Hong Chau

In May 2020, Chau had a larger role in Homecoming' s second season, in which she moves from secretary to a person in charge in the series's featured corporation. Entertainment Tonight' s Stacy Lambe said Chau "has become something of a scene stealer over the years". Lambe said, "What's notable about most of her projects is that they feature a diverse cast of actors of color who get to shine in unexpected ways," highlighting Treme, Watchmen, and Homecoming. Chau will also appear in the film Artemis Fowl, which will premiere on Disney+ in June 2020.

Chau had her first leading roles in the films Driveways and American Woman, both released at film festivals in 2019. For Driveways, Chau was familiar with director Andrew Ahn's previous film Spa Night, recognized his name when he contacted her with an offer for the role, and readily accepted the offer. Chau also appeared in the 2019 TV series Watchmen as the trillionaire Lady Trieu, whose performance The Hollywood Reporter' s TV critic Tim Goodman said was one of the series' "exceptional, memorable performances". Following the 2020 video-on-demand release of Driveways, Rolling Stone' s Maria Fontoura wrote that Chau has a "cool tenacity" in her roles. Fontoura said, "Whether she's playing a mysterious mogul, a secretive secretary, or a grieving single mother, the actress is steely, whip-smart, and deceptively powerful."

Following Downsizing, Chau appeared in guest roles in several TV series in 2018. She had a minor role as a corporate secretary in the premiere season of the TV series Homecoming. The Ringer' s Alison Herman said another actor would have sought to accumulate more recurring roles on TV series. Herman said, "In the Peak TV Era, Chau opted for something much savvier: taking some choice guest parts in a few critically acclaimed TV shows ... Chau benefits from these shows' prestige; the shows benefit from her talents." In 2019, The Hollywood Reporter' s Rebecca Sun said since Downsizing, "Chau has appeared in a series of critically acclaimed projects."

For her role in Downsizing, Chau was nominated for several awards for best supporting actress, including Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She was considered a potential nominee for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 90th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. USA Today' s Andrea Mandell said, "Hong Chau was snubbed ... a nomination many had assumed was a lock given the strength of her performance as a Vietnamese refugee."

Before Downsizing, she appeared in the US television series Treme (2010–2013) and the US film Inherent Vice (2014). In 2018, she appeared as a guest star in several TV series. In 2019, she played a supporting role in the HBO TV series Watchmen. She also had leading roles in the films American Woman and Driveways, and for the latter, she was nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Chau began acting in film and television in 2006. One of her first major roles was in the US television series Treme (2010–2013), which was set in New Orleans. Her first feature film role was in the 2014 film Inherent Vice. For two years after her role, she was not able to get an audition for another film role. In 2015, she had a key role in the Off-Broadway play John, written by Annie Baker and directed by Sam Gold. Chau acted with three others, including Georgia Engel and Lois Smith, and Chau credited the experience for strengthening her acting. She also had a supporting role in the 2017 premiere season of the HBO TV miniseries Big Little Lies alongside Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. She subsequently appeared in the 2017 film Downsizing, for which her performance was described as a standout by several reviews. She was nominated for several awards for best supporting actress (see accolades). Some criticized her character Ngoc Lan Tran as stereotypical because Chau spoke in broken English, but Chau said that she found her character "so multifaceted and complex and well-written".

Hong Chau (born 1979) is an American actress best known for her appearance in the US film Downsizing (2017) as Vietnamese amputee and political activist Ngoc Lan Tran. For her performance, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, and several other awards for best supporting actress.

Before Hong Chau was born, her parents and their two sons were living in Vietnam. In 1979, the family was among the Vietnamese boat people who fled their country, and Chau's mother was six months pregnant with her. During their escape, Chau's father was shot and nearly bled to death. Chau was born in a refugee camp in Thailand later in the year. A Vietnamese Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States organized for a local Vietnamese family to sponsor her family. Chau grew up speaking Vietnamese as her first language, and later learned English in school. Her family lived in government housing and used subsidized lunch programs. Chau was raised in the eastern part of New Orleans, where she attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School and Ben Franklin Senior High School. She finished at Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Her parents worked in menial labor to ensure that the children could attend college. Chau said her parents, who speak in heavy Vietnamese accents, were shunned as Asian migrants. She said, "My whole life, I've always felt like I was the more acceptable of my parents, and they were always the people who had to stay in the background, or hide in the broom closet."

Chau was born to Vietnamese parents who lived in a refugee camp in Thailand after fleeing Vietnam in the late 1970s. A Vietnamese Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana arranged for a family to sponsor Chau and her family. After growing up in New Orleans, Chau majored in film studies at Boston University and pursued an acting career.