When Sandra Oh was just starting out as an actor, she was still in theater school when she booked her big break in “The Diary of Evelyn Lau,” per The Gentlewoman. Still, how she snagged that role in the first place was a feat in itself, beating out over 3,000 other actors with an unconventional, yet memorable, audition. The film’s director, Sturla Gunnarsson told The Globe and Mail that Oh asked for a minute to focus before her audition. She then proceeded to lie on the floor for five minutes before getting up and doing her piece. Still, Gunnarsson assured the outlet that he didn’t give Oh her a big break — she did that for herself. “She put herself on the map,” he told Globe and Mail. “She stood out from the beginning.”
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Oh told Variety that she spent much of her early career, even in her teens, just trying to get on camera for anything and everything. However, “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” was different. “I knew it was going to change my life,” she told the outlet. Upon hearing of the open call from her sister, Oh recalled being determined to depict the character — a young runaway who takes solace in art. “I knew that I had to play this role,” she explained. “It just established everything I think of who I am as an actor. I just remember giving my all, it was just so fundamental for me.”
