Gemma Chan
Gemma Chan was born on 29 November 1982 at Guy's Hospital and holds citizenship of both the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China. She attended Newstead Wood School before going on to Worcester College for her undergraduate education, and subsequently trained at Drama Centre London, where she developed the formal skills underpinning her performing career.
Chan works as an actor and model, with a career that spans film and television. She uses English as her working language. Her profile in the industry has been recognised beyond the screen: she received the Max Mara Face of the Future Award, an accolade reflecting her standing as a model as well as a performer.
Her rise to wider public attention came with the Channel 4 science fiction series Humans, which ran from 2015 to 2018, in which she took the lead role. That television production brought her considerable visibility and marked a significant point in her development as a screen actor working across both film and television.
Quotes by Gemma Chan
Getting stuck in a plane for four hours on the tarmac on the hottest day of summer in Italy - it was like being trapped in a boiling tin can.
Italy - I love the late-night culture, hanging around the square at midnight with everyone, catching up and having a drink.
I've heard about productions where it still happens: yellow face, taping up the eyes. It's hard to talk about it in a constructive way.
From my experience, I would say no: actors of East Asian descent don't get the opportunities white actors do. I know that's inherently a problem in a country that produces a lot of period drama, but I have to fight so hard to get parts that don't have something to do with China.
I would have done it happily, but to be a Bond girl isn't everything I aim for as an actress.
I hate the idea that people should listen to what actors have to say on certain issues more than anyone else. Actors have no more right to be heard than anyone.
I think 'Humans' is more about provoking the idea that there is a class of beings in society that we treat as less than... as subordinates; people who we treat badly and take for granted. Often they are the same people who work hard to keep the city going. We need to think about that.
When you think of things like medicine, people who have lost limbs now have a chance to have a limb replaced that is connected to the brain that they can actually control with their mind. That's amazing.
