Linda Wang (actress)

Linda Wang
Born	Linda Hsien Wang, 王憲苓 October 10, 19??
Other names	Chinese Tradition:王憲苓 Chinese Simple:王宪苓 Pinyin: Wáng Xiànlíng. ワン・シェンリン
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982 – present

Linda Hsien Wang is a Chinese American actress. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, the island of Formosa, she was raised in Queens, New York. Also known as Linda Wang, Linda H. Wang and 王憲苓 (Wáng Xiànlíng),^[1] Known as 王憲苓 (Wáng Xiànlíng) in Asia, she has been profiled in Chinese media.^[2][3][4] She currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

Biography

Early life and education

At seven years old, Linda Wang began modeling for Kodak film. Later, during her first year in high school, she auditioned for the part of Field Reporter in Pushing Hands (1992) (Chinese: 推手; pinyin: tuī shǒu). The Oscar award winning director Ang Lee told her she was just too young for the part. They spent half an hour talking about Wang's pen and ink artwork "Repeating" which at the time was being exhibited at the New York Transit Museum. However, Wang stated Lee also gave her valuable advice on where to study and how to continue to pursue her acting career.^[5] Three months later, Wang auditioned and was accepted to study for two years under the teen program with Herbert Berghof (co-founder, with wife Uta Hagen, of the HB Studio, NYC). She then went on to New York University, and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Academy.

Career

Film

Linda Wang's Hollywood film career includes a heartbreaking role in Neal Hollander's controversial film Birds of Passage as "Fu Ling" opposite Stacy Keach.^[6][7] The film was banned in certain locations in China due to the One-Child Policy story line, and was instead filmed on location in the Philippines and South China sea. She also starred with actor Ernie Rivera in the Indie film Red Betta, directed by Allena Rennee.^[8][9] Additional notable appearances were in The Violent Kind, Scarred City, Dead Air, Dark City and What Ever Happened to Mason Reese? which was directed by Brett Ratner.

Her recent off-screen film credit was in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder. Wang had previously worked as a Chinese script translator for the producer and writer David Milch on several episodes of his HBO hit television show Deadwood. She had openly expressed her regrets for not standing up for her rights for screen credit for her work on Deadwood to Milch. Wang was later recommended by Milch to one of the casting directors of the film Tropic Thunder and was immediately hired by producer Eric McLeod^[10] as the Chinese script translator to aid writers Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen during pre-production. She was asked to come back but would only work under the condition that she received screen credit for her work. McLeod agreed and Wang went on to work as the on-set script translator for director Ben Stiller and dialogue coach for Robert Downey, Jr., as well as other actors such as Reggie Lee and Brandon Soo Hoo that had Chinese dialogue in the film.^[10]

In 2013 Linda Wang played an evil villain named Contessa Dell"Oro, a Non Asian role, as the leader of an army of commandos who plot to destroy all human life on earth with the devastating X-bomb Nuclear Missile in a dark comedy called Blonde Squad (2014)^[11]

Linda Wang completed the film Low Down in 2013, which the film WON Best Cinematography Award in the US Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Written by: Amy Albany and Topper Lilien. Directed by: Jeff Priess. Stars: Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Taryn Manning, Caleb Landry Jones and Flea. (Cast by Justine Baddeley & Kim Davis-Wagner ) ^[12] Intriguingly, Wang had previously worked with Hawkes on the HBO series "Deadwood" as a Chinese translator and character during the show in 2004 to 2005. The award winning film is about Joe Albany a well known Jazz musician the story line was told through the wise eyes of his young daughter, Amy, Low Down chronicles the torrid, true life of jazz pianist Joe Albany. Born into her beloved father’s unorthodox segment of society, Amy’s improvisational adolescence evolves in the shadow of Joe’s struggle between his musical genius and a suffocating heroin addiction.

