Bee Vang Explained

Birth Date:4 November 1991
Birth Place:Fresno, California, U.S.
Yearsactive:2008–present

Bee Vang (RPA: Npis Vaj, Pahawh: ; born November 4, 1991) is an American actor and activist of Hmong Thai descent. He is best known for starring in Clint Eastwood's 2008 film Gran Torino as Thao Vang Lor.[1]

Early life and education

Vang was born in Fresno, California, four years after his Hmong parents emigrated from Thailand.[2] He has five brothers and one sister.[3] He also watched Clint Eastwood westerns[9] and was a fan of Eastwood.[10]

Vang attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.[3] He graduated from Brown "with a degree in international politics, political economy and media and cultural studies".[11] [12]

Career

Vang auditioned for the Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino "on a lark". He had no prior acting experience. More than 2,000 actors auditioned for the role that Vang eventually received. He learned later that he had been selected because of his "innocent looks and slight build". The film is notable for being "the first major Hollywood portrayal of Hmong families".[13] Vang portrayed Thao Vang Lor, "a mild-mannered Hmong teenager who as part of a gang initiation tries to steal the prized 1972 Gran Torino of his next-door neighbor, a surly Korean War veteran" played by Eastwood.[14] Gran Torino grossed nearly $270 million worldwide.[15]

In 2009, Vang stated that Gran Torino was "generally accurate in its portrayal of Hmong, a highlands people who fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War and later emigrated from Southeast Asia and settled in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California". In later years, Vang spoke extensively against the film's use of anti-Asian slurs and its portrayal of Hmong people. By 2010,[16] Vang had become an activist.[17] He collaborated on social justice film, Internet, and print products with Louisa Schein, a Hmong media expert, Va-Megn Thoj, a Hmong filmmaker, and Ly Chong Thong Jalao, a University of California Santa Barbara Ph.D. student. He traveled around the United States doing public speaking regarding Gran Torino and post-Gran Torino issues related to the Hmong community.[16] [18] Vang also wrote a 2011 editorial criticizing a KDWB radio comedy segment, saying that it portrayed Hmong people in an offensive manner.[3] In 2021, Vang stated that he did not regret his role in Gran Torino, but noted that he did not see "a place for 'Gran Torino' in this day and age". Vang added: "'I couldn't possibly imagine the film being made in this moment...where you know there's a lot of violent language used against Asian bodied people. It's not OK'".[19]

Since Gran Torino, Vang has appeared on Modern Family[20] and acted in independent films and stage performances.[16] Vang acted in a YouTube parody of one scene in Gran Torino, titled "Thao Does Walt: Lost Scenes from Gran Torino."[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Gran Torino' Actor Bee Vang Addresses Surge Of Violence Against Asians And How Clint Eastwood's Film "Mainstreamed Anti-Asian Racism". Deadline.com . Dino-Ray. Ramos. February 18, 2021 . September 23, 2021.
  2. News: Clint Eastwood makes novice teen actor's day. Associated Press. Baenen . Jeff. 16 January 2009 . 2009-05-18.
  3. News: Vang. Bee. Opinion: Why I can't shrug off KDWB's hateful slur against Hmong community. St. Paul Pioneer Press. 7 April 2011 . 7 April 2011 .
  4. Xamoua. ""Gran Torino" interview with Bee Vang." Hmong Today at Twin Cities Daily Planet. January 27, 2009. Retrieved on March 14, 2012.
  5. Web site: A big, new Hollywood star? Why, he says: 'No, I'm Bee Vang'. Star Tribune. February 9, 2009.
  6. News: He auditioned on a lark. Now, he's Eastwood's co-star.. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Hewitt . Chris. 9 January 2009 . 2009-01-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122090043/http://www.twincities.com/ci_11411830. 22 January 2009 . live.
  7. "Gran Torino's Hmong Lead Bee Vang on Film, Race and Masculinity - Conversations with Louisa Schein, Spring, 2010." (Archive) Hmong Studies Journal. (northern hemisphere) Spring 2010. Volume 11. p. 2..
  8. "Gran Torino's Hmong Lead Bee Vang on Film, Race and Masculinity - Conversations with Louisa Schein, Spring, 2010." (Archive) Hmong Studies Journal. (northern hemisphere) Spring 2010. Volume 11. p. 7.

