Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Viengluang.
Sydney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Vientiane, Laos. When I was just six months old, my family was forced to escape the war-torn country and an oppressive communist regime. We spent the first two years of my life in refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines. Once my family was sponsored, we resettled in Wichita, Kansas where I was raised and went to high school and college. I’ve always loved movies and knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry somehow–in what capacity, I didn’t know yet. Upon graduating college and earning my Masters of Economics, I moved to Los Angeles to start a career in accounting and finance at a movie studio. After sitting behind a desk for a year and learning more about the entertainment industry, I knew that my calling wasn’t behind an accounting desk and my life had a bigger purpose. I decided to take my first acting class and fell in love with it. It tapped into something inside of me that I didn’t realize I had, something emotionally and creatively fulfilling. I then knew my purpose was to be a storyteller and to give faces and stories like mine visibility in Hollywood, to give underrepresented and marginalized communities a voice with my platform. It’s been a challenging but fun journey, from booking small student films to a few network co-stars, to my current role as Sun Mei on SyFy channel’s “Z Nation.”
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road. This industry has ups and downs. One minute, you can be on set working consistently, the next moment, your show is canceled and you’re out there hustling again for your next job. The industry was not set up for minorities and non-privileged individuals to succeed. Stories start from the page and when most working writers/producers are white, they’re certainly not writing and casting three-dimensional Asian American roles. I’ve definitely been frustrated by the lack of Asian American roles in Hollywood but we’re getting better. Now, with this whole diversity push, at least studios are more open to POC as leads, not just side characters. Overall, it’s a creative industry and when you’re an overachiever and control freak like me, it’s hard when there are so many factors outside of your control to determine success.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. We all can be overly-critical and our own worst enemy sometimes but self-compassion will get you through the hard times in the long-run.
what should we know about your business? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Outside of being an actor, I also produce and write. My short film “The Letter,” in which I co-wrote, co-executive produced and starred in won the Flicks4Chicks Different Faces, Different Voices 2016 Short Film Contest Grand Prize for Diversity and Best Drama Award. We also locked another short I helped produce that is written and directed by another Lao American actress/writer/director. It’s called “Go to Sleep – a Lao Ghost Story” and is hitting the festival circuit this year. I just want to tell more diverse stories within the Asian American diaspora, especially Southeast Asian ones, that don’t get enough representation. I’m a proud member of the advocacy group Laos Angeles, a community and movement that seeks to advocate and advance Lao identity and representation in mainstream media. I’m extremely passionate about diversity and Asian American representation, helping immigrants and refugees, and the LGBTQIA+ community. I’d like to think the unique intersectionality of my identities sets me apart from others.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Work hard and try to find a supportive community and mentor if possible. It’s a long game if you’re reaching for big goals and they’ll definitely be ups and downs, but if you have good people surrounding you, the journey will be much more enjoyable. Cause life is all about the journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SydneyV.com
- Instagram: @SydneyViengluang
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyviengluang/
- Twitter: @sydneyvieng
Image Credit:
For the leather jacket smiling one and the black & white group one: Daniel Schaefer, For the leather jacket with glass: JSquared Photography
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