Chinese at the Oscars

Haing S. Ngor. [Photo/i.mtime.com]

First Chinese actor to win an Oscar: Haing S. Ngor

Chinese Cambodian Haing S. Ngor was an unprofessional actor who played an interpreter and assistant of the journalist Sinn in the American film The Killing Fields, a story that depicted a photographer trapped in Cambodia during Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians. Haing S. Ngor's parents and siblings were killed by Khmer Rouge forces so he was able to play the role naturally by relying on his real experiences and feelings for which helped him win Best Supporting Actor at the 57th Academy Award, becoming the first winner who was not a professional. He later acted in the Vietnam War film Heaven & Earth directed by Oliver Stone.