We recently connected with An Phan and have shared our conversation below.

An, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My acting professor taught me that if you want to be the BEST actor, go out there and live. I never really understood the concept until I graduated with MFA in Acting for Film and was out on my own.

A small town girl like me that grew up in a very traditional (extreme Catholic/Conservative) family, I never really understood what the city life was like.. I was often scared of my own reflection because I didn’t even know who I was. I had very little knowledge of what a fast paced life would be like.

Looking back now, I can confidently say that I truly lived my life. I have accomplished and survived through a lot of trauma. I noticed my acting has changed for the better. It’s unbelievable what the heart can do when it’s filled with love.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Born & raised in a very small town in Arkansas, An’s parents were immigrants and raised her to live a humble, conservative, and religious lifestyle. At a very young age, An started to get noticed by her school after receiving art awards every year and being issued on the front of newspapers. She was offered to travel overseas for her talents, but her parents asked her to decline due to financial hardships. ​
Putting her education first, An graduated with Honors in her BA in the Arts from Oklahoma, then immediately moved to Los Angeles where she obtained her Honors Degree in Masters in Acting for Film. She is best known for her Co-Star role in HBO’s hit series Euphoria (2020), KIDDING on Showtimes (2021), and The Dust Child (2018).
​
Behind the camera, An wrote, produced, and starred in the short film GOLD, which was given a Premiere at Warner Brothers Studio. She won over 7 IMDB awards such as Top Shorts: Best Original Story, Festigious Awards: Best Inspirational Film, and Los Angeles Film Awards 2018: Best Actress (Indie Film).
​
An later went on to appear in several shorts and was a speaker on TEDx TALKS, where she spoke on the subject of Asian actors having to deal with Hollywood Obstacles & Barriers. Embracing one’s ethnicity/culture is very crucial to An’s upbringing & beliefs. Her parents made sure she could speak fluently, read, write, and sing in Vietnamese.

An makes sure she represents the beauty of Vietnamese culture wherever she goes. Dating back to 2014, An was crowned as Miss Arkansas State Queen. In March 2018, she was crowned Miss Talent Vietnam USA & landed on the front cover of the May 2019 Issue of Women Cali. Her modeling photos have been featured over 10 times in VOGUE Italia and were the cover girl for QYK Sonic Zoe. And in Dec 2020, she was crowned Miss Vietnam America Regency International 2021.
​
As a Host, An has interviewed A-List stars such as Awkwafina from Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Tzi Ma from Mulan (2020), Veronica Ngo from Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2018), and Johnny Dang from Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
​
In April 2021, she was on the front cover of Viet Lifestyles Magazine, as one of the most inspiring Vietnamese-Ameri young artists.
She has a significant social media following, which helps promote her passion project with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) & is an Ambassador for the National Organization of Vietnamese American Leadership of Greater Washington, DC (NOVAL-DC).
​
An is currently pursuing her Ph.D. and her Harvard extended study to further her career in Acting and Producing, focusing on films that better represent the Pan-Asian American community in all genres that she loves – drama, war drama, romance, and comedy & making a name for herself in a very difficult industry. She hopes to get the same equal opportunity as the starlets she watched growing up.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Breaking generational trauma and breaking other’s expectation on what they think I should be. It is my life and I am solely responsible for my own identity.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being loved and truly being appreciated for being uniquely myself. Being able to have a platform to help those who don’t have a voice. The older I get, the more I realize that life is fleeting. My purpose on this earth is to create healing art and I want to continue that journey. I want to spread the love that I am so desperate to give.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anthienphan.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthienphan/

Image Credits
Abigail Gorden Photography : www.AbigailGorden.com Instagram: @ACGPhotos Alina Grafkina www.Grafkina.com Instagram: @Grafkina_Photography Kieran Khang www.KieranKhangPhotography.com Instagram:” @KhangStudios