The Foreigners in Film series features interviews with talented members of China’s film and television industry from around the world.
Anita Yoo has one of those striking faces that makes it difficult to pin down her ethnicity. The fact that she’s fluent in Mandarin, Russian, English, and Estonian (as well as conversational in French, Spanish and Korean) only makes it harder to determine her roots.
Anita Yoo. Image by Meshinto
She hails from Estonia, but has Russian and Korean blood, contributing to a unique look that is just part of the appeal that has made her a sought-after actress in both China and abroad.
Yoo has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, including co-starring with John Lithgow and Janet McTeer in Hulu’s The Old Man, acting opposite John Cusack in Detective Chinatown 1900, and holding a role as a series regular on the massively popular Chinese network show One Boat, One World.
It is a career that has taken her from Shanghai to Hollywood, and we caught up with her amidst this busy schedule to hear about her journey in China’s film industry.
Yoo as Lt. Eva Lee in ‘Red Alert: Command and Conquer Legions.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
How did you end up working as an actress in China?
I came to Shanghai in 2011 to study Chinese at Fudan University, and later got my bachelor’s degree at Shanghai University.
I did some modeling on the side, and one day got invited to attend a casting call for a TV series, True Color of Beauty, about women during WWII.
I was still in school and didn’t think I was going to get it because I had zero experience in film, but I got the phone call the next day saying I booked it.
Yoo in her first TV show. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
The summer after I graduated university, I had already found a job as a junior producer at an international production company in Shanghai, but I still had this dream of acting full time.
Then, I got a role playing a Russian police officer working between Russia and Northeast China in a CCTV6 10-part TV movie.
After finishing that project, I decided to move to Beijing to do acting full time.
What has been your favorite experience working in the film industry in China?
I have shot over 25 films and TV shows in China. In most of them, I was either leads or big supporting characters.
Every single one of those projects hold a dear place in my heart. Every character I played had her ups and downs, her struggles and victories.
Yoo as Grace in ‘True Color of Beauty.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
My absolute favorite part about working in China is the variety of characters I get to play—from an American journalist in China during WWII to a zombie-slaying special forces agent.
I even played a fridge that came to life speaking a Northeastern dialect.
I also love the fact that it’s easier to start acting in China for foreigners than it is in the West. It has its pros and cons, but if you’re capable and you’re given a chance, you can grow very fast in the industry here.
Of course, sometimes you’ll end up with people having no idea what they are doing, with accents not matching their characters and not knowing how to behave on set—but hey, I’ve been there, and it is just the nature of acting in China.
Yoo during her Muay Thai training. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Was there a role you felt you were typecast into in China?
At one point in my career, I was only doing action films. I was training a lot at the time and had a strong look with dark hair—I can definitely say that I was being typecast as the special agent or the mafia boss.
However, in my opinion, being typecast as a certain role happens for a reason. For example, how you dress for auditions and the way your headshots look will cause you to be perceived in a certain way.
I exclusively wore black leather, did my hair in a ponytail, and had my make up a certain way for years.
I’ve learned that it is important to have a range of different looks to show to casting. I am now based in Los Angeles, and I have very wild things in my wardrobe—I’d never be caught wearing my favorite commercial audition top outside!
I wear different things, like scrubs, a Midwestern mom jacket, or a bohemian shaman dress—it’s a lot of work to make people perceive you in a certain way.
Still from ‘Outside of Time.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Do you find it easier or harder to act in certain languages?
I speak four languages fluently and on a daily basis. I would say, acting in English is easiest because that’s the language that I use the most in my daily life and work.
Acting is Chinese has its challenges, but it’s very rewarding to be able to memorize long scripts in Mandarin. Especially since nine out of 10 times, we are only given a Chinese script without any translation.
In the beginning of my career, when my Mandarin was still not so good, I would spend days translating every single character in the script and learning the correct tones for my lines. Now it takes me way less time. Practice does make perfect.
