Veronica Ngo is an entertainer working as an actor, model, singer, and producer in Viet Nam. She also happens to be a national star contributing enormously to the development of popular Vietnamese culture. She was introduced to new Korean fans in the Vietnamese film Furie (2019), which was well received in Korea and stood apart as the first Vietnamese movie invested in and produced by a Korean company. She also appeared in the world-famous Hollywood film Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).
Learn more about Vietnamese films through this interview with Veronica Ngo,
star with an undeniably diverse film background.
You’re active in a variety of fields, currently working as an actor, dancer, singer, and model in Viet Nam. Could you please briefly introduce your work so far?
I started acting in 2006 and got attention from doing several action movies. 2015 marked the first movie I produced: The Lost Dragon (Ngày này ngày nay), which had the longest screening time during the Tet holiday season. Since then, I’ve explored many genres and focused more and more on the producing side of projects and less on acting and directing.
Right now I mostly spend my time as a movie producer with my company Studio 68. We have several projects on production line-up for the next two years, including some in the action, adventure fantasy, and superhero genres.
You attended the ASEAN Cinema Week 2019 as the producer and lead of the Vietnamese movie Furie (2019). Furie features scenes that beautifully capture the natural landscape of Viet Nam. Viet Nam is famous for its stunning scenery and is a popular tourist destination for its unique, easy-going atmosphere. Would you tell us a little more about the beauty of Viet Nam?
Many people consider Viet Nam as a perfect destination for tourism. It has a hidden, undeniable beauty waiting to be explored. To me, besides its famous landscape and sight-seeing locations, through my movies, I want to introduce the beauty of the Vietnamese people. We are open-minded, friendly, and warmly welcome friends from all over the world. Viet Nam has a unique culture so charming that I try to introduce in every single project from my studio.
Furie is particularly special because it was the first time that a Korean company invested in a Vietnamese action movie. It also demonstrated the action genre's potential for commercial success in Viet Nam, ranking third at the box office. Could you share with us your thoughts on the significance of this collaboration with a Korean company?
For this question I would like to send my deepest thanks to Lotte Viet Nam as an investor and domestic distributor of the project. Their endless efforts contributed to a significant part of Furie’s success. Furie is also a remarkable model for many more upcoming collaborations between my studio and Lotte, and between Vietnemese studios and Korean investors in general, I hope.
Furie was not your first connection to Korea. You previously visited as a guest of the 2017 Busan International Film Festival for your role in The Tailor (2017). What was your first impression of Korea?
Wow. Though my trip to Busan was not the first time I’ve visited Korea, my experience with the professional and effective Korean film industry was so impressive. Through many trips to Korea, I have met with many Korean filmmakers and that has opened so many opportunities for collaboration in the future.
The Tailor received a positive response at the Busan International Film Festival for conveying the value of tradition by introducing the áo dài, the Vietnamese national garment. Could you please explain the movie for us and tell us what you think about traditional Vietnamese culture?
The story of The Tailor is a growing process inside Nhu Y, the main character. We throw her through time, put her in contrast between the old and the new, the fresh and young Nhu Y full of dreams and the desperate Nhu Y struggling in modern times.
Through that adventure she has a good lesson on the value of tradition and finds herself in the exact position she’s born to be in. As I said before, Vietnamese culture is unique, rich, and beautiful. There’re so many cultural elements that I’ve never had a chance to talk about and I will keep trying to introduce them to a global audience through my projects ― Viet Nam’s diversified cuisine, for example.
You’ve received so much love from the public throughout your long career in the Vietnamese film industry. There must be uniquely Vietnamese aesthetics or values that you personally hold. Can you tell us about that and about the unique features of Vietnamese movies?
Every nation holds its unique culture that has been developed and protected through thousands of years of history. Viet Nam is not an exception. There’re many elements of Vietnamese culture that are so beautiful to describe on a wide screen. There’s rich folklore, soulful music, breathless beauty of traditional costumes… I cannot help but try harder and harder in every project of mine to tell a story about them, from Tam Cam: The Untold Story, The Tailor, Song Lang, and recently Furie.
You work in a variety of fields and countries as a model and film producer, all while keeping up with your acting career, starring in big productions like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We’re curious about your plans for the future.
As I have shared in many interviews with the Korean press that I had a chance to meet on this trip, for Hollywood projects, I cannot say anything at the moment. But I will surely look for and grab any opportunity for a good project with an interesting role to play. For domestic projects, I have several lined-up on a production timeline untill 2021, including one kids’ adventure, one action blockbuster as a prequel of Furie, and three other action/fantasy projects. I hope they will all have a chance to be introduced and shown in Korea.
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