Even towards the tip of The Sympathizer’s six-month shoot, Hoa Xuande would nonetheless typically look out over the set in disbelief and suppose, “Am I actually sitting right here? Are they actually letting me do that?”
“This” can be toplining HBO and A24’s restricted sequence adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel a couple of communist North Vietnamese agent (identified solely as The Captain) embedded on the American-backed South Vietnamese facet. It’s a dream position for any actor who relishes a problem — multilayered, multilingual, filled with drama, comedy, intercourse and motion — on a mission with an impeccable pedigree. The seven-part sequence not solely co-stars Robert Downey Jr. (who additionally govt produces) and Sandra Oh however counts legendary director Park Chan-wook as co-showrunner.
“This present was going to work or not based mostly on this piece of casting,” says govt producer Susan Downey. “Discovering The Captain was probably the most exhaustive and sweeping search I’ve ever been part of.” The necessities for the half included fluency in Vietnamese and English, the flexibility to play guitar, possession of a driver’s license and being “charming and clever however with a veiled darkish facet,” as co-showrunner Don McKellar places it.
The exec producers say that Xuande’s tape got here in early and impressed them instantly, however the 36-year-old actor nonetheless was topic to an eight-month audition course of that included flying to Korea (to satisfy with Park) and to Los Angeles from his house in Australia.
“By the point we have been at his last display screen check,” provides Susan Downey, “he had refined his portrayal — making it clear that he possessed the complexity, nuance, self-discipline and total appearing prowess required to steer our present.”
But Xuande by no means dared to think about taking part in such a meaty half, a lot much less embodying a number one man, when he started his profession a couple of decade in the past. “My hopes have been simply to try to be the token Asian on TV. If I may no less than try this, I felt like I may make a profession,” says the actor of best-case prospects for performers of Asian descent in Australia. Actually, he adopted the stage title “Xuande” (pronounced “shawn-day”) — tailored from his center title, Xuan — out of concern that utilizing his actual surname, Nguyen, would additional restrict his alternatives. “I attempted to present myself a reputation that will be ambiguous sufficient in order that I may no less than match into different Asian roles, not simply Vietnamese roles.”
Xuande made just a few pit stops earlier than embarking on an appearing profession. Born in Sydney to Vietnamese immigrant dad and mom, he grew up in Melbourne taking part in sports activities — Australian guidelines soccer, observe, swimming — then moved again to Sydney at 18 on his personal and “simply fucked round for slightly bit,” incomes a diploma in journalism and taking odd jobs working in bars and promoting bank cards and telecommunication merchandise door-to-door. It was at a bar gig that he started attending to know actors and different creatives, ultimately making an attempt his personal hand at beginner theater. A director advised him that he was gifted in appearing however suggested him to hunt coaching if he needed to get critical in regards to the craft. So a decade in the past, he utilized to and was accepted by the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
“That’s the appearing college you go to to change into Cate Blanchett,” explains Ronny Chieng, whose Australian comedy sequence Ronny Chieng: Worldwide Scholar was Xuande’s first job, as a sequence common, after graduating from the academy. “I didn’t know the way inexperienced he was,” continues Chieng, “as a result of on set he was skilled, cheery and he actually popped onscreen. When he advised me he was within the last spherical for The Sympathizer, I knew this may vindicate a lot. Thanks, Buddha, for casting him in this!”
To arrange for the position, Xuande dove deep into researching battle accounts from the views of the Vietnamese individuals who had lived via it, like his dad and mom, who have been on the skilled observe earlier than fleeing the nation within the early ’80s and opening a bakery in Australia. He additionally underwent a two-week language intensive. “Rising up as a child, I used to be ashamed of being Vietnamese, so I’ve a grasp of the language, however most likely to not the flexibility that I’d have if I had simply embraced it.”
Xuande (left) and Robert Downey Jr. in a scene from The Sympathizer. Says Downey of his co-star, “It’s clear this man is a serious expertise with a shiny future.”
Hopper Stone/HBO
In the course of the shoot — with 4 months in L.A. and two months in Thailand (posing as Vietnam due to The Sympathizer’s politically controversial content material) — Xuande admits to being careworn and overwhelmed, each by the heavy content material of the story and by his duty on the manufacturing. “I shot just about every single day and had like one and a half days off, and lots of the time I used to be simply considering, ‘I’m in approach over my head on this,’ ” he says.
Oh approached McKellar early in the course of the shoot, involved in regards to the well-being of their newcomer main man. “It was an extremely taxing shoot,” McKellar says. “By the tip, after we have been taking pictures in Thailand, I may see the toll it had taken on his physique and spirit. He floated via the reeducation camp set like a wandering ghost. This will likely have been intentional as a result of it was good for the place he was within the story. However I keep in mind considering that if the shoot was one week longer, we’d have an actual ghost on our palms.”
Remembers Oh, “I felt hyperaware of the calls for that he was about to enter, so the place I felt that I may step in, I used to be asking, ‘How are you doing? Are you sleeping? Can we get you meals?’ Ability-wise, emotion-wise, stamina-wise, it was a really large pool to be thrown in initially. However he’s an individual who was completely prepared and really, very open as an actor.”
Xuande credit his veteran scene companions for his or her indispensable assist. “Sandra actually mothered me, and Robert actually fathered me. Sandra would converse up on my behalf typically, and Robert would do very nice issues that I by no means thought he would do, like by no means transferring on from a take till I used to be pleased,” he says.
And Robert Downey Jr. says he’s down for extra. “First, he’s a enjoyable hold, and irrespective of how a lot was on his plate prep-wise, we all the time discovered a approach to create space for fun collectively,” he says. “Over the course of what was a really sophisticated and taxing shoot, I witnessed his quiet confidence blossom. Can’t wait to see what he does subsequent, and I’m already considering of one other mission for us.”
This story first appeared within the April 10 subject of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.