36 Facts About Hong Chau

Hong Chau was born on June 25,1979 and is an American actress.

Hong Chau has received several award nominations for her film roles as Ngoc Lan Tran in Downsizing and as Liz, a nurse, in The Whale, including one for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter.

Hong Chau grew up in New Orleans and majored in film studies at Boston University College of Communication before pursuing an acting career.

Hong Chau appeared in the TV series Treme and the film Inherent Vice.

Hong Chau went on to have supporting roles in the television series Watchmen and Homecoming.

Hong Chau has played leading roles in the 2019 films Driveways and American Woman, and further supporting roles in the 2022 film The Menu and the 2023 series The Night Agent.

In 1979, the family was among the Vietnamese boat people who fled their country, and Hong Chau's mother was six months pregnant with her.

Hong Chau grew up speaking Vietnamese as her first language, and later learned English in school.

Hong Chau's family lived in government housing and used subsidized lunch programs.

Hong Chau was raised in New Orleans East and attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School, Benjamin Franklin High School, and then Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts; the first two are in New Orleans and the latter, from which Hong Chau graduated from, is in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Hong Chau's parents worked as dishwashers then ran a convenience store, working to ensure that the children could attend college.

Hong Chau said her parents, who speak in heavy Vietnamese accents, were shunned as Asian migrants.

Hong Chau changed her major to film studies when her parents requested that she study something more practical.

Hong Chau explored acting to challenge her introversion; she acted in other students' short films and was encouraged to pursue acting.

Hong Chau graduated from Boston University College of Communication with her film-studies major in 2001.

Hong Chau started taking public speaking classes to overcome being introverted, which led to improv classes.

When Hong Chau met a sitcom TV director, he encouraged her to move to Los Angeles and to get in contact with him.

Hong Chau decided to move to LA and began seeking acting opportunities there.

Hong Chau had a supporting role in the first season of the HBO series Big Little Lies in 2017.

Hong Chau appeared in a supporting role as Ngoc Lan Tran, a Vietnamese political activist, in Alexander Payne's comedy-drama Downsizing.

Hong Chau's performance was described as a standout by several reviewers.

Hong Chau appeared in guest roles in several TV series, including BoJack Horseman and Forever.

Hong Chau had a supporting role as a corporate secretary in the first season of the Amazon Prime Video series Homecoming.

Hong Chau had her first leading roles in the films Driveways and American Woman, both released at film festivals in 2019.

For Driveways, Hong Chau was familiar with director Andrew Ahn's previous film Spa Night, recognized his name when he contacted her with an offer for the role, and readily accepted the offer.

Also in 2019, Hong Chau appeared in the HBO limited series Watchmen as the trillionaire Lady Trieu, whose performance The Hollywood Reporters TV critic Tim Goodman said was one of the series' "exceptional, memorable performances".

In May 2020, Hong Chau had a larger role in Homecomings second season, in which she moves from secretary to a person in charge in the series's featured corporation.

Entertainment Tonights Stacy Lambe said Hong Chau "has become something of a scene stealer over the years".

Hong Chau spent most of 2020 in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, giving birth to a daughter in November of that year.

Matthew Creith of Out Front wrote, "The highlight of The Whale comes from an outstanding turn from Hong Chau, who gives a memorable performance in a vital role".

Hong Chau has said that she gives directors "a wide range of line readings and reactions each time they call 'action'".

Hong Chau appeared as a guest star in an episode of the Peacock TV series Poker Face, entitled "The Night Shift", which premiered in January 2023.

Hong Chau was familiar with series creator Shawn Ryan's work with the series The Shield and Terriers and accepted the opportunity to work with Ryan and to have a role in a political thriller that would be new genre territory for her.

In Wes Anderson's ensemble film Asteroid City, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Hong Chau had a single scene.

Hong Chau had a supporting role in the 2022 film The Whale and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the first time.

Hong Chau was nominated for other supporting-actress awards including the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.