As for Estonian and Russian, I only speak those two to my family and close friends, so it takes more time for me to design the characters’ speech since I have less contact with those languages.
I have also acted in French, Spanish and Korean, which I only speak at a basic level—let’s just say I definitely sound foreign.
Yoo attending the 10th Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Tell us a bit about your cooking show project with Beijing-based Peking Productions…
Tastes of Tribes is a culinary travel show in which my co-hosts Zach Ireland, chef Dali Wong, and I explore the cuisines and lives of different minorities around the world.
In January of this year, we finished our pilot episode documenting the lifestyle of the She ethnic minority in beautiful Lijiang.
With this show, we hope to give a voice to these small ethnic groups through food.
The show is also looking into the traditional ways that food in China is actually medicine. We are currently looking for partners to bring this vision into reality.
Zach Ireland (left) and Anita Yoo (middle) filming ‘Taste of Tribes.’ Image by Graeme Kennedy
What other future projects do you have planned?
The life of an actor is exciting but also very unpredictable. We never know if we are going to book a huge breakout role tomorrow… or not book anything for a year.
This is why lately I’ve been exploring other sides of filmmaking and producing my own short films. I love being in creative control and taking on projects that I am passionate about. I have a few exciting projects in pre-production that are not yet ready to share.
Having said that, I’m still auditioning heavily in China, the US, and Europe; I just finished a stunts course in Los Angeles; and I am planning on attending acting courses in the fall.
Yoo in Beverly Hills, California. Picture by Talia Bonanno
What would you recommend to people just starting out their acting careers?
For people starting out in China, I would highly recommend learning Chinese first.
I can’t stress enough the importance of communication, whether it is between you and your agent or you and the production—not to mention that most of the roles in serious TV and film are foreigners speaking Mandarin.
Also, don’t forget to stay humble and nice to people. You never know who you’re gonna meet and who might just give you your next job.
Stay tuned for more installments of ‘Foreigners in Film’ by following our official WeChat account, ThatsBeijing.
[Cover image is courtesy of Anita Yoo]
The Foreigners in Film series features interviews with talented members of China’s film and television industry from around the world.
Anita Yoo has one of those striking faces that makes it difficult to pin down her ethnicity. The fact that she’s fluent in Mandarin, Russian, English, and Estonian (as well as conversational in French, Spanish and Korean) only makes it harder to determine her roots.
Anita Yoo. Image by Meshinto
She hails from Estonia, but has Russian and Korean blood, contributing to a unique look that is just part of the appeal that has made her a sought-after actress in both China and abroad.
Yoo has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, including co-starring with John Lithgow and Janet McTeer in Hulu’s The Old Man, acting opposite John Cusack in Detective Chinatown 1900, and holding a role as a series regular on the massively popular Chinese network show One Boat, One World.
It is a career that has taken her from Shanghai to Hollywood, and we caught up with her amidst this busy schedule to hear about her journey in China’s film industry.
Yoo as Lt. Eva Lee in ‘Red Alert: Command and Conquer Legions.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
How did you end up working as an actress in China?
I came to Shanghai in 2011 to study Chinese at Fudan University, and later got my bachelor’s degree at Shanghai University.
I did some modeling on the side, and one day got invited to attend a casting call for a TV series, True Color of Beauty, about women during WWII.
I was still in school and didn’t think I was going to get it because I had zero experience in film, but I got the phone call the next day saying I booked it.
Yoo in her first TV show. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
The summer after I graduated university, I had already found a job as a junior producer at an international production company in Shanghai, but I still had this dream of acting full time.
Then, I got a role playing a Russian police officer working between Russia and Northeast China in a CCTV6 10-part TV movie.
After finishing that project, I decided to move to Beijing to do acting full time.
What has been your favorite experience working in the film industry in China?
I have shot over 25 films and TV shows in China. In most of them, I was either leads or big supporting characters.
Every single one of those projects hold a dear place in my heart. Every character I played had her ups and downs, her struggles and victories.
