Inside Hong Chau's Journey from Refugee to Oscar Nominee: 'It Took Years to Become an Overnight Success'

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Hong Chau was stunned hearing her name called in the Best Supporting Actress category when the Oscar nominations were announced last month.

The actress, who stars opposite Brendan Fraser in The Whale, didn't intend to get up early to see them live on TV, but with a 2-year-old daughter and an ailing 15-year-old dog, she and her husband were awake by 5 a.m. "We had coffee in bed and watched," she tells PEOPLE. "I couldn't process it. I was very surprised."

They celebrated with prosecco and donuts that her husband dashed out to get. Not long after, Chau adds, "I found myself out in the rain talking to a guy who is going to give us an estimate for foundation repair. So it was a very exciting day and a very normal day."

It was also a day she didn't think would ever come. Chau, 43, who came to the U.S. as a young girl with her parents and two older brothers as refugees from Vietnam, had a long road to become one of Hollywood's most-buzzed-about actresses.

She grew up poor and, in adulthood, battled crippling shyness and an industry that didn't know what to do with her. She plugged away for 10 years before landing movies that put her on the map, like 2017's Downsizing and now The Whale, in which she plays the tough-loving best friend of a 600-lb. man (Fraser) on a path of self-destruction.

"My entire career identity has been about being an underdog and trying to get into the room," she says, "so this is amazing. It took years to become an overnight success."

RELATED: Hong Chau Jokes Press with Brendan Fraser Is Like 'Traveling with a Member of the Beatles'

Michael Kovac/Getty Hong Chau

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

When Chau's parents arrived in America, they settled in New Orleans. "They had no money and didn't speak English," Chau says of her mom and dad, who took jobs washing dishes to make ends meet, later running a convenience store.

Despite the financial obstacles, they managed to send all three of their kids to college.

Chau studied film at Boston University, intending to have a career behind the camera. She dabbled in acting, but only to help classmates with student films. After graduation, the self-described "introvert" with "an inability to speak to people" enrolled in improv and public-speaking classes to help bring her out of her shell.

"I wanted to barf before every class," she says, "but I forced myself to go."

Along the way she developed a knack for performance and met a TV director who encouraged her to move to Los Angeles. Says Chau, "I'm glad I made the leap."

During the mid-2000s she worked in the accounting department at PBS while seeking out the "fringe" projects she craved. They were hard to come by. Even after appearing on 13 episodes of the HBO drama series Treme, she recalls, "I was stuck in the youth department at this agency and going out on auditions for Nickelodeon shows."

At one point, after leaving her agency, she even posted her phone number on an industry website. "I was stubborn," she says.

Her tenacity paid off. A casting director called with a role in an Off-Broadway play, which led to Downsizing. The Matt Damon vehicle earned her rave reviews and a Golden Globe nod. Parts on series like The Watchmen followed, and last year she appeared in two high-profile projects: The Menu, in which she played a steely restaurant manager, and The Whale.

Courtesy The White House

Her Oscar nomination is part of a record-breaking year for AAPI visibility, with four Asian actors up for trophies. But until recently, representation "hasn't been something that I thought about a lot," says Chau.

"When I was first starting out, I think this was a very solo mission for me in terms of I just want to work on these weird movies that I enjoy, and getting to work with independent filmmakers and people who do movies that aren't necessarily mainstream movies," she explains. "That was my desire starting out. And so I never really thought of it in terms of representation and popular culture because I think the things that I was drawn to were so weird and so fringe."

"I guess it hasn't been until these nominations have come out that people are approaching me and saying, 'Thanks for all of the great work that you've been doing,' " she continues.

That changed when she attended a Lunar New Year reception that Vice President Kamala Harris hosted at her home in Washington, D.C., in January. "She gave this inspirational speech about becoming more focused as a community and to lift each other up," Chau recalls. "And it just made me go, 'Ah, I've got to think more in terms of that.' "

Whether or not she bags an Oscar on March 12, Chau is looking toward the future with an open mind. "I hope more things keep coming up that surprise me," she says. "And I hope I'm ready to meet the moment."