I Was So Shocked (and Delighted) To See This Fellow Mixed-Asian Actor in ‘Barbie’

From the jump, everyone was gushing over the main cast of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, which has since gone on to become a colossal hit. As far as ensemble casts go, this one is pretty delightful, from Sharon Rooney’s bubbly and hilarious portrayal of Lawyer Barbie to Michael Cera’s commitment to the Allan bit.

And quite a few side actors caught my attention, as well! I recognized Lauren Holt from SNL, who I always wished we could have seen more of after only one season on the show, as well as Jamie Demetriou, who I recognized as the “bus rodent” from Fleabag. However, I was particularly excited to see one actor, whom I haven’t seen in years yet have been hoping to see again ever since I first saw him perform.

That actor is Andrew Leung, who plays “COO #2” in Barbie, opposite of Demetriou and under Will Ferrell. The reason I remembered him so starkly is because of his role in the 2014 film Lilting: a devastating yet gorgeous film about loss, which never quite got the attention it deserved.

Lilting is a film about a young man, Richard (played by Ben Whishaw), who has recently lost his lover, Kai (Leung). He never met Kai’s mother, Junn (Cheng Pei-pei), because Kai was trying to protect him, as she never outwardly accepted, or even acknowledged, her son’s homosexuality. But after Kai has passed, Richard feels as though he must help Junn as she grows older alone, and in the process grieve together.

It’s a deeply moving film that, as a mixed-Asian person, I’ve always felt a particular attachment to because it intersects so many experiences that often go unexamined. Kai and Richard’s love was genuine and achingly tender, yet the barriers of communication between them and Junn were often left things literally lost in translation. The film is neither judgmental in the messy process of grieving they go through, nor does it try to paint Junn in a poor light as she struggles to understand all she never understood about her son. The resolution of the film is, therefore, incredibly lovely, if still tugging at your melancholic heartstrings.

Leung himself only appears in flashbacks, yet he left enough of an impression on me to remember him even nearly a decade after I initially saw the film. Admittedly, I had no idea he’d been in other projects, including Cruella and various BBC productions (such as Dr. Change in Doctor Who), but even so, I still knew exactly who he was as soon as I saw him in Barbie.

Maybe it’s silly to get so excited to see another mixed-Asian actor in such a role, especially when it was a somewhat minor role, but it really does mean a lot to me! I hope this bodes well for Leung’s career and that we get to see him in even more productions. In the meantime, if you haven’t seen Lilting already, you absolutely should, especially if you’re a fan of the likes of Wong Kar-Wai. Just keep a hanky on hand.

(featured image: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic, Strand Releases)