---
name: "Hong Chau"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/hong-chau"
fi1m_id: "hong-chau"
imdb_id: "nm2186865"
tmdb_id: 1360317
wikidata_id: "Q38195662"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 June 1979"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 13
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 12
updated: "2026-10-13T21:47:59.121811+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Hong Chau

## Identity

Hong Chau

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/hong-chau
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** hong-chau
- **IMDb ID:** nm2186865
- **TMDB ID:** 1360317
- **Wikidata ID:** Q38195662
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Chau, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38195662, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2186865/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1360317

Actor. Born 25 June 1979 in Thailand.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 June 1979, Thailand
- **Active:** 2014–present
- **Also known as:** هونگ چائو
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 13: 12 acting, 1 other
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 12 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 78 (5), 2020s 64 (8)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 73 to 68 across 12 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 8 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 9, Comedy 7, Mystery 5, Crime 2, Action & Adventure 1, Animation 1
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $409m across 7 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Chau, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38195662, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2186865/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1360317

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*BoJack Horseman*](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md) (91), [*The Night Agent*](https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent.md) (64)
- **HBO Max:** [*Watchmen*](https://film.one/tv/watchmen-2019.md) (84)
- **Disney+:** [*The Menu*](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md) (72)
- **Apple TV:** [*Downsizing*](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md) (60)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Whale*](https://film.one/film/the-whale.md) (54)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Hong Chau is an American actress. She was born on 25 June 1979 in a refugee camp in Thailand to Vietnamese parents who had fled Vietnam; the family later settled in New Orleans after being sponsored by a Vietnamese Catholic church.

Chau studied film at Boston University. She appeared in the television series Treme (2010–2013) and the film Inherent Vice (2014) before her breakthrough role as Ngoc Lan Tran in Downsizing (2017). Subsequent credits include The Menu (2022), The Whale (2022), Asteroid City (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024), in which she played Sarah, Sharon and Aka.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (13)

### Performed in (12) — the average rests on these

- *The Sheep Detectives* (2026), Fi1m 76, as Beth Pennock — [page](https://film.one/film/the-sheep-detectives.md)
- *Kinds of Kindness* (2024), Fi1m 63, as Sarah / Sharon / Aka — [page](https://film.one/film/kinds-of-kindness.md)
- *Asteroid City* (2023), Fi1m 71, as Polly — [page](https://film.one/film/asteroid-city.md)
- *Poker Face* (2023), Fi1m 82, as Marge — [page](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md)
- *The Night Agent* (2023), Fi1m 64, as Diane Farr — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent.md)
- *The Menu* (2022), Fi1m 72, as Elsa — [page](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md)
- *The Whale* (2022), Fi1m 54, as Liz — [page](https://film.one/film/the-whale.md)
- *Watchmen* (2019), Fi1m 84, as Lady Trieu — [page](https://film.one/tv/watchmen-2019.md)
- *Big Little Lies* (2017), Fi1m 78, as Jackie — [page](https://film.one/tv/big-little-lies.md)
- *Downsizing* (2017), Fi1m 60, as Ngoc Lan Tran — [page](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md)
- *BoJack Horseman* (2014), Fi1m 91, as Pickles Aplenty (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md)
- *Inherent Vice* (2014), Fi1m 78, as Jade — [page](https://film.one/film/inherent-vice.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Artemis Fowl* (2020), Fi1m 32, as Opal Koboi (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/artemis-fowl.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Sheep Detectives* (2026), as Beth Pennock — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-sheep-detectives.md)
- *“Wuthering Heights”* (2026), as Nelly — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/wuthering-heights-2026.md)
- *The Instigators* (2024), as Dr. Donna Rivera
- *Kinds of Kindness* (2024), as Sarah / Sharon / Aka — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/kinds-of-kindness.md)
- *Asteroid City* (2023), as Polly — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/asteroid-city.md)
- *Showing Up* (2023), as Jo
- *The Night Agent* (2023), series, as Diane Farr — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-night-agent.md)
- *Poker Face* (2023), series, as Marge — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md)
- *The Whale* (2022), as Liz — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-whale.md)
- *The Menu* (2022), as Elsa — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-menu.md)
- *Driveways* (2020), as Kathy
- *Artemis Fowl* (2020), as Opal Koboi (uncredited) — Fi1m 32, [page](https://film.one/film/artemis-fowl.md)
- *Watchmen* (2019), series, as Lady Trieu — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/watchmen-2019.md)
- *American Woman* (2019), as Jenny · Executive Producer
- *Homecoming* (2018), series, as Audrey Temple
- *Forever* (2018), series, as Sarah
- *Duck Butter* (2018), as Glow
- *Downsizing* (2017), as Ngoc Lan Tran — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md)
- *Big Little Lies* (2017), series, as Jackie — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/big-little-lies.md)
- *Inherent Vice* (2014), as Jade — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/inherent-vice.md)
- *A to Z* (2014), series, as Lora
- *BoJack Horseman* (2014), series, as Pickles Aplenty (voice) — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md)
- *Market Hours* (2014), as Angela
- *$#*! My Dad Says* (2010), series, as DJ
- *Treme* (2010), series, as Linh — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/treme.md)
- *Good Luck Charlie* (2010), series, as Theresa
- *The Sarah Silverman Program* (2007), series, as Asian Masseuse
- *How I Met Your Mother* (2005), series, as Cook Pu — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/how-i-met-your-mother.md)
- *American Dad!* (2005), series, as Korean Spy (voice)
- *NCIS* (2003), series, as Molly Choi — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/ncis.md)
- *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), series, as Julie Blanch

## Gallery

- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-fb0a46bdc228.png) Hong Chau — MTV UK, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Hong_Chau%2C_MTV_2018_%28cropped%29.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Press conference for "The Whale" in Venice, September 2022](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-6769ab7d186a.jpg) Press conference for "The Whale" in Venice, September 2022 — Pietro Luca Cassarino, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Hong_Chau%2C_The_Whale_Venice_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actress Hong Chau in 2016 (2017)](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-4abb21fd8ed7.jpg) Actress Hong Chau in 2016 (2017) — Sidewalks Entertainment, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Hong_Chau_2016.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Hong Chau in 2016 (2017)](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-a739ce37d0ff.jpg) Hong Chau in 2016 (2017) — Sidewalks Entertainment, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Hong_Chau_2016_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-64cbfff5fd93.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-aa5013028638.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-90b91fc8ddb4.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB
- ![Press conference for "The Whale" in Venice, September 2022](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-a79f6c6edd91.jpg) Press conference for "The Whale" in Venice, September 2022 — Pietro Luca Cassarino, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/The_Whale_Venice.jpg/1280px-The_Whale_Venice.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-bef70078b2bb.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-53e064d27d26.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB
- ![Hong Chau](https://film.one/media/person/11333/gallery-604183a7f723.jpg) Hong Chau — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2023: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *The Whale*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/hong-chau