Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan

Born 29 November 1982
London, England, UK
Alma mater University of Oxford
Occupation Actress
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Website
www.gemmachan.com/

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982)[2] is a British 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 Soo Lin in Sherlock, the modern-day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for BBC One, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. She also appeared in the BAFTA-nominated film Exam and Paramount Pictures' action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit directed by Kenneth Branagh, with Chris Pine and Kevin Costner. She is set to star in Humans, the upcoming AMC/Channel 4 eight part sci-fi drama, which will premiere in 2015.

Early life and education

Chan was born at Guy's Hospital in London, England on 29 November 1982. Her father grew up 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 Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley. 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 was not 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]

Chan will portray the lead role Anita in Humans, the upcoming AMC/Channel 4 eight part sci-fi drama, alongside William Hurt, Colin Morgan and Katherine Parkinson.[17] The series is an adaptation of the Swedish drama Real Humans. Filming commenced Fall 2014 with a 2015 premiere.[18]

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[19] and in the BAFTA nominated[20] psychological thriller Exam directed by Stuart Hazeldine, alongside Jimi Mistry, Colin Salmon, and Luke Mably.[21] Exam was also nominated for the Raindance Award at the 2009 British Independent Film Awards[22] and was released in UK cinemas on 8 January 2010.[23] She was also seen in the critically acclaimed [24] 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]

In 2014, she appeared in Paramount Pictures' action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, directed by Kenneth Branagh, alongside Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, and Keira Knightley.[25] She will appear 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.

Chan will star in the upcoming feature film Belles Familles, from French director and screenwriter Jean-Paul Rappeneau, which will premiere in 2015.[26] She spent Summer 2014 shooting in Paris alongside Mathieu Amalric, Marine Vacth, Gilles Lellouche, Karin Viard and Nicole Garcia.

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 premiere of Yellow Face by Tony Award-winning American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London, directed by Alex Sims.

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.[27] Michael Billington, writing in The Guardian, noted that she played Athena "with beautifully svelte omniscience".[28]

In 2014, following a sell out run at The Park Theatre, it was announced that Yellow Face would be revived at the Royal National Theatre with the original London cast returning.[29]

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 an art work which she loved.[30]

Personal life

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

She is a lifelong supporter of Arsenal F.C..[31]

In September 2013, she appeared at the Old Bailey in Central London as a witness to a fatal stabbing[32] outside Putney Bridge underground station.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2006 When Evil Calls Molly Nelson
2009 Exam Chinese Girl
2010 Pimp Bo
2010 Shanghai Shin Shin
2010 Submarine Kim-Lin
2013 The Double
2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Amy Chang
2014 London Fields Petronella
2015 Belles Familles

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Project Catwalk Herself 10 episodes (was finalist)
2009 Doctor Who Mia Bennett Episode: Autumn 2009 Special "The Waters of Mars"
2010 The IT Crowd Ivana / Female Sulu Episodes: "The Final Countdown", "Reynholm vs. Reynholm"
2010 Sherlock Soo Lin Yao Episode: "The Blind Banker"
2011 Secret Diary of a Call Girl Charlotte Regular (Season 4)
2011 Fresh Meat Ruth Recurring
2012 Bedlam Kiera Regular (Season 2)
2012 True Love Kathy TV miniseries
2013 Shetland Hattie James TV drama
2013 Death in Paradise Jennifer Cheung Series two, episode 7
2013 Dates Erica Episodes: "Erica and Kate", "Erica and Callum"
2014 The Game TV miniseries
2015 Humans Anita Filming

Theatre

Year Title Role Theatre
2008 Turandot Hampstead Theatre
2012 The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie Finborough Theatre[33]
2013 Yellow Face (UK premiere) The Park Theatre
2013 Our Ajax (World premiere) Athena Southwark Playhouse
2014 Yellow Face Royal National Theatre

References

  1. ↑ TESS Management London - Gemma Chan Portfolio
  2. ↑ "Gemma Chan – Wiki – Pictures – Videos". Flixster.com. 29 November 1982. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Randall, Lee (27 May 2012). "Interview: Gemma Chan, star of True Love". The Scotsman.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Johnson, Lucy Hunter (10 May 2013). "Gemma Chan: the bombshell actress who tamed Jack Whitehall".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Actress – Bio". Gemma Chan. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gemma Chan – IMDB
  7. ↑ Project Catwalk – Season 1
  8. ↑ "Doctor Who" The Waters of Mars (2009)
  9. ↑ Friday, 18 Jun 2010 1:30 pm (18 June 2010). "Showtime Picks Up Final Secret Diary of a Call Girl Season". Hitfix.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Published Wednesday, 28 Jul 2010, 16:27 BST (28 July 2010). "Sherlock well received by critics". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  11. ↑ The IT Crowd – IMDB
  12. ↑ "Lacey Turner to Join Supernatural Drama Bedlam". Radio Times. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  13. ↑ True Love - Working Title Films
  14. ↑ Published Wednesday, 4 Mar 2012, 01:02 BST (4 March 2012). "Starlet fever: We’re ready for our close-up". Mail Online. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  15. ↑ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (7 March 2013). "Douglas Henshall, Steven Robertson and Gemma Chan in BBC1's Shetland - see a trailer and photos". Radio Times.
  16. ↑ Jeffrey, Morgan (5 February 2013). "Sherlock, Merlin, Fresh Meat stars for new Channel 4 drama Dates". Digital Spy.
  17. ↑ "William Hurt Heads Cast of AMC-Channel 4-Kudos Co-production ‘Humans’". Variety. 15 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Deadline casting for Humans". Deadline. 13 October 2014.
  19. ↑ Shanghai (2010)
  20. ↑ "Full list of BAFTA nominations". Thecinemapost.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  21. ↑ Exam (2009)
  22. ↑ Nominations And Jury Announced For The 12th British Independent Film Awards
  23. ↑ Creepy, Uncle (4 December 2009). "Official quad one sheet of Exam". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Submarine - Rotten Tomatoes
  25. ↑ Harman, Harout (31 January 2013). "Jack Ryan Photos with Chris Pine and Kevin Costner". MovieWeb.com.
  26. ↑ "Food for thought for the picnicking set". Evening Standard. 12 August 2014.
  27. ↑ Jury, Louise (12 September 2013). "Classical role in theatre for Fresh Meat and Sherlock star Gemma Chan". Evening Standard.
  28. ↑ Billington, Michael (8 November 2013). "Our Ajax - review". The Guardian.
  29. ↑ Singh, Anita (20 March 2014). "Sir Tom Stoppard play to open at the National Theatre". The Telegraph.
  30. ↑ BBC Radio 4 - Front Row's Cultural Exchange - Gemma Chan
  31. ↑ Parker, Olivia (28 May 2013). "My perfect weekend: Gemma Chan, actress". The Telegraph.
  32. ↑ Cheston, Paul (17 September 2013). "Sherlock star Gemma Chan reveals how she 'stared into eyes of calm killer'". Evening Standard.
  33. ↑ http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2012/vibrant.php

External links