The Sympathizer explores the challenges faced by a young spy in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s award-winning novel, the seven-part drama, which airs on HBO in the US and will begin on Sky Atlantic, Sky Showcase and NOW in the UK in May, centres on the Captain (Last King of the Cross’ Hoa Xuande), an aide to South Vietnamese secret police commander the General (Control Freak's Toan Le), who is allied with America. But, unknown to his boss, the Captain is a communist double agent passing information to the Vietcong in the North.
As Saigon falls in 1975, the Captain flees with the General to the US, and his handlers are keen for him to continue spying there. But along the way, four very different Americans – all played by Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer) – cross the Captain’s path and try to both mentor and manipulate him. Meanwhile Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) plays spirited Asian American secretary Sofia Mori, who falls for the Captain.
Here, Hoa Xuande and Sandra Oh tell What To Watch about The Sympathizer…
How do you see your characters?
Hoa Xuande: “It’s about the nature of being a double agent and a spy. The Captain is trying to survive the struggle of war, save his people and find the best outcome for those that he cares about, and not rock the boat so much. But then he’s dealing with survival in a different place, Los Angeles, which is enemy territory, where your perspectives aren't often sympathized with, or agreed upon…”
Sandra Oh: “And Sofia is a liberal in her own way and a defiant woman. But through her relationship with the Captain and a love triangle that you'll see comes about, she starts to question how she has also been complicit in the very thing that she is fighting against – patriarchy and racism – and she also starts questioning what it means to be American, and how much she might have lost or not questioned her own history or background. There’s a duality line.”
Could you relate to that at all?
Sandra Oh: “From my personal perspective, when I started my career, I wanted to be identified as an actor and have the same opportunity as white actors. There was a part of me that did not want to hyphenate my name to be Asian-Canadian or Asian-American. But where I am at now, I am more interested in embracing characters that bring their full ethnicity. That's the way that I can identify Sofia’s journey and my own.”
Had you read the book?
Hoa Xuande: “I started reading the book about two years before getting the audition. The first three chapters are devastating. But for some reason I didn't get around to finishing it then once this came around, I read it cover to cover. Through playing the Captain, I feel so personally connected to it, because of the stories that have been so beautifully articulated and illustrated in the book.”
Sandra Oh: “I read the book when I came onto the project and the writers did a great job of dramatizing an extremely interior and internal struggle.”
What research could you do?
Hoa Xuande: “The war was often depicted in a certain way through the western perspective. But I wanted to get deep into the stories that we've never heard before. So I did a lot of YouTubing and reading of articles and tried to dig into the facts of the period, the psychology of what people were thinking and the ideologies spinning around at the time. You start to appreciate that Vietnamese people, who bore the brunt of the trauma of this war, have never really had their voices heard. That weighed heavily on me and made me appreciate my own history that I haven't really learnt about before.”
Sandra Oh: “And for me being on set with the cast, which primarily is all Vietnamese, I heard people's stories from different generations, who have all been affected. That opened my eyes. There's a lot of pain that needs to be touched upon gently by the people who it is about.”
How did you find working with Robert Downey Jr?
Hoa Xuande: “I couldn't have asked for a better first experience on a major production than to have someone who you have watched your whole life, and then all of a sudden, you're working with them. But Robert was so humble, down to earth, witty and funny. From the first day, he set the tone and put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Brother, we're going to screw this up together!' It made me feel like we could just have fun with scenes. It just felt organic and natural and relieved a lot of my nervousness about shooting.”
Sandra Oh: “It is a tremendous responsibility on Hoa’s shoulder and someone like Robert, who is extremely generous, just puts you at ease and shows leadership.”
How was it being directed by Park Chan-wook?
Hoa Xuande: “I flew to South Korea to meet Park and I'd never been there before and I loved it. Korea and Vietnam actually share very similar histories in terms of conflicts. And just knowing Park was going to watch me at my work blew my mind. He speaks Korean on set through a translator, but I watched his body language, and understood exactly how he works. It was amazing.”
What was it like shooting in LA and also Thailand, which stood in for Vietnam?
Sandra Oh: “For someone who actually lives in Los Angeles, it was thrilling to shoot there, because it is such an important part of the story. It's that diaspora that you see in Orange County and in Los Angeles that was really depicted.”
Hoa Xuande: “And after shooting in LA we went to Thailand, which was great, because I had never been. The sets that they built were just incredible and really transported you back to the 1970s and what Vietnam would have felt like then, which really helped in the scenes.”
The Sympathizer airs on Sundays on HBO in the US until May 26 and is also on HBO Max. It begins on Monday May 27 at 9pm in the UK on Sky Atlantic and Sky Showcase and will also be available on NOW and Sky Box Sets.
