As we’ve seen time and time again, the UK is not a great place to be a Black person. But did you know the UK can be a terrible place for Asian people too? It’s true! Gemma Chan has been working consistently in the UK for many years, struggling to break through in an insular, overwhelmingly white British film/television community which never wanted her. I remember seeing Chan in British shows from a decade ago and you could always see how much star power she had, how beautiful she is and how magnetic. But she was well into her 30s before she ever really broke through. Better late than never. Chan covers the September issue of British Vogue to promote Marvel’s The Eternals, where she plays Sersi. The photoshoot is f–king gorgeous and the interview is wonderful too – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Leaving her lawyer-path to try acting: “Have I made a big mistake? Am I going to let down my mum and dad? Could I have had a secure career? You feel that responsibility more when you’re a child of immigrants.”
Her family did not respond well to her pursuit of acting: “In all honesty, it was really painful. My dad was always very much like, ‘Work for something that they can’t take away from you.’ That was the mentality.” Who’s the “they”? I ask. “Well, exactly. I guess the world, or circumstances. Hence: get your qualifications. Hence: it was such a scary or completely inconceivable thing to pursue an unknown career in the arts.”
On the pandemic: “I’ve been in sweatpants for a long time. I’ve loved this time of being in elasticated waists. I ate a lot of cheese. I did thousand-piece jigsaws.”
On The Eternals: “I think this is going to be a really different, special film. First of all, I never expected to be back in the MCU. So that was a surprise. And then to be working with an East Asian female director – I would never have dreamt of that, even just a few years ago. Sersi is not your typical superhero: she’s not necessarily the best fighter, she doesn’t have the most obviously impressive powers. The main thing is she’s an empath. She has a connection with humans, and with the world and the earth. That is her strength, so I leant into that.”
The daughter of Asian parents: “It really was education that brought my mum and dad out of poverty and to this country,” she says. Does that history loom large in her head? “I think it doesn’t leave you, the way you’ve been raised. I can’t stand things going to waste. I don’t like throwing stuff away. That’s just the way that my mum and dad were.”
Choosing to stay in the UK to work: “Well, the thing is, if everyone just leaves and goes elsewhere, then what’s going to change? [I took] every job going – bit parts, one line parts, anything. Would I necessarily make the same choices now, if given the choice? Maybe not. I think I would speak up more if I felt that a role [in Sherlock] was leaning into an orientalist trope of some sort. I’m much more aware. And I think I’m in more of a position where I could say something… I don’t look down on anyone doing any position or in any job on set. The industry has really shifted, even in just the time that I’ve been working. Changing the actual culture – changing in practice – takes longer.”
A need for a rising tide of Asian artists: “Individual successes are one thing. But structurally, when you look at who can actually get projects green-lit in the UK, who are in those positions of power, those gatekeeping positions – there aren’t that many Asians. There aren’t many people of colour in those positions.”
There are several points in the interview where she mentions this person or that person and it turns out that just being a “jobbing actress” for more than a decade in the UK means that you’re probably friends with Damian Lewis, Harry Styles, Richard Madden and more. She is well-connected and yet even now, with her star on the rise, I still don’t get the impression that she has much power in her industry. She’s just a more elite version of the “jobbing actress,” where the jobs are better and the pay is better but she still doesn’t have that much of a say. Anyway, I love her and wish her well. She needs to get offered some rom-coms, dramas, period pieces, everything. Also: everything she says about Asian parents is the f–king truth. Same everything, the education priorities, the fear of their children going into the arts. I felt that all in my soul.
Photos and cover courtesy of British Vogue.
I think the fact that she’s been more vocal against racism in the UK means that her stature in the film industry has grown and it will be even bigger when Eternals comes out. When the foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times wrote about enjoying Philip’s racists comments, Gemma was one of the first people to object to that racist article. I like what she had to say about staying in the UK. I think non-white actors moving to US has allowed the British film industry to ignore the deep issues that exist when comes to a lack of diversity and racism.
It’s just really annoying when brits of color come here to take roles from americans of color and have a lot of rude and offensive things to say about us. Cynthia Erivo saying how African Americans have no culture or Daniel Kaluuya saying he’s tired of speaking about race when they made careers out of these experiences.
It’s annoying when they portray the uk as this great multicultural place, yet why are you here in America to further your career then?
This isn’t directed at Chan, but just in general with Brit actors.
Just from the trailers, I think Gemma Chan is on the verge of a huge breakthrough with The Eternals. She very much seems to be the center of the film.
Her acting prowess and beauty are truly remarkable. The fact that she is just now getting attention shows how biased the film industry is.
I had read Crazy Rich Asians and loved the character Astrid. When I heard that it was being turned into a movie, I thought there was no way they could find someone who could be so sweet and gentle, almost naive, and yet be stunningly beautiful, all with a British accent. But Gemma Chan pulled it off flawlessly.
I think it’s interesting that the headline is a summary of the quote and more general- immigrants’ children feel the responsibility vs “You feel that responsibility more when you’re a child of immigrants.” I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a child of immigrants, and I’m also in the US. But the headline including the emphasis with “more” wouldn’t have bothered me or made me feel defensive. If I felt threatened by the concept that as a white person I feel less responsibility to succeed, then I’d be part of the problem. I’ve pushed for a stable career but it’s been much easier-going for me given privilege.
I really like your honesty. I am an immigrant myself as well as the child of immigrants. There is a lot of pressure to succeed in a world where no matter how hard you work you’re always seen as less than. You have that guilt that you must be successful because your parents gave up so much to bring you here. Failure is not an option but it’s hard to succeed when just your “ethnic” name alone causes people to throw away your resume (not to mention if you have an accent). Times are changing…slowly…but I really appreciate your comment.
Gemma Chan is a beautiful Oxford educated multi-millionaire, just about everything in life has gone her way, why exactly should I feel sympathy for her?
@joe dokes: Who’s asking you to feel “sympathy” for her? Where in her interview did she ask for anyone’s sympathy? And how do YOU know that everything has gone her way? Do you know what’s it’s like to be the only Asian woman in a room? Do you know how hard it is to break through in an industry that’s controlled by old white men? She’s the cover subject of a magazine and she’s sharing her experience as a woman of color and a child of immigrants. Not interested? Move on.
This woman is literally the most gorgeous person on the planet…and she gives the impression that she is just as beautiful on the inside. I want to see more Gemma Chan!
I have to agree. I knew nothing about her before the Entertainment Weekly covers came out, and now I’m obsessed.
I loved Gemma in the UK show “Secret Diary of a Callgirl”…she was so damn good as Charlotte the Dominatrix.
I wish her every bit of success in the US.
I have a confession to make: this whole time I thought Gemma was mixed race: half Asian, half white. As an Asian woman, I was so happy when she took up Asian causes but this interview made me Google her parents and realize that yes, they’re both immigrants and she actually knows what she’s talking about. I don’t know where I got my misconception from — whether she’s mixed or fully Asian, her support was welcome — but the discovery was a happy one.
I want to acknowledge that I realize mixed race people fully experience racism (see Meghan Markle, Obama) but this discovery just made me feel closer to Chan, that is all.