This month, audiences will watch Linh-Dan Pham step into one of her most unique roles yet. The Vietnamese-born French actress – who first starred in the Oscar-winning film Indochine as a late teen in 1992 – now portrays Sandy Bui in the eight-part TV series, Last Days of the Space Age. Not only did the role require her to travel to Australia for filming, but it encouraged her to reconnect with relatives and her Vietnamese roots.
In the Disney+ show, three families based in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships and futures put to the test as they reach the end of an era. Set in 1979 Western Australia, the show highlights themes such as migration through the lens of a Vietnamese family, of which Pham plays the matriarch, Sandy Bui.
“The fact that the family was a Vietnamese family, not just any Asian family, allowed me to reconnect to my roots in the sense that I’ve got some relatives who went through what the Bui family had to go through,” Pham tells Missing Perspectives over Zoom.
The actor recalls one of her aunts self-publishing a book that detailed various experiences and challenges faced by the family. Reading it as part of her research was particularly helpful in preparing for this role.
“[It’s] understanding the danger, life and death, of leaving your mother country and starting from scratch. Not knowing when you were going to go back, and having to just push on through with a smile. You don’t want to be depressed and show people that you’re ungrateful for being here,” she explains.
Photo: Disney+
An authentic depiction of the experiences of the Bui family was crucial for Pham. In fact, she wouldn’t have accepted the role if her character had been layered with stereotypes. So often Asian women in cinema have been portrayed as the token sidekick, or perhaps fetishised, or made to have an accent.
“I think I make political choices in the parts I choose,” she says. “I’ve always shied away from very stereotypical portrayals of the Asian woman, or you know, an Asian person. I’ve always been reluctant to do an accent, actually. And this is one of the few parts where I’m doing an accent, but it is justified, because Sandy has just arrived [in Australia].”
She also made the point of having constructive conversations with the creators and other crew members on set, including making suggestions to the hair and makeup department. Having a production pay attention to these details plays a fundamental role in authentic representation.
“I revisited my family’s pictures on those days as well, and so I was discussing with the makeup and hair [team], you know, ‘I’d like to have this kind of hair’.
“If I saw something on set that I didn’t think was right, it was very important for me to make sure it was – so I felt responsible in a way.”
Last Days of the Space Age star Linh-Dan Pham. Photo: Disney+
From moving around a lot with her parents while growing up, to being the only person of colour in some rooms, to studying commerce and working in marketing before switching to acting, Pham’s varied life experiences have helped her develop a strong sense of independence and resilience over the years. She sees parts of herself in her character, Sandy.
“I think what I liked about her [Sandy], and what maybe I might have, is that she’s always smiling and she seems sweet, but she’s quite determined,” the actor reflects. “You know, she’s quite strong and solid.
“Also what I could relate to is that when I was a kid, we moved a lot from one place to the other as my parents got better economically. We changed suburbs, and every time I had to start from scratch, I was the only Asian in the school. I think this is what Sandy and the Bui family are going through – having to start from scratch.”
At a time when there’s so much volatility in the world, hope and human connection is more important than ever. Pham believes this show offers a great sense of both of those for audiences to hold onto after watching it.
“Everyone is going to kind of relate to someone in the show,” she says.
“And ultimately, I think there’s a lot of hope and a lot of kindness, because it’s a community in the end, and they help each other.”
Also starring the likes of Radha Mitchell, Jesse Spencer, Deborah Mailman, Iain Glen and Thomas Weatherall, all episodes of Last Days of the Space Age are now streaming on Disney+.