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.
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.
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.