Yang Xinyi, a little-known Chinese actress, will see her name listed alongside Hollywood’s biggest stars at next year’s Academy Awards after making the leap from small roles in Chinese TV shows and movies to international film lead in the Sino-French movie “The Nightingale.” Yang, 8, will join director Philippe Muyl, veteran actor Li Baotian, actor Qin Hao and actress Li Xiaoran as they compete at the 87th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category early next year. After starring in films such as “Double Xposure” and “My Boyfriends” and starring in the TV drama “Empresses in the Palace,” Yang has a knack for picking the right projects to work on. “Neither of my parents know anything about acting. I only take roles that I think are interesting,” she said. She talked about how on one set she had to eat some cookies, which should have been a fun experience, but she ended up getting sick after having to eat so many. “I ate too much before shooting the set, and when it was time to film, I didn’t want to eat any of them, but I had to. Eventually, I burst into tears.” A Beijing-born girl, Yang said her hobbies are dancing, playing piano and singing, all of which will help her as an actress. “The Nightingale” tells the story of an elderly man’s unexpected trip with his 8-year-old granddaughter in mountainous southwestern China. Since his son and daughter-in-law are too busy to accompany him, the man has to travel with his bird and granddaughter. (Tan Yifan) |