"I just hope it’s going to open the door for others"
Gemma Chan has said she wants more British Asian actresses to be successful
In an Inkstone interview, Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan said she wants to see more successful British Asian actresses.
Reflecting on Crazy Rich Asians, Chan said she believed its success was in its relatabilty for Asians around the world.
“What’s really good for me is to find stories that aren’t just pigeonholing Asians in Asia,” she said. “I think Crazy Rich Asians is a wonderful example of an Asian story but it’s also about the diaspora and what it’s like for Asian people living everywhere.”
“And, some of the similarities and differences between people who have lived in the US, like Rachel and her mom, and then they come back here and struggle between two worlds. That is something really ripe to be explored.”
Chan has also started her own production company in which she is “developing stories and going into producing things that are not necessary for me to act in.”
“And it’s about finding those. Stories that haven’t been told that have been lost to history.”
“I’m sure there’ll be many obstacles but I just feel like I don’t want to squander this opportunity, like, oh, we’ve done this amazing film and that’s it for another 25 years. I want the opportunities to keep coming.”
For Chan, Crazy Rich Asians was also important for her family.
“I just feel very, very grateful to have those opportunities and seeing how much Crazy Rich Asians has meant to people and to my own family,” she said. “I took my mom and dad to the London premiere and it was a really emotional experience for us, watching a film made in Hollywood where people looked like us.”
“I felt really passionate about it. Sometimes you just have to take a risk. Sometimes you have to risk failing to have the chance of being part of a change,” Chan said.
“I feel very fortunate that things have panned out the way they have, that Kevin Kwan wrote those books, and that Jon Chu did something so brilliant with them, and Warner Brothers was willing to take a chance on it. Everything just came together.”
However, Chan also said she hopes to see other British Asian actresses succeed in the industry too.
“And now I just hope it’s going to open the door for others. I don’t want to be the only successful Asian actress or British Asian actress. Especially when we’ve established there’s so much talent out there.”
Last month, Chan’s hit TV series Humans was cancelled after three seasons.