Fred Nguyen_Khan & Duy_Nguyen in The Sympathizer
Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT The Vietnam War is being told through a unique new lens with The Sympathizer. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the HBO thriller is set near the end of the Vietnam War, following a group of refugees as they escape from the country and head to America to build new lives.
Nguyen Khan & Nguyễn Are Thrilled The Sympathizer Will Present Vietnamese Culture To More Audiences One of the most important elements of The Sympathizer is that the cast is primarily made up of Vietnamese actors playing characters of the same region, with much of their dialogue also being in their native tongue.
Fred Nguyen Khan: Man, I would have been so sad if I was not part of this. As a Vietnamese actor, like, "But, but, but, but..." Fred Nguyen Khan: For me personally, I used to do a form of street dance called popping, which was originated in the '70s. So, I had to really learn a lot about the music from that era, and there was a lot of listening to music in order to get into the energy of the characters. And my family went through the boats and the refugee camps, so taking things from my uncles, and from my father that I thought could be useful for this narrative was very helpful for me.
There's a lot of French music from Paris during that time, my parents would listen to a lot of Paris music. And my dad was a musician, actually, in a band in Vietnam, and he would listen to a lot of Motown music, and a lot of funk. So, I drew a lot of inspiration from those things. And to answer your question, it's really hard to pick one song out of all of that. I think it would probably be Little Richard. I might change my mind afterwards, but Little Richard, "Long Tall Sally.
Duy Nguyễn: Yeah, we didn't really focus too much about that during the shoot, because that's the thing that's the genius part about The Sympathizer is that it's very subtle. It's not subtle at all, but very subtle at the same time. It never hits you in the head with the message, "Oh, this is what we want to say, this is what we're gonna say, no, no, this is what happened with this character.
And then you have the characters who share the same political ideologies in the show that don't like each other, that despise each other, so I hope that message will resonate with the audience nowadays, so that we can start thinking about maybe treating each other like humans instead of where you stand on the political spectrum.Duy Nguyễn: And it's also a different side of war.
Duy Nguyễn: Yeah, I think all of us, really, while shooting it, we knew how special this show is for us. Also for millions of people who are going to be watching. So, immediately from the start, from the time I stepped foot on the set, all I saw was love. We always had each other's backs, and I met Hoa for the first time — I joined really late, I joined like two months after they already started shooting, they already started bonding.
Duy Nguyễn: Also, that speaks wonder to the casting director, Jennifer Venditti. Somehow, she just sensed that there's something between me and Fred to be like, "Oh, that guy might work with that guy." So yeah, it's really pure coincidence that we got cast playing, because I auditioned for so many other characters, and I heard nothing back, and I was like, "I'm ready to just be a dead body, so I can be part of this world-changing show.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How HBO transformed Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel ‘The Sympathizer’ into a seriesThe series that premieres Sunday, April 14 mixes black comedy with spy games in a Vietnam War story unlike any before it.
Read more »
HBO's 'The Sympathizer' Adaptation: A Big Deal for Author Viet Thanh NguyenViet Thanh Nguyen, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'The Sympathizer,' reflects on the significance of the HBO adaptation and the scale of its promotion.
Read more »
HBO's The Sympathizer: A Bold Adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-Winning NovelHBO's latest venture, The Sympathizer, is a seven-episode miniseries based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Directed by Park Chan-wook and co-show run by Don McKellar, the series brings to life a tale of espionage, identity, and political turmoil set during the Vietnamese War and its aftermath.
Read more »
The Sympathizer's Sandra Oh & Hoa Xuande Break Down Their "Satisfying" Character ArcsSandra Oh & Hoa Xuande The Sympathizer Interview header
Read more »
‘The Sympathizer’ Review: Robert Downey Jr. Falls Flat in HBO’s Vietnam DramaHBO’s head-spinning Vietnam War-era drama, based on the Pulitzer-winning novel, chokes on its many ambitions.
Read more »
'The Sympathizer' Review — Robert Downey Jr.'s HBO Series Is TV at Its BestNate Richard is a Resource Editor for Collider, a film and television critic, and a part-time amateur filmmaker. He graduated from Ball State University in December 2020 with a Bachelor&039;s degree in Telecommunications.
Read more »