BD Wong
Dreamy Captain Shiang in Mulan. That psychiatrist in Law and Oder: SVU. Villainous Hugo Strange in Gotham. Gender-bending Whiterose in Mr. Robot. The first Asian actor to win a Tony (M. Butterfly 1988). Presenting...
BD WONG
First of all, bow in reverence.
This actor belongs to the ranks of Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep, Ralph Fiennes and the like. He transforms into each character he plays; the physicality and voice are well thought out, he makes bold acting choices and his presence is commanding.
I will not claim to be an expert on Mr. Wong's body of work. But I can tell you I will be visiting the NYPL for Performing Arts soon to watch his performance on M. Butterfly.
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Did you know you can do that? If you live in NY, you can schedule to watch taped Broadway and off-Broadway performances at the Performing Arts Library near Lincoln Center? All you need is a library card.
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I can, however, talk about one scene in particular. I didn't even recognize him in this. I jumped up and down when I watched this scene. You know that reaction? When an actor does such good work where you can't just sit and watch. Your body goes into a spasm and unformed sounds come out of you? That's how I felt.
It was from the movie Focus. That con-artist movie with Will Smith and Margot Robbie. It was an ok movie. But this scene was the best moment in it. Here's how it starts:
Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip of the whole betting scene. It continues on from this. Liyuan bets higher and higher until Will Smith's character gambles $1.1M, the whole loot earned over the weekend.
The character work BD did was just -- delicious. I got an actor boner watching it. The JOY. You could see it in the character and the actor. So good. Find the movie and watch this scene.
I feel like nowadays Hollywood execs take out Asian characters in the fear that they will come out as stereotypes. Here's a way to solve that: Hire good actors who will do their jobs. Like BD Wong. Who will create 3-dimensional characters, with accents, and needs, and flaws and dreams and families and ...
I'm excited for BD. Good things are happening for him. I would love to see him play the central character in a movie or tv show. His talent and work ethic deserves it.