Recently, Ngo Thanh Van and Kelly Marie Tran, a Vietnamese American actress, appeared together in an event for the promotion of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in Vietnam.
In “Star Wars: the Last Jedi”, Ngo Thanh Van portrays Paige, a pilot of the Resistance and Rose Tico’s sister. She was trained by Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), the most talented and brave pilot of the Resistance, and was capable of fighting and using a firearm. Rose Tico, Paige’s sister in the movie, is portrayed by Kelly Marie Tran, an American actress of Vietnamese descent.
Roles of Kelly Marie Tran and Ngo Thanh Van in Star Wars VIII
Kelly Marie Tran (portraying Rose Tico) was born on January 17, 1989 in San Diego. She took acting classes at iO West, Second City, and Upright Citizen’s Brigade (USA).
She is a familiar face on several television shows such as NBC’s “About a Boy”, Amazon’s “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street”, and TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything”, as well as live programs such as “Now We Know” (National Geographic), “Fall Into Me” (Lifetime), and “Jimmy Kimmel Live”.
Talking about the reason he chose Kelly for the role of Rose Tico, director Rian Johnson said he found her after “a huge, exhaustive casting search” that included well-known actresses and newcomers. “And Kelly just, I don’t know, she really jumped out at me as someone who I was looking for in the character,” he said. “I wanted someone who — thinking back to me as a kid being a genuine nerd you could relate to — someone who didn’t feel like they belong; someone you wouldn’t necessarily imagine as a big Star Wars hero. Let’s throw them in the mix and see the world through their eyes.”
The actress is also appreciated by her colleagues for her performance as Rose Tico. John Boyega, who plays Finn, said he could tell during the audition process that Tran had something special. “She was the right girl for the part” he said.
As for Ngo Thanh Van, she is regarded as Vietnam’s number 1 action movie actress. She is also well known for her role as a producer. This is not the first time she has starred in Hollywood blockbusters; however, Ngo Thanh Van does not share much about her past roles as she thought they were all small roles and not worth mentioning.
“My role in Star Wars was small and not worth mentioning. Still, I enjoyed the five-month time spent in London with the crew for there I learned a lot, from the most efficient energy conservation filming techniques to how to manage a crew of over a hundred people. If I had not been given this opportunity, I couldn’t have learned so much” Ngo Thanh Van said when asked about her starring role in Star Wars.
The actress also shared candidly about the potential of Vietnamese actors in portraying international roles. “Star Wars is a brand of its own with a huge fan base”, she said, “Opportunities for Asian actors are very rare, let alone Vietnamese”. From a producer’s point of view, however, she believed Vietnamese had talent but were not often given the opportunity. “Kelly was wonderful and hopefully everyone will see that”, she added. Ngo Thanh Van also hoped that Vietnam would receive more attention and not get overshadowed by other Asian countries.
The “sisters” Ngo Thanh Van and Kelly took pictures together when Kelly went to Vietnam to promote Star Wars VIII
Star Wars: the last Jedi of Lucasfilm tells the story of Skywalker when the heroes from Star Wars: the Force Awakens engage in galactic myths. This is a historical adventure that unleashes the ancient secrets of the force and past shaking findings. Star Wars: the last Jedi will be released at theaters across the country from December 15, 2017
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