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The movie Crazy Rich Asians made headlines when it premiered in 2018 because it was the first movie with a predominantly-Chinese cast from a major studio in over 20 years. That news sparked a conscious effort in the moviemaking industry to start focusing more on Asian stories and Asian filmmakers (including actors), with one result being the Gold List.
The Gold List is a relatively new presence in the filmmaking industry; according to Deadline.com, it “seeks to honor the most outstanding Asian and Pacific Islander achievements in film each year”, particularly in Asian films.
Credit: Fandango (L-R): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Druig (Barry Keoghan) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Since Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings has been nominated for many awards and features both an Asian story and many Asian cast members, it’s no surprise that Shang-Chi has gotten six awards or honorable mentions from the Gold List (including Best Director for Destin Daniel Cretton). However, English actress Gemma Chan has also landed on the Gold List, winning Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in the 2021 Marvel Studios movie Eternals. Eternals also received an honorable mention for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Gemma Chan at the Eternals L.A. Premiere. Credit: Marvel Studios Twitter
Gemma played Sersi, the human-loving Celestial who often found herself at odds with her fellow immortal Eternals. Where the other Eternals often doubted humanity’s value, Sersi had faith in them, and she ultimately became the main protagonist in the Marvel film.
Credit: Fandango (L-R): Gemma Chan and director Chloé Zhao on the set of Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian. ©Marvel Studios 2021
Gemma Chan is already a crowd-pleasing actress due to her beauty, her elegance, her efforts to bring awareness to small Asian brands, and her performances in Crazy Rich Asians or the series Humans (2015-2018). She also voiced Namaari (opposite Kelly Marie Tran as Raya) in the relatively-new Disney animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon from 2021, which is also an award-winner on the Gold List this year, and she had a role as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel (2019) which makes her Eternals role her second role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Simu Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, and Meng’er Zhang are featured on the poster for ‘Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings’ Credit: Disney
Tony Leung and Awkwafina won Best Supporting Actor (and Best Supporting Actress, respectively) in a Supporting Role for Shang-Chi while lead actor Simu Liu was an honorable mention for Best Actor in a Leading Role; Raya and the Last Dragon won Best Animated Feature and received an honorable mention for Best Original Screenplay.
Have you seen all three of these movies from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios? Did you know that Shang-Chi and Raya and the Last Dragon are both also nominated for other awards, with Shang-Chi being nominated for a SAG Award and an Annie Award while Raya and the Last Dragon was nominated for Best Feature (i.e. Best Picture) as well as nine other awards from the Annie Awards?
