What to Watch if You Miss the "Game of Thrones" Cast. See our full terms of use Similarly, he has little patience with his two sons, Mitch (Brian Haley) and Steve (Brian Howe), and their families, who show little regard for Walt's grief or the memory of their dead mother. Tag: Doua Moua Gran Torino – 2008. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. Gradually, however, he realizes he has more in common with his neighbors than his own family, and becomes something of a neighborhood hero when he prevents the gangbangers from forcing Thao into their car. His once all-white neighborhood is now mostly Southeast Asian and he has a Hmong family living next door. Photos: Twin Cities TV anchors share their favorite Halloween costumes “It was a whole-year process, and then I got the callback and waited for another four months,” he says of the audition process. Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid.". Selfie time! As his teen-aged neighbors' unofficial protector, Walt has to figure out how best to restore his sense of right in the neighborhood. “At six months old we immigrated to the United States. [7] His casting was considered "a catalyst for more Hmong to get into filmmaking". Watching the movie, it’s startling to see this nice-in-real-life guy play an abrasive gang leader who spews misogyny at women. This documentary takes a very personal look at the Hmong experience and their stories, both on and off the set. If you weren’t a young child in the late ’90s (shout-out to my boyfriend, James Van Der Beek! Go watch it because you will love it too. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. For Hmong Americans, Gran Torino marks a cinematic debut - the first time they have participated as characters, cast and crew in a major motion picture. As his acting career takes off in California, the Hmong actor has begun to experience a competing feeling: guilt over his distance from family and community back home in Minnesota. Waiting game: “Being a Hmong actor and trying to make it in Hollywood is a hard road.”. Key Enterprise LLC is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for mspmag.com for people with disabilities. { customEventsOnLoad(); But despite the performance, he hasn’t been popping up on America’s Netflix and Hulu streams. Most notably, he played the main villain, Spider, in 2008’s Gran Torino: a racial-reconciliation drama directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Synopsis Directed by Mark D. Lee. Told in a series of web chat recordings, Comisery is a sci-fi comedy about a group of Asian American friends discovering an alien invasion and try to stop it during the 2020 pandemic. For Hmong Americans, Gran Torino marks a cinematic debut - the first time they have participated as characters, cast and crew in a major motion picture. To embrace the part, he gained 40 pounds (Disney’s idea) and named his pug puppy PoPo (his idea). On top of that, his 60-something parents, who live in Maplewood, have both faced an onslaught of health problems that forced them out of their jobs. Even though a few of Moua’s siblings still live in the Twin Cities, the family responsibility rests on him. They were all able to see “Mulan” on the big screen, which is how it was meant to be viewed, Moua says. A Hmong family moves next door to Walt but he wants nothing to do with them. [6] Moua worked in an Italian restaurant to finance his career. “That instant gratification of performing onstage fulfilled me,” he says. Cities Church to distribute 1,000 food boxes from COVID-19 surplus in St. Paul Friday | Build up your Halloween Watchlist with our list of the most popular horror titles on Netflix in October. Recently, the neighborhood has gone through changes where it is now racially mixed. She dons his armor, chops off her hair with a sword, and heads off to battle. “I was born in Thailand,” Moua says. So just being a minority within a minority is hard.”. That’s partly because in early February, the day before our interview, the Trump administration disclosed negotiations with Laos to deport Hmong and Lao immigrants who aren’t U.S. citizens. As such, he lives a solitary life with his pet Labrador retriever Daisy in the same house in which he has lived for years, which is located in a working class Highland Park, Michigan neighborhood. "[11], "Actor Doua Moua in Gran Torino | Asiance Magazine", Hmong get a mixed debut in new Eastwood film, "Doua Moua on Instagram: "Hanging with my cousin Senator Mee Moua!! Search for "Gran Torino: Next Door" on Amazon.com, Title: This sense of familial duty helps Moua relate to Mulan’s title character. [8] Moua said that he had no regrets in playing as a gang member, since, in the words of Laura Yuen of Minnesota Public Radio, "gangs consumed his brother's life while they were growing up in St. Gran Torino, Mulan Doua Moua (born February 7, 1987) is an American actor and writer known for his role as Spider in the 2008 film Gran Torino and Po in Disney's live-action Mulan . Moua has also starred in “Gran Torino” in 2008, and appeared in TV shows like HBO’s Veep and Criminal Minds on CBS. Photos: Twin Cities TV anchors share their favorite Halloween costumes, WCCO-TV politics reporter Pat Kessler announces retirement, Ecolab’s Doug Baker to retire as CEO Jan. 1, Minnesota to open new coronavirus saliva testing location in St. Paul on Friday, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office holds Haunted Highway event, Cities Church to distribute 1,000 food boxes from COVID-19 surplus in St. Paul Friday, Separate shootings injure 5 people in 24 hours in St. Paul, Update: Trump rally will not be at Dodge Center’s McNeilus Steel, Hydroponics venture in a shipping container has St. Paul inspectors scratching their heads, Biden to hold ‘drive-in event’ in St. Paul Friday as Trump plans Rochester rally, Historic Cedarhurst in Cottage Grove up for sale, Gophers offensive linemen Curtis Dunlap, Daniel Faalele out indefinitely, Rudy Giuliani shown in hotel bedroom scene in new ‘Borat’ film, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. She loves Twin Cities theater, bicycling, good books in the screen porch, the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Minnesota State Fair. One night, one of the members of the family, Thao Lor (Bee Vang), is coaxed by his cousin "Spider" (Doua Moua), a gang member, to steal Walt's prized Gran Torino. Moua was in Minnesota Fringe Festival productions, worked with Asian Media Access and Theater Mu in the Twin Cities before moving to New York. When the Hmong teenager who lives next door, Thao Lor (Bee Vang), is challenged by his cousin and other local gang members to steal it, Walt almost shoots him. Actor Doua Moua in Gran Torino. St. Paul native Doua Moua put on 40 pounds for…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Submit to Stumbleupon (Opens in new window), St. Paul native Doua Moua put on 40 pounds for Disney ‘Mulan’ role, KSTP-TV meteorologist Dave Dahl to retire after 43 years, TV: The story behind KSTP’s Steve Patterson’s funny weather reports on ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’. He has one brother and three sisters. Ecolab’s Doug Baker to retire as CEO Jan. 1 “I want to give them a voice and a safe place to perform. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The world has changed around him as well. The film features a predominantly Hmong cast and was shot in Detroit, a city with a high Hmong population. She and her crew work as a team. Throughout the movie Walt views his relatives as rude, spoiled and self-absorbed, always avoiding him unless it is in their own interest to pay him some attention. Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. Doua Moua has an acting career to launch in L.A., a family to assist in Maplewood, and a date with Disney to save Imperial China. “It seems my whole life was either on the bus or in school,” he says. For Hmong Americans, Gran Torino marks a cinematic debut - the first time they have participated as characters, cast and crew in a major motion picture. [4][5], Moua moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting and booked his first acting job as an extra on Law and Order: SVU. Moua grew up with a large family in Saint Paul, Minnesota. “They allowed me to bring myself and my character to life.”. That could include members of Moua’s extended family and hundreds of refugees in the Twin Cities. The story is much the same, though. Watching the movie, it’s startling to see this nice-in-real-life guy play an abrasive gang leader who spews misogyny at women. for (var i = 0; i < arrayLength; i++) { Walt's intervention has a price, however, when the gang shoots up Thao's house and attack his sister Sue (Ahney Her). Here it is.’”. | No matter where he was auditioning, he mostly rung up rejections.