Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982)^[2] is an English film, television and theatre actress and former fashion model. She played Charlotte in season four of the Showtime and ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl; Ruth in Channel 4's award-winning series Fresh Meat; Mia Bennett in the BBC's Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" with David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan and Soo Lin in Sherlock, the modern-day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for BBC One, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

Early life and education

Chan was born at Guy's Hospital in London, England on 29 November 1982. Her Chinese father was raised in Hong Kong and was an engineer. Her mainland Chinese mother, a pharmacist at Guy's Hospital, emigrated from pre-Cultural Revolution Communist China via Hong Kong with her parents (Chan's maternal grandparents) and younger sister, growing up in Greenock, Scotland.^[3] Chan was raised near Sevenoaks, a town in west Kent, in South East England^[4] and attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in London. She later went on to read law at Worcester College, Oxford.

Following graduation, she successfully gained a training contract offer as a graduate at leading law firm Slaughter and May;^[4][5] but, realising that her heart wasn't in the law and that her passion lay in drama and performance, she decided to pursue an acting career and gained admission and studied at the prestigious and notoriously tough Drama Centre London.^[3] Spotted at her showcase by British film producer Damian Jones, she then signed to acting agent Nicki van Gelder.

Career

Modelling

In 2006, Chan was one of the models in season one of Project Catwalk, the UK version of Project Runway. She was one of the top three models who made it to the final,^[6] although her designer did not win the final challenge.^[7] She has also been photographed by Rankin for a campaign for Nivea Visage, having previously worked as a model in order to fund her studies and drama school training, appearing in campaigns for Nokia and Selfridges and numerous magazines including Elle, Cosmopolitan and The Sunday Times Style.

Television

Chan appeared in the autumn 2009 special of the BBC's Doctor Who ("The Waters of Mars") with David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan, which aired 15 November 2009 in the UK, playing geologist Mia Bennett.^[8] She was cast as a series regular in Secret Diary of a Call Girl alongside Billie Piper,^[6] the fourth and final series airing on ITV2 in the UK and Showtime in the US in 2011.^[9] Her other recent television projects include Fresh Meat, Channel 4's BAFTA nominated and British Comedy Award winning sitcom; Sherlock, BBC One's contemporary adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson which began airing on 25 July 2010 to overwhelmingly positive reviews^[10] and went on to win the BAFTA for Best Drama Series in 2011; and the fourth series of the BAFTA and Emmy award winning British sitcom The IT Crowd for Channel 4.^[11]

In 2012, Chan was seen as a regular in season two of Sky Living's supernatural drama Bedlam^[12] and in True Love, a five-part semi-improvised television series produced by Working Title for BBC One,^[13] with David Tennant, Billie Piper, Ashley Walters, Jane Horrocks, David Morrissey, Lacey Turner, Kaya Scodelario and Vicky McClure.^[14]

In 2013, she starred in new BBC One crime drama Shetland alongside Douglas Henshall and Steven Robertson^[15] and guest starred in the BBC's Death In Paradise. In February 2013, it was announced that she would star in new Channel 4 drama Dates from Skins creator Bryan Elsley alongside Ben Chaplin, Sheridan Smith, Oona Chaplin, Andrew Scott, and Katie McGrath.^[16]

Film

In 2010, she appeared in the World War II drama film Shanghai directed by Mikael Hafstrom, alongside John Cusack, Chow Yun-fat, and Gong Li^[17] and in the BAFTA nominated^[18] psychological thriller Exam directed by Stuart Hazeldine, alongside Jimi Mistry, Colin Salmon, and Luke Mably.^[19] Exam was also nominated for the Raindance Award at the 2009 British Independent Film Awards^[20] and was released in UK cinemas on 8 January 2010.^[21] She was also seen in the critically acclaimed ^[22] 2011 comedy drama Submarine directed by Richard Ayoade, alongside Paddy Considine and Sally Hawkins. A passionate supporter of human rights, she has also made a film for Amnesty International to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[5]

She appeared in Paramount Pictures' action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, directed by Kenneth Branagh, alongside Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, and Keira Knightley.^[23] She will appeared in The Double directed by Richard Ayoade and starring Jesse Eisenberg and London Fields directed by Mathew Cullen alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.

Theatre

Chan made her professional stage debut in the British Premiere of Bertolt Brecht's last play Turandot at the Hampstead Theatre, London, directed by Anthony Clark. In November 2012, she performed in The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie, a new play by Anders Lustgarten at the Finborough Theatre. In June 2013, she performed in the UK transfer of Yellow Face by Tony Award-winning American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London.

In November 2013, Chan performed in the world premiere of Our Ajax by Olivier and Tony Award-winning playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Wertenbaker chose her to play the war goddess Athena after she saw her performance in Yellow Face.^[24] Michael Billington, writing in The Guardian, noted that she played Athena "with beautifully svelte omniscience".^[25]

Radio

On 6 August 2013 Chan was asked to appear as a guest on the "Cultural Exchange" feature of the BBC Radio 4 series Front Row, where she nominated the film The Princess Bride directed by Rob Reiner and based on the novel by William Goldman as a piece of art work which she loved.^[26]

Personal life

Chan lives and works in England. She is classically trained on the violin and piano.^[6]

As of 2012, she is dating comedian Jack Whitehall,^[27] whom she had met on the set of Fresh Meat.^[4] The two shared a first date at Nando's.^[28]

She is a lifelong supporter of Arsenal F.C..^[29]

In September 2013, she appeared at the Old Bailey in Central London as a witness to a fatal stabbing^[30] outside Putney Bridge underground station.

Filmography

References

External links

• Gemma Chan at the Internet Movie Database
• Gemma Chan on Twitter