    Vang resided in the Twin Cities area. He grew up in a neighborhood in Minneapolis that he described as "poor."[3] He later lived in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.[4] In his earlier years, he attended Webster Open, a middle school in Minneapolis where he took theater class. For his freshman year he attended Camden High School, and he was in the University of Minnesota's advanced program.[5] He also attended Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minnesota.[6]

    As a youth, Vang mainly watched Asian films.[7]

  9. "Bee Vang feels lucky: Actor debuts opposite Eastwood in 'Gran Torino'." Salisbury Post. Tuesday January 27, 2009. Retrieved on March 15, 2012.
  10. Schein, Louisa. "Hmong Actors Making History Part 2: Meet the Gran Torino Family ." Hmong Today at New America Media. October 4, 2008. Retrieved on March 17, 2012.
  11. Web site: Opinion | What starring in "Gran Torino" in 2008 taught me about anti-Asian racism today. Vang . Bee . NBC News. February 17, 2021. September 23, 2021.
  12. Web site: Hollywood and the Mainstreaming of Anti-Asian Racism. Commonwealth Club.
  13. News: Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino' is more than film for Hmong . Sacramento Bee . Maganini . Stephen . January 11, 2009 . September 23, 2021.
  14. Web site: Aspiring actors or moral agents: Hmong panelists look back at their roles in 'Gran Torino'. February 23, 2009. MinnPost.
  15. Web site: Box Office Brasserie: Movie News For Movie Lovers . Bock. Jeff . NewsWhistle.com . January 16, 2015. September 23, 2021.
  16. "After Gran Torino: Forum on Race, Violence, Sexuality, and Asian American Masculinities (2012)." (Archive) University of California, Berkeley.
  17. "Beyond Gran Torino: Hmong and Media Futures (Lecture)." (Archive) Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University. Retrieved on March 18, 2012.
  18. Web site: 'Gran Torino' Star Bee Vang Denounces Film's Anti-Asian Slurs. Variety.com . Antonio. Ferme. February 18, 2021.
  19. Web site: 'Gran Torino' actor Bee Vang on returning to acting amid rise in anti-Asian racism. Yu . Yi-Jin . Today.com . May 27, 2021. September 23, 2021.
  20. Web site: Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes. www.rottentomatoes.com . September 23, 2021.
  21. Web site: Amy Hill's Sci-Fi Film 'Comisery' Is the Only Zoom Call Worth Taking. Variety.com . Janet . Lee. September 1, 2020.
  22. Web site: 'Gran Torino' Actor Bee Vang Set To Star In Indie Horror-Comedy 'Dark Christmas'. Deadline.com . Dino-Ray. Ramos. March 10, 2021.
  23. "Gran Torino's Hmong Lead Bee Vang on Film, Race and Masculinity - Conversations with Louisa Schein, Spring, 2010." (Archive) Hmong Studies Journal. (northern hemisphere) Spring 2010. Volume 11. p. 4. In addition, he acted in "Anatomically Incorrect," "Fallen City," and "Sunset on Dawn."

    Vang returned to cinema in 2020 with a role in "Comisery", an apocalyptic Asian-American science fiction comedy.[21] In 2021, he was cast in a lead role in a horror comedy entitled Dark Christmas.[22]

    Filmography and television

    Year Film Role Notes
    2008 Gran Torino
    2011 Modern Family Himself

    See also

    Further reading

    • Schein, Louisa and Va-Megn Thoj, with Bee Vang and Ly Chong Thong Jalao. "Beyond Gran Torino's Guns: Hmong Cultural Warriors Performing Genders." Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique. Duke University Press, 2012. Volume 20, Issue 3. P. 763–792. ISSN 1067-9847. Available at Project MUSE.

    External links

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