WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
No, I don’t mean Cersei Lannister, that’s Lena Headey and Game of Thrones. This Cersei is powerful superhero from The Eternals. I believe I mentioned before when I discussed Salma Hayek that I had no idea who the Eternals were before I saw the film so it was hard for me to make any comparison of actor to character but what I will say is aside from the obvious wonderful actors in the film, Gemma Chan was one of the biggest draws for me to go and see it – and you’ll see why below.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Gemma’s role in this film is not massive. She only has one scene, a small one at that, and one line – for me it doesn’t have much impact on the story at hand. She simply asks Newt one question which could have been asked by anyone in the crowd or the President herself. I don’t know if it is because I already knew who Gemma was before watching this film or the way they focused on her but she truly stands out from the rest of the council. I know that sounds like a negative, and I don’t mean it to because it probably wasn’t on purpose – I think its just a little bit unfortunate for what’s technically a cameo to stand out so much.
Crazy Rich Asians
So, it’s hard to find films where Gemma plays anything more than an ancillary role. However, I was more invested in her story than the main plot but it also annoyed me a little bit. I get it, Astrid is the kind-hearted, down to earth member of the family – but any normal person would get angry when they find out that their husband is having an affair. OK, yes towards the end she chooses to move out and tells him that he’s a coward but it was so calm that it just didn’t feel real. I’m not saying I was asking for her to start throwing things around because honestly I think that’s an exaggeration that is overplayed – but come on! A little bit of emotion and passion would have been nice. I’m saying this is Gemma’s fault because there’s a chance this is the way her character is written in the book or how Jon W. Chu, the director, wanted Astrid to be played in this way but I just wanted a little bit more from it.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
While watching this film, I started to think I had the wrong one and that Gemma was actually in the sequel. However, thankfully I had the right film and she actually was in it. Now, she’s not a lead character (surprise, surprise) but weirdly, somehow her American accent comes across better than Kiera Knightley’s does for the whole film. The thing is, it is hard to comment on her acting in this film because the role really is so small.
Honorary Mentions
I cannot write an article about Gemma Chan without talking about one of my favourite roles of hers and, at the time, believed this was the first thing I ever saw her in, Humans. She plays an android called Anita and it’s a character that really pulled at my heartstrings. She’s had several roles in some of my favourite series including Doctor Who and Sherlock. She also had a cameo in a different Marvel Cinematic Universe film – Captain Marvel, playing Minn-Erva.
