The Sympathizer took the Max streaming service by storm, leading fans to want to know more about one of the show's brightest rising stars, Vy Le.
Based on the debut novel of the same name by Vietnamese-American professor and writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer is a political drama that follows a North Vietnamese plant placed in a refugee camp in the United States full of South Vietnamese people.
In the show, actress Vy Le portrays Lana, the daughter of Toan Le's The General.
[ Who Is Toan Le? 4 Things to Know About The Sympathizer Actor ]
6 Interesting Facts About Vy Le
Vy Le Learned A Lot About the Vietnam War from The Sympathizer
Vy Le is originally from Vietnam, but the actress moved to America during her childhood.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Le revealed that she was taught about the conflict in her home country while she was there. However, it wasn't until she attended school in America and then filmed The Sympathizer that she found out all sides of the story.
Specifically, Le said in the interview that her parents "were very young" when the Vietnam conflict was going on, adding that it was something they never really talked about, so "shooting the show was a huge learning experience" for her:
"My dad was born in ‘70 and my mom in ‘75, so they were very young when Saigon fell. It was never really a conversation in our family or a narrative that we were familiar with. Shooting the show was a huge learning experience."
She then expanded on that thought and explained what she learned while living in Vietnam as opposed to what she was told after moving to America, and how what she learned while shooting the show was like "the missing piece of the puzzle" and that it "really rounded [her] out:"
"Sitting in classrooms in Vietnam, I learned about it through the communists’ point of view. I knew of it as the American War, and the liberation of the South. And then having come to America [for school] and learning about it, it was in a way very mechanical and through the lens of American people, and so this was the first time that felt like it was the missing piece of the puzzle that really rounded me out."
The Sympathizer is Vy's Very First Role
A handful of actors get their big break on the very first project they joined, which now includes Vy Le.
The Sympathizer is the first project that she was ever cast in, and since she is playing such an important role as a main character, fans should expect to see her on-screen a lot in the future.
Vy Attended a Prestigious Arts School
After Vy Le moved to America, she attended a private institution in Natick, Massachusetts known as Walnut Hill School for the Arts.
Walnut Hill is intended for students in high school (grades 9-12) and offers special training programs in different branches of art such as dance, music, theater, writing, and film and media.
It is unclear which programs Le was a part of during her time at Walnut Hill, but she did participate in two theater stage plays.
In November 2019, Le portrayed Lady Nijo in a play titled Top Girls, and in January 2022, she starred in another production of Pinkalicious.
Walnut Hill even published a brief piece regarding Le being cast in The Sympathizer in the school's Alumni section of its website.
Vy is Multilingual
Seeing as how Vy Le is from Vietnam, it comes as no surprise that she is fluent in both English and Vietnamese.
However, according to her Backstage profile, the actress can also speak French at an intermediate level, making her resume that much more impressive.
It is unclear if Le studied French in school or if she learned it some other way, but being able to speak three languages will likely come in handy when she inevitably lands more acting roles in the future.
Vy is a Skilled Singer, Dancer, and Musician
On top of acting, Vy Le is proficient in various other skills such as singing, dancing, and playing multiple instruments.
Her vocal and dancing skills were already put on display in The Sympathizer when her character performed on-stage, but the actress can go above and beyond that, as her Backstage profile also says that she is an expert in both.
Also worth mentioning that her profile also says that she can play the piano (or keyboard) as well as the guitar.
Vy 'Was Most Struck By' Robert Downey Jr. On-Set of The Sympathizer
Being cast in The Sympathizer not only kickstarted Vy Le's acting career but also allowed her to spend time with and learn from some major stars in the film and TV industry.
One such person was Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple characters in the show (Claude, Professor Hammer, Congressman Ned Godwin, and Niko Damianos).
In an interview with JoBlo, Vy Le talked about what an impact Downey Jr. made on her while filming the show, specifically revealing that he is a "master of [his] craft" and that she "was most struck" by he and actress Sandra Oh.
She also added that Downey Jr. and Oh "took command of their work," and that they were both "very inspiring:"
"I could sit here and talk about every single person on the cast for hours. But, I was, I think I was most struck by, Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh. Honestly, they are just masters of their craft. They knew exactly what they were doing. They really took command of, of, you know, their work and the, the room, and they just, it was very inspiring. It was just watching them. That’s how I knew. Like that’s what I aspired to be like."
Where Can Fans Follow Vy Le Online?
For fans who want to keep up with Vy Le's young acting career and personal life, she can be found on Instagram under the username @yungpykle.
New episodes of The Sympathizer are released every Sunday on HBO and on the Max streaming service.
