She won the hearts of viewers with her role as Dr Tara Lo in Holby City.
But since then Jing Lusi has gone from soap opera star to burgeoning Hollywood sensation, with roles in big ensemble films like Argylle and Crazy Rich Asians in her repertoire.
And the 38-year-old actress will also establish herself as an action heroine in ITV’s upcoming thriller, Red Eye, as no-nonsense DC cop Hana Li, tasked with escorting a British doctor (Richard Armitage) who has been arrested. for murder. when flying home from Beijing.
But even though the industry is a natural fit for Lusi’s talents, the road to success hasn’t been easy.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian This month, he spoke about adopting a “wild, erratic persona” throughout his school years and starting drinking at age 13.
Since then, Jing Lusi has gone from soap opera star to burgeoning Hollywood sensation, with roles in big ensemble films like Argylle and Crazy Rich Asians in her repertoire. Photographed in January
Lusi, who was born in Pudong, Shanghai, China, and moved to the UK with his parents when he was five, admitted that he was partly rebelling against the stereotype of “dumb” and openly obedient East Asian students, while I was growing up in Southampton in the 90s.
Not only was she frequently arrested, but once she even faced suspension after being caught smoking.
Lusi also told the outlet how he faced and confronted intolerant people when he was younger, including ignorant strangers on the street who shouted the Japanese phrase ‘konnichiwa’ at him.
Recounting a horrible event, the actress said that on the day she passed her high school exams, someone across the street shouted, ‘Ni hao, can I have chicken fried rice?’, which so outraged her that “It started a fight and it got physical.”
Although he “discovered” acting at age 10 after appearing in a local production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – and realized it was “what he wanted to do with the rest of his life” – he attempted to try a different form. sensible career path at the beginning.
Lusi completed her law studies at the prestigious University College London (UCL), but the stage called her and she enrolled in acting classes after completing her studies.
‘My dad thought it would disappear. Even after a long time, he said to me, “So, when are you going to do your master’s degree?” guardian.
“I had never noticed anything when I was younger, so I thought this was a phase.”
And the 38-year-old actress will also establish herself as an action heroine in ITV’s upcoming thriller, Red Eye, as no-nonsense DC cop Hana Li, tasked with escorting a British doctor (Richard Armitage) who has been arrested. . for murder while flying home from Beijing
She played Tara Lo, a doctor who tragically dies after brain surgery, until 2013, in Holby City.
As she finally pursued her dreams, Lusi said her legal training was worth it in helping her move toward the roles she really wanted and urged her not to settle for less.
He called his title “the best training camp of all time” when speaking with woman’s hour on Monday, admitting that it was “three years of training to speak clearly.”
“When I came into the industry, and I think first as an actress and then as an East Asian actress, a lot of things come up that… don’t make you feel comfortable,” she explained.
“So I felt like speaking out in those cases is a really important thing to do.” You don’t compromise your integrity.’
He said East Asian actresses were most often seen as prostitutes or “highly sexualized women who would sell their soul to get a visa.”
“I come from an academic background,” he added. ‘My parents came to this country on academic scholarships… so that’s the world I knew.
She played Amanda Ling (left), the ex-girlfriend of Henry Golding’s romantic lead Nick Young, and rival of Constance Wu’s leading lady Rachel Chu (right).
“So when I came into the industry and everything was highly sexualized… I thought, ‘Wow, is that how you see us all?'”
‘I don’t disagree that this segment of society exists… but why do we only see such a small niche of society?’
His hard work paid off and in 2012, Lusi made his screen debut in the hit soap Holby City.
She played Tara Lo, a doctor who tragically dies after brain surgery, until 2013.
speaking to digital spy Of leaving the show, she said: ‘I am extremely sad to have left Holby.
‘It was my first TV show, but more than that, Holby is a unique working environment that is nothing short of a family unit, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
‘Watching it again, I can see myself choking with emotion and mustering all my energy to get the line out. The hardest part was saying goodbye to Tara, someone I had come to know very well and love over the last year, which really hurt me.”
Now, Lusi “really hopes and believes” to be part of a watershed moment for British East Asian actresses in the UK with ITV’s Red Eye, airing on April 21. In the photo from 2018
In 2018, Lusi also starred in the box office hit Crazy Rich Asians, based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan.
It made history by being the first major Hollywood studio film in which the cast was mostly of Chinese descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993.
She played Amanda Ling, the ex-girlfriend of Henry Golding’s romantic lead, Nick Young, and rival of Constance Wu’s leading lady, Rachel Chu.
speaking to The next In 2018, Lusi said: ‘The most surprising thing, apart from the fact that we knew we were making some form of history, was the family we created.
‘We have this crazy WhatsApp group that everyone participates in, including the caterer! It’s crazy… It’s the family I don’t think I personally ever had because I came to England when I was five and it was just me and my parents.’
“I definitely think it’s a turning point,” he continued. “I think this doesn’t even happen in Hollywood; I think it’s going to have repercussions for the rest of society, and rightly so.” “It’s a great moment.”
Earlier this year, Lusi joined another all-star cast with an appearance in the spy thriller Argylle, starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Bryan Cranston, among others, calling it “a feast of a movie.”
speaking to 1883The star added: ‘I remember when I first saw it, I was blown away by the action sequences and their magnitude.
Earlier this year, Lusi joined another all-star cast with an appearance in the spy thriller Argylle, starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Bryan Cranston, among others, calling it a “party movie.”
“Matt Vaughn is brilliant at these large-scale, dry-humored, stylistic projects, and he’s assembled a fantastic cast that includes none other than his cat.”
Now, Lusi “really hopes and believes” to be part of a watershed moment for British East Asian actresses in the UK with ITV’s Red Eye, airing on April 21.
Opening on how to do the program in woman’s hour On Monday, she admitted that she found being cast in the role “groundbreaking.”
“We see a lot more visibility of East Asia in the United States,” he explained, adding that in the United Kingdom many actors of this heritage are “sort of in the background” and play “peripheral” characters.
“This role definitely changed me as an actor,” he also said. 1883. “It was the first time he starred in something he always wanted to do, and I’m sure every actor dreams of it.
‘The stamina required, the preparation, the responsibility were on another level. I wasn’t sure how I would handle it, but since I work best under intensity and pressure, I soon found myself in my element.
“I’ve definitely been training and building my career to achieve this milestone.”
Speaking about doing the show on Woman’s Hour on Monday, she admitted she found being cast in the role “groundbreaking”.
In 2019, Lusi also spoke about the limited amount of diverse content with Asian casts in Britain.
“I’ve read a lot of projects with or for Asian actors, so I’m more aware than most of the changing landscape on this front,” he said. mandy.
“In the UK, there seems to be a knee-jerk reaction every now and then: if we haven’t seen Asians for a while, let’s put them all together and make a show about immigration, corruption or communism.
‘These projects do not reflect positively on Asians. They check boxes, but it’s one step forward and 50 steps back. I admire the careers of Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong, Sonoya Mizuno and Jessica Henwick because they largely play roles that have nothing to do with their ethnicity. “The industry will continue to produce old, worn-out stereotypes about Asians until we stop it.”
