Gemma Chan says it's a 'brutal' time for the film industry due to a 'pushback against diversity' ahead of starring in Anna May Wong biopic

Gemma Chan has said that it is a 'brutal' time for the film industry right now due to a 'pushback against diversity'.

The Crazy Rich Asians actress, 43, will soon be starring in the upcoming Anna May Wong biopic in which she will play the Chinese-American Hollywood icon.

Gemma made the comments as she chatted to PORTER, and stunned in an accompanying chic photoshoot.

Speaking about the biopic and her expectations, she said: 'It's a brutal time for the industry. There is a certain pushback against diversity, but I also feel optimistic. 

'I think people are coming back to the cinema.'

First announced in 2022, the biopic is being adapted from Graham Russell Gao Hodges' 2012 biography, Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend.

Anna made history as Hollywood's very first Chinese-American movie star, but faced intense institutional racism. She is most known for films like Piccadilly (1929) and Shanghai Express (1932).

During the chat with PORTER, Gemma also opened up about the return of Crazy Rich Asians. She starred as Astrid Leong in the 2018 movie.

She said: 'There is so much there in Kevin Kwan's books, so there's a wealth of things that could be explored. 

'I know that Astrid's story is very much not complete. It's kind of just the beginning of her. So we'll see. We'll see.'

The eight-episode comedy-drama which was green lit this month will continue the story of Rachel (Constance Wu) and her partner Nick (Henry Golding).

Gemma is also well known for playing student Ruth in the first series of university sitcom Fresh Meat.

She started dating Jack Whitehall in 2011, after they met on set.

The couple split in 2017, with a source telling The Sun: 'Jack and Gemma secretly pulled the plug on their relationship but remain good friends.

'For the past couple of years they've both been finding it difficult to make proper time for one another and, with their schedules showing no signs of slowing down, have decided to go their separate ways.

'It's sad but they remain supportive of one another.'

Jack then sparked controversy when he spoke of a break up at a gig in late 2018.

He said: 'I've had a lot of changes in my life recently. I'm single now. I was in a relationship, it broke down, it was not gonna work, it was a long distance relationship, not geographically, just in terms of our expectations.

'She wanted kids now whereas I wanted to escape. I'm not good with kids.'

He added: 'I hold my hand up, I let the spark go. The sex wasn't great, that's my fault. I'm not good at sex.

'I'm too British for the whole thing. Sex with me is like arriving late at the theatre and trying to find your seat.

'A lot of shuffling and then from somewhere in the dark a whisper: 'I'm sorry.''

That year, she started dating Mamma Mia! and Captain America actor Dominic Cooper, whom she now lives with in London.

After her brief stint on the show, she has enjoyed huge success, starring in major Hollywood films including Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Crazy Rich Asians and a couple of Marvel films.

More recently, she starred in The Creator, The Boy and the Heron and Don't Worry Darling. She will also soon star alongside Channing Tatum in Josephine.

Gemma was also one of the 15 women chosen by Meghan Markle to appear on the cover of her guest-edited September 2019 issue of British Vogue.