Stephanie Hsu Was Once Confused for Lana Condor on a Red Carpet: ‘It Was Very Pronounced’

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” breakout star Stephanie Hsu revealed that she was once confused with “To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved” lead Lana Condor on a red carpet.

“This industry is weird. You have moments where you walk on a carpet and people are like, ‘Lana Condor, Lana Condor!'” Hsu told The New York Times. “It was just once, but it was very pronounced.”

More from IndieWire

• Ke Huy Quan on Potential 'Goonies 2': No Script So Far Has 'Lived Up to What the Original Was'

• Ke Huy Quan's 'Goonies' Co-Star Jeff Cohen Negotiated His 'Everything Everywhere' Contract

“In everybody’s defense, my mom also thinks I look like Lana Condor: She sent me a picture of Lana Condor a year ago and was like, ‘You look like this woman,'” Hsu continued. “But after the Lana Condor thing happened, we were at a screening in New York, and a bunch of people kept going up to my publicist and the Daniels’ publicist, who are both Asian, and they were like, ‘Congratulations, your performance is incredible.’ And they were like, ‘Huh?'”

Hsu added, “So listen, this ride is amazing, but that is real. We have not transcended this moment, right? James Hong [who plays Hsu’s grandfather] started acting at a time when people wouldn’t even say his name, they would literally just call him ‘Chinaman’ and say ‘Get on your mark.’ Michelle [Yeoh] waited almost 40 years for her first chance of being No. 1 on the call sheet, and Ke [Huy Quan] left acting for [nearly] 20 years. As successful as this film has been, the biggest fear on the other side is ‘What if this is my last chance?’ I’m trying to allow myself to also feel vulnerable in this ride, because there are highs and there are definitely a lot of lows.”

Hsu, who received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her “Everything Everywhere” performance, recalled watching Halle Berry make history as the first woman of color to take home the Best Actress Academy Award.

“Even as a kid with ideas, I just never thought it could be me up there with my friends, making something I believe in that is being celebrated. I remember sitting in front of a TV when Halle Berry won at the Oscars — the only woman of color who’s ever won best actress — and I don’t remember anyone else who won that night, but I remember that moment,” Hsu said. “I’ve been reflecting on that a lot, because I didn’t realize how much I had deleted the possibility from my mind that I could actually ever be a part of this industry in a real way, doing something that I value and love. So to get to be there and feel this big hug from our peers felt completely surreal.”

Hsu summed up, “Sometimes, things have made me want to just completely disappear into the background, but there are people who felt something in this character, people who are rooting for roles like this to exist, people who are rooting, also, for me to elbow more space or even just to stand here. And so it really is the masses that have been continuing to push me forward to show up for myself. Because as confusing as all of this is, I am so proud of our movie and what I was able to bring to it, and proud for it to be my big introduction to what I believe art can or should be. Whether that is clean enough for people to digest, that’s a whole other story.”

The “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” actress previously told IndieWire that “Everything Everywhere All at Once” struck an unexpected nerve with audiences.

“A lot of people come up to me and they’ll start crying just as they start talking about the movie,” she said. “As someone who is hyper-empathetic, it’s overwhelming. You realize that the depth of what you were doing is really reaching people, but also that a lot of people are hurting and very much struggling or still in the process of unpacking so much in their life. It’s both healing to know that the art that you make can have that capacity, and also you’re like, ‘Man, wow, we have a great responsibility to continue to take care of each other because we’re going through it.’ People are going through it myself, included. It’s a lot.”

Best of IndieWire

• Sundance 2023 Movie Deals So Far: Music Box Films Nabs 'Other People's Children'

• New Movies: Release Calendar for January 6, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films

• The Best Film Scores of 2022

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.