Five Hollywood movies starring Vietnam's A-list actress

By Phuc Nguyen   July 14, 2020 | 09:08 pm PT
From "Star Wars" to "The Old Guard", here is the full list of Hollywood movies featuring Vietnamese actress Ngo Thanh Van.

1. "The Old Guard"

A screen shot from The Old Guard. Photo courtesy of Ngo Thanh Vans Facebook page.

A screen shot from "The Old Guard". Photo courtesy of Ngo Thanh Van's Facebook page.

"The Old Guard" is the latest Hollywood project starring Van, alongside Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The film, premiered on July 10, focuses on a pack of immortal mercenaries, who've secretly protected humanity for centuries, forced into battle after their extraordinary abilities are exposed.

Van made a brief appearance in the film, playing the role of an immortal warrior named Quynh. According to the movie's storyline, Quynh was the first immortal fighter team leader Andromache of Scythia (Charlie Theron), referred to as Andy in the movie, encountered.

Both had been in countless battles together but later separated in England. Here they were captured and presumed to be witches, due to their immortality. Fortunately, Andy was able to escape while her fellow mercenaries failed. Quynh was placed in an Iron Maiden device and dropped to the bottom of the ocean for 500 years.

In a video posted on Van’s Facebook fanpage Sunday, Theron embraced her, saying she was lucky to work with Van and that she was amazing, before giving Van a kiss on the cheek. The two actresses also posted a photo of themselves smiling on their Instagram accounts Monday.

"The Old Guard" is directed by American film director and screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood. She has confirmed the movie would be a trilogy, in which the second installment "The Old Guard: Force Multiplied" would feature Van’s character returning and heavily affected by her time spent in confinement, harboring deep hatred for humanity.

2. "Da 5 Bloods"

Ngo Thanh Van and Spike Lee on set. Photo courtesy of Spike Lee.

Van and Spike Lee on set. Photo courtesy of Spike Lee.

Spike Lee’s Vietnam War film "Da 5 Bloods" features Ngo Thanh Van as infamous radio presenter Hanoi Hannah.

The movie, premiered on June 12, centers around four veterans, including Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), returning to Vietnam searching for the remains of their fallen squad leader with help from a tour guide (Johnny Tri Nguyen), amid the lure of buried treasure.

The movie received kudos from critics, including American newspaper New York Times, calling it an anguished, funny, violent argument with and about American history.

3. "Bright"

Van portrays an evil fairy serving main villain Leilah (Noomi Rapace) in the Netflix original movie "Bright" that premiered on December 22, 2017.

She appeared later in the movie when she and her crew fought two officers - Daryl Ward (Will Smith) and Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). Van showcased her skills in different intense fighting scenes, including extremely dangerous shootings.

Even though the budget for the movie was $90 million, it didn't win critical acclaim and failed to wow audiences.

4. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

In the 2017 blockbuster "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", Van take on the role of female pilot Paige Tico of the Resistance.

She proved a vital element in the movie when she pushed a button to make a series of bombs fall on top of the enemy. She then slowly closed her eyes and touched her necklace, which was gift from her sister, accepting her death. Her body exploded amidst the vast universe amid the mourning of comrades.

Although the scene did not have much dialogue, the expression and charisma on Paige's face spoke louder. Paige Tico's death also inspired her younger sister Rose Tico to follow her in her fighting path.

After her appearance in the movie, the catalog of the global film and TV industry International Movie Database (IMDb) named Van one of the most popular actors in their weekly-updated STARmeter Top 100 in 2017.

5. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny"

The 2016 action movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" showed Van portraying a villain fighter named Mantis.

She has a very short appearance and her character has a faded personality that caused disappointment for many Vietnamese viewers since Van's character appeared heavily in promotional materials, in which she featured alongside Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, and Harry Shum Jr.

Ngo Thanh Van, aka Veronica Ngo, is a Vietnamese actress, singer and model. Her Vietnamese action film "Hai Phuong" (Furie), which she produced and starred in, is the highest-grossing domestic film of all time.

 
 
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