Downsizing’s Hong Chau tackles accent furor
LOS ANGELES — It was never Hong Chau’s intention to work in front of the cameras when she enrolled at Boston University. Her plan was to learn the process of how movies and television shows are made. What tripped her up was in film school, students often call on each other to appear on screen in their productions, and Chau showed so much promise, it was suggested she pursue a career in acting.
She might have not taken that advice had she known what was ahead, in regards to her big break with the film Downsizing. Instead of talking about what it’s like to work with Matt Damon, being directed by Oscar-winner Alexander Payne or the social commentary of the story about people being reduced in size to save the ecology, Chau has had to spend the majority of her time defending the work.
One of the big story elements of Downsizing is even in a miniature world where most have great riches because it cost them less to live their lives, there are those who aren’t as lucky. The group — mostly made up of minorities — do all the jobs those who have money don’t want to do. And, they are forced to live in conditions so poor they struggle to find enough food and medicine to survive.
There has been a backlash to the heavy Vietnamese accent Chau uses playing a dissident who is reduced to five inches tall as a form of punishment. She has ended up in the poor part of the tiny town, only seeing the utopian world through her job as a maid. Chau’s delivery is very clipped and often featuring a slight Southern accent. And that doesn’t mean South Korea.
“When I look at my character, I don’t see a stereotype, but I see a full person,” Chau says. “I’m not quite sure why people are so flabbergasted to hear a person with an accent. We are surrounded by people who speak with accents. We are a nation of immigrants.”
That’s certainly the case with Chau, who came to the U.S. as an infant. She was born to Vietnamese parents who had fled the Southeast Asia country and were living in a refugee camp in Thailand. She and her family settled in New Orleans, where she lived until heading to college.
She sees her character in Downsizing as representative of the immigrants across the United States who do manual labour. All Chau had to do was reflect on her own parents, who took those kinds of jobs to make sure she and her siblings went to college.
“My parents and the community I grew up in in New Orleans was an inspiration, but also, at the end of the day, the character is mine. I feel like people don’t put certain limitations on other actors. When British or Australian actors perform American characters, we laud them and talk about how great it is they are able to do this other accent that is not their own,” Chau says. “Americans have different relationships with other accents.
“The way that we view a Spanish speaker from Spain is different from the way we view a Mexican person because Americans have a different relationship with these people. So with the Vietnamese accent, it usually tends to have occupations where we are servicing people in some manner. That brings up the race and class issue. It’s not just about an accent being problematic.”
One big fan of her performance is Payne. The director says the wonderful thing about her performance is every time she does a scene — whether it be once or a dozen times — her delivery is different, but always very truthful.
Because she was so shy while growing up, Chau didn’t participate in any high school or regional theatre work. Since the acting avenue came in college, she has reached the level of acting that can impress a director such as Payne in a short time. Her first TV work wasn’t until 2011, when she landed a role on Treme, the cable series that shot in New Orleans. Before Downsizing, Chau had only worked on the film Inherent Vice.
Although Chau’s career plans shifted, she has not given up on her interest in the behind-thescenes elements of a production. That’s why she took every opportunity to observe Payne as he guided cast and crew through Downsizing.
And her on-the-job training didn’t end there, as Payne allowed Chau to sit in on the editing process. That’s why when people ask her if she has seen the movie, she will laugh and explain she has seen it in multiple stages.
“I would come on the set and hang out even on my days off,” Chau says. “I loved being on set and watching Alexander work. He was very gracious because he knew one day I would like to direct. I could ask him anything I wanted.
“As a director, he knows what he wants, but his approach is not like a dictator or plays mind games with you. For me, I do my best work when I feel completely relaxed and not being judged.”