May 22, 2023 - Economy

Sandra Oh: 'Truly being seen is not limited to our eyes'

Hope King

woman on stage giving a speech wearing a white top and green bottoms — Sandra Oh accepting the SeeHer Award at the 2nd Annual Gold Gala. Photo: Presley Ann/Getty Images for SeeHer

Despite having been on screen for nearly 30 years, Sandra Oh still had trouble envisioning herself in the title role of "Killing Eve" when she was approached for the pilot.

Zoom in: "It was such a rude awakening because I consider myself someone actually who is seen on screen," the actress said on stage at the 2nd Annual Gold Gala, honoring impact and achievements in the Asian Pacific community.

"[But] the search for what it is to be seen is a deeply personal journey ... because truly being seen is not limited to our eyes."

What they're saying: To Oh, being seen is more about that feeling of joy and recognition that can come from an "honest depiction of ourselves," which can soothe and heal "the grief ... of being invisible or not being understood."

Zoom out: Hollywood continues to make strides toward depicting people with multiple identities, a new study of TV shows and films from Luminate shows.

Asian representation on screen has kept pace with the overall growth in roles and production, according to the study, with Asian talent representing 9.1% of regulars in TV shows in 2022, and 7.7% of all main title cast roles in films.

What to watch: Representation behind the camera still lags far behind.

Only 2.8% of TV series creators last year were Asian, up from only 1.1% in 2021.

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Sandra Oh: 'Truly being seen is not limited to our eyes'

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