Vietnamese actress requests lines in local language in Hollywood film

Actress Ngo Thanh Van plays Kami in "The Creator movie. Photo from 20th Century Studios YouTube

According to Van, she and Edwards had many discussions regarding the language Kami speaks in the film during the shooting process. She suggested Kami should have lines in Vietnamese.

"Kami’s Vietnamese lines in the movie were added by me, with approval from the director," Van said. "Gareth always prioritizes actors’ creativity, so he lets us freely express our characters as long as our interpretations align with the characters."

The movie’s production crew has not released Van’s Vietnamese lines in detail yet.

Van said she took a lot of inspiration from the motto "Don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime," by Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, who co-starred with her in the 2016 movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny."

"I realized that actors have no limits [thanks to the quote]," she explained. "The only things [that determine our successes] are patience and effort."

Van, 44, moved to Norway with her mother when she was 16, before returning to Vietnam and starting her career in the entertainment industry in 1999.

She has appeared in various domestic and Hollywood movies, including "Dong Mau Anh Hung" (The Rebel), "Bay Rong" (Clash), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny," and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

In 2015, she started working as a movie producer.

Set in a post-apocalypse world, "The Creator" revolves around a human special agent force that has been formed to hunt and shut down an AI force. Van’s character Kami is a member of the force, and is expected to have a lot of action scenes.

The movie is set to premiere on September 29.