Vivian Wu: The Shanghainese beauty takes to the silver screen once more
Vivian Wu is currently one of the two most famous Shanghai-born actresses in Hollywood, the other being Joan ChenOnly a handful of Shanghai actors have made a name for themselves in Hollywood, and Vivian Wu Junmei (邬君梅) did it when she was just 20.
While some fans laud her achievements, the 44-year-old actress speaks of them casually and even slightly self-mockingly. She starts recalling her acting career with two most uncommon incidents.
Marking points
In 1985, the then 18-year-old Wu was given an audition opportunity for a role in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor." Itching to go on a Hong Kong vacation with her friends, Wu told the celebrated director: "Let me know when you've decided to cast me, only then will I come to Beijing."
Six month later, she received her offer.
Ten years later, so afraid was Wu that her Hollywood director husband Oscar Casco would mind the nude scenes in Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book" that she nearly gave up her role. To compromise, Wu shot the passionate love scenes with her counterpart Ewan McGregor while her husband looked on.
These movies would later prove to be important milestones in Wu's path to becoming the international star she is today.
Looking back on her slightly capricious behavior, Wu says smilingly: "Fate is really a marvelous thing. Maybe I was just destined to be an actress."
Return from Hollywood
Vivian Wu made her first appearance on the silver screen in China at 16, and at 20 played Wen Hsiu in Italian director Bertolucci's Oscar-winning film, "The Last Emperor."
She was the only actress to be chosen twice as a lead by Peter Greenaway and has been named by People Magazine as one of the "World's 50 Most Beautiful People."
In the 20 years since "The Last Emperor," she has been involved in various classic and artistic films, allowing international audiences to see that she is still very much an alpha female on the A-list.
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Wu says she is not hardworking, merely lucky. She never intentionally goes for big productions nor famous directors. Instead, a good script is what she only looks out for and cares about.
"Every director will have his debut work -- who is to say that the unheard-of newbie director of today will not become the next Akira Kurosawa of tomorrow?" says Wu.
Every director will have his debut work. Who is to say that the unheard of newbie director of today will not become the next Akira Kurosawa of tomorrow?— Vivian Wu
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
On June 24, the Hollywood production "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," (雪花秘扇) by Asian American director Wayne Wang starring Wu, will hit cinema screens worldwide, including in Wu's hometown Shanghai.
This Wendi Deng production includes other Pan-Asian cinema heavyweights such as China's Li Bingbing, South Korea's Gianna Jun and Australia's Hugh Jackman, and was the center of attention at the recent Cannes film festival.
Based on a novel of the same name by Asian American writer Lisa See, the film is set in both Qing dynasty and contemporary China and explores the lifelong relationship between a laotong (老同) pair, a Chinese terms for same-sex life partners.
Vivian Wu plays the role of the girls' cultured Shanghainese auntie in the film, a worldly, affectionate woman who has traveled to many parts of the world and collects many paintings, vintage fans and other artworks.
Not very different from her off-screen personality.
"Perhaps the director felt that the auntie character was me in her past life," says Wu. "It is tailored for me."
Collaboration with Wayne Wang
This is Wu’s second collaboration with director Wayne Wang. They became close friends after working together on the BAFTA-winning "The Joy Luck Club" 18 years ago.
Recalling her acting in "The Joy Luck Club," Wu initially initially found her role very challenging, but the moment she put on her qipao, everything just fell into place –- so much so that even her lines came to her naturally without much effort to memorize them.
This is a result of Wu growing up watching her actress-mother Zhu Manfang strut around in a qipao on film sets.
This also applied to her shooting in "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." Every scene rehearsal and every song practice brought back memories of her childhood for Wu, and felt like an escape to a familiar past rather than simply acting.
After all, the grace and elegance of a Shanghainese woman are qualities that Wu already possesses.
The girl from Shanghai
Vivian Wu may not be blindingly beautiful, but she has a distinctive air about her and exudes class with every move –- something that many celebrities wish to emulate, though few succeed.
This is a trademark of the Shanghainese woman, a seductive combination of Oriental exoticism and Western modernity that render Wu irresistible to Oliver Stone, Wayne Wang and many of the other renowned directors that she has worked with.
Wu's husband Oscar Casco once confessed that Shanghainese women drive him “crazy.”
"He meant he is absolutely crazy in love," Wu whispers with a wink.
The sight of Wu regularly hogging the airtime with a slightly cheeky demeanour while her chubby husband stands by her side looking on quietly and dotingly is proof to all that this Shanghainese woman is being well looked after and is truly reveling in marital bliss.
Though Wu does not have an Oscar statuette to call her own yet, the real-life Oscar is all this Shanghai-born lady needs to make her feel more beautiful and more prized with each passing day.
