The Bookish Life of Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan was calved connected November 29, 1980, and grew up successful London. Her begetter emigrated from Hong Kong arsenic did her mother’s parents; her parent was raised successful Scotland. She attended Worcester College astatine the University of Oxford, wherever she studied instrumentality earlier she enrolled astatine the Drama Centre London and began acting.

Chan made her tv debut successful 2006, her signifier debut successful 2007 oregon 2008 (sources disagree connected the details), and in 2009 she had a impermanent spot connected Doctor Who, playing geologist Mia Bennett successful the occurrence “Waters of Mars.” This was sadly not 1 of the episodes that was novelized successful the New Series Adventures, though respective contemporaneous episodes were. A twelvemonth aboriginal she appeared successful the Sherlock occurrence “The Blind Banker,” which was loosely based connected the Sherlock Holmes communicative “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Also successful 2010, she appeared successful Submarine, based connected the caller Submarine by Joe Dunthorne.

In 2011, Chan appeared successful six episodes of bid 4 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, based connected the pseudonymous memoir The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl by Belle de Jour. Her character, Charlotte, was a rival of Billie Piper’s Belle. In 2013 she performed successful 2 plays — Our Ajax by Timberlake Wertenbaker astatine Southwark Playhouse and Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang astatine the Park Theatre, London — and appeared successful the movie The Double, based connected the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Beginning successful 2014, Chan’s bookish roles came accelerated and furious. (As an aside, she has ne'er been successful a Fast & Furious movie, and I deliberation that’s a unspeakable oversight.) She appeared successful Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, based connected the quality Jack Ryan created by Tom Clancy successful The Hunt for Red October, arsenic 1 of the secondary pistillate leads. She played an American witch successful Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In animation, she voiced Snow White successful Revolting Rhymes, based connected Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl, and Dewdrop successful Watership Down, based connected the caller by Richard Adams. She had a pb relation successful Stratton, based connected the caller the novels by Duncan Falconer. She besides had a relation successful Transformers: the Last Knight, which is not based connected a publication but is portion of a franchise that includes some novels and comic books.

But it was successful 2018 that she played her biggest surface relation to date: Astrid successful Crazy Rich Asians, based connected Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. She is scheduled to reprise the relation successful 2 sequels. The aforesaid year, she played Bess of Hardwick successful Mary Queen of Scots, based on Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart by John Guy. The quality is based connected a humanities achromatic woman, truthful people immoderate radical connected the net were abruptly experts connected the clip play and pitched fits. Chan responded: “In the past, [Asian roles] would beryllium fixed to a achromatic histrion who would portion up their eyes and bash the relation successful yellowface. John Wayne played Genghis Khan. If John Wayne tin play Genghis Khan, I tin play Bess of Hardwick.”

In 2019 Chan joined the MCU arsenic Minn-Erva successful Captain Marvel. Though not based connected a circumstantial tally of the comics, you whitethorn privation to commencement with Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez. Two years aboriginal she played a antithetic character, Sersi, successful Marvel’s Eternals.

In her idiosyncratic life, Chan is an activistic who has worked with Save the Children and Moet to assistance refugees, with Cook-19 to provender indispensable workers during aboriginal COVID-19, with UNICEF to rise consciousness astir home violence, with Soccer Aid and World Children’s Day, and with the People’s Vote March to telephone for a 2nd BREXIT referendum. She besides founded the #StopESEAHate campaign.

She dated comedian Jack Whitehall from 2011 to 2017. She began dating histrion Dominic Cooper (who plays Howard Stark successful the MCU, though it is not wide however they met) successful 2018, and the 2 reside unneurotic successful London.

In summation to the 2 Crazy Rich Asians sequels, we tin look guardant to seeing Chan prima successful The Actor, based connected Memory by Donald E. Westlake, which does not yet person a merchandise date.