THE BROTHERS SUN
Netflix, streaming now Oscar-winner MICHELLE YEOH stars in this crime drama about a Taiwanese-American family unable to escape their past who become entangled in a trans-Pacific gang war.
Michelle plays Eileen, the wife of a Taiwanese triad leader (Johnny Kou), who flees to Los Angeles to escape gangsters in Taipei. Years later, after an attempt on her husband’s life, she discovers her son, Charles (JUSTIN CHIEN) is also involved in the underworld.
The series explores “what it means to be a son and brother, and also what it means to try to keep your family together”, says Brad Falchuk, the series’ writer.
Michelle says the series is unlike any other.
“You have The Sopranos, but where is our [Asian] gang-type series? But we didn’t want to glorify being a gang member because that’s not really what the series is about. It’s about the love for family and what we would do for each other.”
Justin says he was thrilled
and nervous when he was told Michelle was in the cast.
“But when I met her, the nerves immediately disappeared. I remember our first scene together. It was actually my audition scene, which I knew very well, so I had been preparing for that moment for months. And after the first moments, she looked at me, smiled, and gave me a fist bump. It meant so much to me. “Over the months of working together, she became a friend, and I had the privilege of cooking for her a few times. She’s a big foodie.”
SAM SONG LI, who plays Bruce, the younger son of Michelle’s character, says he was also a bit intimidated at the idea of acting opposite her, but she put him at ease in no time at all.
“There’s something about Michelle as a person, when you’re close to her and around her, you feel like her flesh and blood. You feel like you’re her child. There’s an inherent motherliness. She really welcomes you with open arms, and it was special to experience.”