Logo text
Sandra Oh gained fame and fortune through starring Gray’s Anatomybut playing Dr. Cristina Yang for 10 seasons on the hit ABC medical drama called for keeping her Korean family roots under the radar.
“The truth is that half the cast Gray’s Anatomy “She wasn’t white, that was a thing,” Oh, who was born in Canada to Korean immigrants, says in a clip from director Eugene Yee’s documentary. The A-List: 15 Stories from the Asia-Pacific Diasporabefore debuting May 13 on HBO and HBO Max.
And it was like, “Shut up.” Let’s not talk about it. Let’s do it and see if we can get away with it. Oh my God, it’s a hit!’” Oh says of the groundbreaking, ethnically diverse cast Gray’s Anatomy Drama written and performed by Shonda Rhimes. Oh broke out in a Canadian independent film hits like Double happiness and Evelyn Lau’s diary Before she moved to Hollywood and made history as an Asian actress with primetime Emmy nominations for her lead role as Dr. Cristina Yang.
the Killing Eve The star who has also appeared in films like Princess Diaries and Sidewayselsewhere spoke of having to struggle with script changes to ensure dialogue for Oh on Gray’s Anatomy It fits her character, and how the series’ writers room has a dedicated “Sandra Whisperer” to handle her requests.
“How do you live in a room that didn’t want you, or didn’t respect you? It was a different time,” questions the HBO documentary, which features personal takes from across the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in America.
Oh adds that the idea of Asian American characters being included in mainstream white storytelling, or left out as too risky, is over. “It’s a sense of where you’re coming from, which is just like, ‘Let’s just try to sneak it in.’ Don’t let anyone notice and we might have a presence, right?” she insisted after film and TV stars like Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh and Awkwafina paved the way for Asian actors to follow in their footsteps in Hollywood. “I really hope that kind of thinking is over.
Along with Oh, the doc features interviews conducted by Jada Yuan with leading journalist Connie Chung, comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani, comedian and SNL star Bowen Yang, musician DJ Rica, and chef Yia Fang; Activist Amanda Nguyen, athlete and activist Schuyler Bellar, entrepreneur Haroun Mokhtarzadeh, photographer Manny Crisostomo, astrophysicist Nargis Mavalvala, activist Cathy Masaoka, surfer and scientist Cliff Kapono, and Madeline Yu, a retired New Jersey nurse.
The HBO documentary pic is the latest in the world of documentaries List A series of documentaries and other media content about underrepresented communities in America, created by photographer and director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. His previous projects include HBO Blacklist, transgender list, out list and Latin menu.
The A-List: 15 Stories from the Asia-Pacific Diaspora It is produced by Yee, Chad Thompson and Yuan, while Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Tina Nguyen executive produce.