Linda Wang is currently in Post for Martin Scorsese's "Revenge of the Green Dragons" which she shot in her home town Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Written by : Michael Di Jiacomo. Stars: Ray Liotta, Harry Shum, Jr., Justin Chon, Kevin Wu and Jin Auyeung. Directed by the Dual Andrews -Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo (Cast by Avy Kaufman)^[13] Wang played the mother of two boys drawn into the world of Asian gangs in Queens, New York.The film Revenge of the Green Dragons is close to heart to Wang due to the fact that the lead characters including the victims and youth gang members all grew up with her from elementary school. Interestingly, the star female character Tina Sham in the film was Linda Wang's real life best friend in Junior High School who later was murdered alongside Sham's boyfriend Tommy Mach tragically in Sands points, Long Island by the malicious Queens, New York gang the Green Dragons.^[14] Wang was quoted saying in a recent interview: "The lead character Tina Sham was my real-life best friend. Unfortunately, she was tragically killed and her death broke my heart into a thousand pieces, I was never the same." (Quoted from an article -Actress Linda Wang gives the lowdown on her role in the biopic drama 'Low Down' and her Life...)

Linda Wang is currently wrapping up filming the SAG feature film "My Favorite Five" with Steven Williams, Rochelle Aytes and Brian White directed by Paul Hannah.

Television

Wang has appeared on HBO's Deadwood,^[15] House M.D.,^[16][17][18] Comedy Central’s The Naked Trucker & the T Bone Show, and the Spanish series Secretos.^[19][20] She also had a cameo role on 8 Simple Rules as David Spade's speed date.^[21] For several years, Wang worked on numerous sketch comedy skits on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien show,^[22] most notably as the recurring masturbating bear's girlfriend. Wang also appeared alongside Will Farrell & Chris Kattan as the three Nagano Geishas on Saturday Night Live.^[23] She has also had roles in the soap operas One Life to Live, Port Charles, Another World, Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Days of Our Lives. Wang also made a guest appearance in children's television including Sesame Street and Mathnet.

In 2010, Linda Wang can be seen doing a skit with Tracy Morgan and Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wang will also be co-starring with John Schneider on a New TV Pilot called Back Nine directed by Jason Filardi and written by Mark Perez for Spike TV. In 2011, she worked on Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, a pilot for Comedy Central with Norm Macdonald and Ben Hoffman.

Theatre

Wang's theatre experience includes starring as Rose Choy in Serenade In Blue written by Tony Award-nominated playwright Jerome Coopersmith, and directed by the Emmy Award-winning director Yanna Kroyt Brandt at the prestigious Lincoln Center Theater, New York City. Linda also starred as Pocahontas in an AEA stage production of Disney Friends around the World. For the past few years, you may seen a glimpse of Linda Wang's 3 min stand up comedy act at the M Bar on Sunset Blvd.

Voice-overs

Linda Wang was the former Citibank worldwide Chinese Mandarin spokesperson for five years. She has also had Chinese Mandarin voice-overs in multiple voice commercials, including the Standard Federal Savings bank, The American Diabetes Foundation, Hepatitis B Foundation, Anti-smoking USA, AT&T, MasterCard, Magellan,^[24] IDT, Colgate, Apple Savings bank, Holdcom, Bizfon, Ford Motor Company, US Postal services, Berkley Productions, Smirnoff, Western Union, and Honda Accord.^[23] She is in her third year as voice of the Mandarin Chinese spokesperson spot for AIG, alongside actress Stockard Channing.^[25] She also provided the voice of "Sexy bathhouse girl" in the video game James Bond 007: Rogue Agent—GoldenEye among others. She also provided the voice of Ming in the children's animated series Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat.

Music videos

In 2007, Linda Wang appeared in the music video "Home" for the Irish pop group Westlife.^[26][27] In 2014 you will see Linda Wang in a Film starring Flea of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers called Low Down Directed by Jeff Preiss which won the Best Cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival 2014.

Modeling

As a former Miss Teen Pola Asia, Linda Wang is the upcoming spokesmodel for Soho Sportswear for the Asian market. She was asked to design a few items under the Linda Wang Line. Having been previously a Pantene Pro-V hair model,^[28][29] Wang has also been chosen as the first female hand-model for Scrabble^[30] in 75 years. Recently, Linda Wang was chosen to be Face Model on BIOLASE print ad world wide.,^[31] In summer of 2014, Wang did a campaign for Costco which will appeared in the Chinese section.

Charity work

Since March 1997, Linda Wang has been a volunteer member promoting "Kids for Kids", the New York City Pediatric AIDS foundation benefit.^[32] In Los Angeles, Wang participated in the VERB Campaigns for both Disney and Nickelodeon TV, a program designed to encourage children to take the hour gained from the fall time change to be more active physically. She also participates in various animal protection organizations' charitable events.^[33]

References

External links

• Linda Wang at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Wang on Myspace