Yoo as Grace in ‘True Color of Beauty.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
My absolute favorite part about working in China is the variety of characters I get to play—from an American journalist in China during WWII to a zombie-slaying special forces agent.
I even played a fridge that came to life speaking a Northeastern dialect.
I also love the fact that it’s easier to start acting in China for foreigners than it is in the West. It has its pros and cons, but if you’re capable and you’re given a chance, you can grow very fast in the industry here.
Of course, sometimes you’ll end up with people having no idea what they are doing, with accents not matching their characters and not knowing how to behave on set—but hey, I’ve been there, and it is just the nature of acting in China.
Yoo during her Muay Thai training. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Was there a role you felt you were typecast into in China?
At one point in my career, I was only doing action films. I was training a lot at the time and had a strong look with dark hair—I can definitely say that I was being typecast as the special agent or the mafia boss.
However, in my opinion, being typecast as a certain role happens for a reason. For example, how you dress for auditions and the way your headshots look will cause you to be perceived in a certain way.
I exclusively wore black leather, did my hair in a ponytail, and had my make up a certain way for years.
I’ve learned that it is important to have a range of different looks to show to casting. I am now based in Los Angeles, and I have very wild things in my wardrobe—I’d never be caught wearing my favorite commercial audition top outside!
I wear different things, like scrubs, a Midwestern mom jacket, or a bohemian shaman dress—it’s a lot of work to make people perceive you in a certain way.
Still from ‘Outside of Time.’ Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Do you find it easier or harder to act in certain languages?
I speak four languages fluently and on a daily basis. I would say, acting in English is easiest because that’s the language that I use the most in my daily life and work.
Acting is Chinese has its challenges, but it’s very rewarding to be able to memorize long scripts in Mandarin. Especially since nine out of 10 times, we are only given a Chinese script without any translation.
In the beginning of my career, when my Mandarin was still not so good, I would spend days translating every single character in the script and learning the correct tones for my lines. Now it takes me way less time. Practice does make perfect.
As for Estonian and Russian, I only speak those two to my family and close friends, so it takes more time for me to design the characters’ speech since I have less contact with those languages.
I have also acted in French, Spanish and Korean, which I only speak at a basic level—let’s just say I definitely sound foreign.
Yoo attending the 10th Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Anita Yoo
Tell us a bit about your cooking show project with Beijing-based Peking Productions…
Tastes of Tribes is a culinary travel show in which my co-hosts Zach Ireland, chef Dali Wong, and I explore the cuisines and lives of different minorities around the world.
In January of this year, we finished our pilot episode documenting the lifestyle of the She ethnic minority in beautiful Lijiang.
With this show, we hope to give a voice to these small ethnic groups through food.
The show is also looking into the traditional ways that food in China is actually medicine. We are currently looking for partners to bring this vision into reality.
Zach Ireland (left) and Anita Yoo (middle) filming ‘Taste of Tribes.’ Image by Graeme Kennedy
What other future projects do you have planned?
The life of an actor is exciting but also very unpredictable. We never know if we are going to book a huge breakout role tomorrow… or not book anything for a year.
This is why lately I’ve been exploring other sides of filmmaking and producing my own short films. I love being in creative control and taking on projects that I am passionate about. I have a few exciting projects in pre-production that are not yet ready to share.
Having said that, I’m still auditioning heavily in China, the US, and Europe; I just finished a stunts course in Los Angeles; and I am planning on attending acting courses in the fall.
Yoo in Beverly Hills, California. Picture by Talia Bonanno
What would you recommend to people just starting out their acting careers?
For people starting out in China, I would highly recommend learning Chinese first.
I can’t stress enough the importance of communication, whether it is between you and your agent or you and the production—not to mention that most of the roles in serious TV and film are foreigners speaking Mandarin.
Also, don’t forget to stay humble and nice to people. You never know who you’re gonna meet and who might just give you your next job.
Stay tuned for more installments of ‘Foreigners in Film’ by following our official WeChat account, ThatsBeijing.
[Cover image is courtesy of Anita Yoo]
