Gemma Chan

Gemma Chan

Born (1982-11-29) 29 November 1982
London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Alma mater University of Oxford
Occupation Actress
Years active 2006–present
Partner(s) Jack Whitehall (2011–present)

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982)[1] is a British film, television and theatre actress and former fashion model. She portrays Charlotte in season four of the Showtime and ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl; Ruth in Channel 4's Fresh Meat; Mia Bennett in the BBC's Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" and Soo Lin in Sherlock. She also appeared in Exam and Paramount Pictures' action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. She stars in Humans, an AMC/Channel 4 eight-part science-fiction drama, which premiered in June 2015.

Early life and education

Chan was born at Guy's Hospital in London, England.[2] 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.[2] Chan was raised near Sevenoaks, a town in west Kent, in South East England[3] 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.[4]

Following graduation, she gained a training contract offer as a graduate at the law firm Slaughter and May;[3][4] but instead pursued an acting career and studied at the Drama Centre London.[2] 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 has 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. She was cast as a series regular in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the fourth and final series airing on ITV2 in the UK and Showtime in the US in 2011.[5] She has also appeared in Fresh Meat, BBC One's Sherlock, and the fourth series of The IT Crowd for Channel 4.

In 2012, Chan was a regular in season two of Sky Living's supernatural drama Bedlam[6] and in True Love, a five-part semi-improvised television series produced by Working Title for BBC One,[7][8]

In 2013, she starred in new BBC One crime drama Shetland alongside Douglas Henshall and Steven Robertson[9] and guest starred in the BBC's Death In Paradise. She was a cast-member of Channel 4 romantic drama Dates.[10]

Chan played the robot Anita in Humans, an AMC/Channel 4 eight-part science-fiction drama.[11] Filming commenced in autumn 2014 with a June 2015 premiere.[12] The second season premiered on 30th October. For her portrayal of Anita, Chan has been nominated for numerous awards.

In July 2016, Chan provided the voice for the character of Dewdrop in BBC One's animated television series "Watership Down"

Film

In 2010, she appeared in the World War II drama film Shanghai, the psychological thriller Exam, and the 2011 comedy-drama Submarine. A 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.[4] She also appeared in the action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.[13] The Double, and London Fields. Chan starred in Belles familles, by French director and screenwriter Jean-Paul Rappeneau, which premiered in 2015.[14]

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 American playwright David Henry Hwang at The Park Theatre, London, directed by Alex Sims. It was revived in 2014 at the Royal National Theatre with the original London cast returning.[15]

In November 2013, Chan performed in the world premiere of Our Ajax by Timberlake Wertenbaker at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Wertenbaker chose her to play the war goddess Athena after she saw her performance in Yellow Face.[16]

Radio

On 6 August 2013, Chan appeared as a guest on the "Cultural Exchange" feature of the BBC Radio 4 series Front Row, where she nominated the film The Princess Bride as an art work she loves.[17]

Personal life

Chan and comedian/actor Jack Whitehall have been in a relationship since 2011 and live together in Notting Hill.[3][18]

In September 2013, she appeared at the Old Bailey in central London as a witness to a fatal stabbing[19] outside Putney Bridge underground station.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2006 When Evil Calls Molly Nelson
2009 Exam Chinese woman
2010 Pimp Bo
2010 Shanghai Shin Shin
2010 Submarine Kim-Lin
2013 The Double Glamourous Judge
2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Amy Chang
2014 London Fields Petronella
2015 Belles familles Chen-Lin
2016 Stratton: First Into Action Aggy Post-production
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Madam Ya Zhou

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 Television miniseries
2013 Shetland Hattie James Television series
2013 Death in Paradise Jennifer Cheung Series two, episode 7
2013 Dates Erica Episodes: "Erica and Kate", "Erica and Callum"
2014 The Game Chen Mei Television miniseries
2015–present Humans Anita/Mia Main cast
2015 Brotherhood Miss Pemberton Recurring role
2017 Watership Down Dewdrop (voice) one episode

Theatre

Year Title Role Theatre
2008 Turandot Hampstead Theatre
2012 The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie Finborough Theatre[20]
2013 Yellow Face (UK premiere) The Park Theatre
2013 Our Ajax (World premiere) Athena Southwark Playhouse
2014 Yellow Face Royal National Theatre
2015 The Homecoming Ruth Trafalgar Studios[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Gemma Chan". Flixster.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Randall, Lee (27 May 2012). "Interview: Gemma Chan, star of True Love". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Johnson, Lucy Hunter (10 May 2013). "Gemma Chan: the bombshell actress who tamed Jack Whitehall". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Actress – Bio". Gemma Chan official site. 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (18 June 2010). "Showtime Picks Up Final Secret Diary of a Call Girl Season". Hitfix.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Lacey Turner to Join Supernatural Drama Bedlam". Radio Times. 21 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "True Love". Working Title Films. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Starlet fever: We're ready for our close-up". Daily Mail. UK: Associated Newspapers Ltd. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. ↑ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (7 March 2013). "Douglas Henshall, Steven Robertson and Gemma Chan in BBC1's Shetland". Radio Times.
  10. ↑ Jeffrey, Morgan (5 February 2013). "Sherlock, Merlin, Fresh Meat stars for new Channel 4 drama Dates". DigitalSpy.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "William Hurt Heads Cast of AMC-Channel 4-Kudos Co-production 'Humans'". Variety. 15 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Deadline casting for Humans". Deadline.com. 13 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Harman, Harout (31 January 2013). "Jack Ryan Photos with Chris Pine and Kevin Costner". MovieWeb.com.
  14. ↑ "Food for thought for the picnicking set". London Evening Standard. 12 August 2014.
  15. ↑ Singh, Anita (20 March 2014). "Sir Tom Stoppard play to open at the National Theatre". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  16. ↑ Jury, Louise (12 September 2013). "Classical role in theatre for Fresh Meat and Sherlock star Gemma Chan". London Evening Standard.
  17. ↑ "Front Row's Cultural Exchange - Gemma Chan - BBC Radio 4".
  18. ↑ Parker, Olivia (28 May 2013). "My perfect weekend: Gemma Chan, actress". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  19. ↑ Cheston, Paul (17 September 2013). "Sherlock star Gemma Chan reveals how she 'stared into eyes of calm killer'". London Evening Standard.
  20. ↑ "Vibrant 2012: A Festival of Finborough Playwrights". Finborough Theatre. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "The Homecoming - Official London tickets - ATG Tickets".
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