Sandra Oh Joins HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’ in First Role After ‘Killing Eve’

Sandra Oh is joining the cast of HBO’s “The Sympathizer,” the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name starring Robert Downey Jr., who also executive produces. The recurring role marks her first after the series conclusion of BBC America’s “Killing Eve.” Kieu Chinh and Nguyen Cao Dy Duyen also join in recurring roles of the same capacity as Oh’s.

Described as a “blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel and a powerful story of love and friendship,” Nguyen’s novel has been hailed by critics as a new classic of war fiction, and has been compared to the works of Kafka, Orwell and le Carré.

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The series logline is as follows: “An espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”

Oh will portray Ms. Sofia Mori, a liberated feminist who, when caught in a love triangle, begins to awaken to the complexity of her own Asian American identity. Chinh plays the Major’s Mother. Homesick for Vietnam, she doesn’t adjust easily to her new circumstances, in contrast to her son. Ky Duyen is Madame, the General’s wife and an elegant, commanding matriarch who’s desperate to keep her daughter modest and her husband from unraveling as they restart their lives as refugees.

Oh is represented by UTA, Principal Entertainment LA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman. Chinh is repped by Allen Edelman Management. Ky Duyen is repped by Prestigious Powerhouse Agency.

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Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le and Alan Trong round out the cast. Park Chan-wook (The Vengeance Trilogy) is executive producer and co-showrunner with Don McKellar; the former also directs and writes. Executive producers for Team Downey are Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell, with Rhombus Media’s Niv Fichman and Moho Film’s Jisun Back. Kim Ly, Roh Schmidt and Nguyen also serve as EPs.

The drama, which is currently in production, with filming taking place in Los Angeles and Thailand, is a co-production of HBO, A24 and Rhombus Media. The project marks further collaborations between A24 and HBO, including the popular “Euphoria” and upcoming musical drama “The Idol.”

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