A Sky Full of Sun Starring Elodie Yung
Elodies was virtually photographed in Los Angeles by Alison Engstrom; hair by Marcus Francis; makeup by Sarah Uslan
Hi Elodie, thank you so much for taking the time to have some fun in the sun! I love having conversations with creative women like yourself and tapping into what makes you tick and when and how you pursued your dreams. You have such an interesting background, you went to the Sorbonne (so did I in 2003!) and got a law degree before studying acting at London’s Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. When did you realize that law wasn’t what you wanted to do and performing was your passion?
Maybe we were sitting on the banks of the same amphitheater at the same time! So I did study law indeed and it took me forever to get my master degree, but I did it and that’s when I decided that actually I was going to pursue acting. I was working as an actor—although I felt like a fraud—as well as going to university, I would take turns between sets and La Sorbonne. I realized acting was a passion on a TV job I did where the director was very demanding (in a good way) and that made me realize there was a craft there that I cared about. The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art came later, and I only stayed there a split second but it was rejuvenating to act in another language and made me fall in love even more with acting.
Was it at all scary to take the leap and follow your passion, did you have to do any convincing to yourself or others?
Not scary but painful! As soon as I decided that this was what I wanted to do, I went through unemployment for a year and it’s been like this, and even worse, my whole career so far. But it is a passion and you need that to keep focused and carry on your journey as an actor.
You have appeared in projects like Daredevil, The Defenders and various French films. Was there one opportunity that stands out that shaped you and changed your professional course?
I’d say that every character, every job on set, and on stage with different people have shaped me. I learn something each time and hopefully, it will be the case until I stop! This character though, Thony, takes a special place in my heart. I’m a mother myself and also, because in a way, I learned more about my dad and his resilience as a Cambodian refugee.
What would you say has been the easiest and hardest part to navigate when it comes to your career?
The easiest is to go to the premiere of a project and celebrate, the hardest is the long and lonely road that takes you there.
Now to talk about The Cleaning Lady, congratulations! It’s really amazing and about time, might I add, that this is Fox’s first primetime drama created by and starring Asian women. Can you share what was excited you most about signing onto the project and playing Thony De La Rosa?
It’s a premiere, isn’t it! We’re making history here, on broadcast TV, with the main character being Cambodian! I’m excited for people to be curious and discover a show that will definitely entertain them but also and most importantly appeal to their empathy. We’re following a woman who comes to the US, alone, with her sick child, to save his life. And through the medium of TV and this fictional story, we’re talking about immigration, medical system, isolation, being a woman, being a woman of color, important matters, and that’s what excites me the most.
Thony is a strong woman who has to be continually resilient. Could you relate at all to her? Did you learn anything about yourself why playing her?
You know, filming this series has been intense for me and I didn’t get to breath, just like Thony. Something quite powerful happened to me during the very first interview I did about the show. The journalist was asking me this exact same question you’re asking and I burst into tears. I just realized that her resilience was my dad’s resilience, and something I had never realized before. Because you know, when things are too painful it’s easier to avoid them completely. And I’m not saying that his resilience was painful to watch, but the circumstances in which he’s had to become resilient. He fled Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge regime and had lost his entire family, and has to build his own in a new country. Looking at it now, I realize the effort it took him to go through all of that.
I had so much fun photographing you, you had such amazing energy. What makes you feel the happiest and most fulfilled these days?
Thank you! I’m not always like that, unfortunately, I wish! Most of the time, I’m a very tired mum. So that day, getting ready for the photoshoot, having a friend there, as well, was super exciting to me! I guess, apart from my daughter to kiss me and tell me she loves me, what makes me the happiest it to have a real moment for myself and connect with friends.
When it comes to your creative endeavors, what else are you looking to accomplish in the future?
I have stories I want to tell, and I’d like to direct. One particular story, about the relationship between a daughter and her dad, being of Cambodian descent and what that implies. But for now, I’m preparing myself to shoot my first short and it’s very exciting!
Since spring is around the bend—a season filled with hope—what are you most hopeful about right now?
A season 2 of The Cleaning Lady?!