`Emperor’ star Maggie Han has leg up on other actresses

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
January 8, 1988

Maggie Han has a leg up on other actresses in Hollywood.  While she waits for suitable acting roles, she doesn’t have to wait on tables to supplement her income.  The Korean actress-model is the spokeswoman for L’eggs Shear Elegance pantyhose.

“It’s nice to have that to fall back on,” Han said in a telephone interview from her Westwood, Calif., apartment. “Right now, I’m trying really hard to concentrate on acting, but I’ll never forget that it was modeling that got me started in show business.”

Han makes her motion picture debut in “The Last Emperor,” now at local theaters.  The movie tells the story of China’s last emporer, Pu Yi. Han portrays Eastern Jewel, a debauched  Manchu princess adopted by the Japanese to spy for them.  Eastern Jewel’s job is to weaken the Chinese empire by seducing and corrupting Empress Wan Jung (played by Joan Chen).

“The Last Emperor” was shot in Beijing and Rome.  Han said the mixture of Chinese, American, British and Italian actors, filmmakers and crew made the film set feel like the United Nations.

“We had a real stew,” Han recalled, laughing.  “You’d have the main costume designer asking a translator to come in and translate his directions to the tailor who was going to sew the things, and then he’d have to translate in Italian to the seamstresses who were supposed to baste and mold the costumes.  Then the directors would be trying to direct all of us, who between us probably spoke about a dozen languages or dialects.”

The on-location shooting in Beijing was the first time Han had been to the Far East. Her parents, retired music professors, immigrated to the United States from South Korea, and Han was born in Rhode Island.

They encouraged their only child to appreciate the arts as much as academics.  She plays the piano, violin and French horn.  But it was her exotic, 5-foot-9 look that attracted attention when she enrolled at Harvard University at 16.  Upon the suggestion of a stranger, she contacted a local modeling agency.

“Modeling was a nice alternative to flipping hamburgers for spending money,” Han said, so she began working part time. When she was offered more jobs than she could handle, Han decided to pursue modeling as a full-time career.

“The opportunity was there and I wanted to take advantage of it,” said Han, 28.  “So after my freshman year, I went to Paris and modeled for five or six years and had a great time.  When I returned to America, I decided I wanted to finish my studies, so I went back to Harvard.  I got the L’eggs deal, which was great ’cause it didn’t take up a lot of time.

“But I never got my degree because `Space’ came along, and then I moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Given my track record, I may end up back in Boston trying for the degree again.”

Han made her acting debut in the television mini-series “Space.” She played a journalist intent on getting the inside story of the U.S. space program by sleeping with all the astronauts. In real life, Han was an award-winning reporter at the Harvard Crimson when she got the call from her agent telling her the producers wanted her to audition for the mini-series.

Although she never had an acting lesson prior to her acting debut, the producers of “Space” were impressed with her beauty and intelligence.

Since her move to Los Angeles two years ago, Han has acted in the Gnu Theater’s “Loose Ends,” as well as television programs such as “Head of the Class” and “L.A. Law.”  She had a recurring role on “L.A. Law,” but just as her character was getting more scenes, she was offered the role in “The Last Emperor.”

“I would love to have done more on `L.A. Law,’ but how can you pass up an opportunity like this?” Han asked.

“When I first heard that I would be in `Space’ with people like Beau Bridges, Blair Brown and Harry Hamlin, I thought, `What am I doing with them?’  But they were all so helpful to me and didn’t treat me like the novice that I was.  They made me feel at ease.  I was a little more seasoned in `The Last Emperor,’ thankfully, so I didn’t feel that out of place with John (Lone) or Peter O’Toole.”

Contrary to the all-beauty, no-brains stereotype, Han once wrote a history of the world in between modeling assignments “to keep the old gray cells active.”

2 thoughts on “`Emperor’ star Maggie Han has leg up on other actresses”

  1. You were a good writing student at 13 at the Rhode Island Governor’s School, and I have never known anybody who could type so fast and well. Must have had something to do with the piano.

  2. Just looked her up after seeing her on Seinfeld (on my billionth rewatch) and this article came up. It’s a shame that she hasn’t acted since the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing now…hopefully living the good life haha!

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