form of relief: “After years of trying, you wonder if it’s worth the effort to commit your life. But what kept me going was the ghostly hope that I could work on a cool and weird movie, because those are the movies I love. I was hoping something would happen, and luckily , so it happened.”
The actress can be seen next May on The Kelly Reichardt Show alongside Michelle Williams.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
