In Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s “Project Hail Mary,” actor Ken Leung plays Yao Li-Jie, the captain of the Hail Mary spacecraft. He is selected to lead a brave suicide mission to a distant star where he, a brilliant engineer named Olesya Ilyukhina (Milana Vayntrub), and two scientists named Martin and Annie (Malachi Kirby and Liz Kingsman) are going to try to figure out how it has managed to survive a galactic cataclysm that is wiping out stars.
Those who have seen “Project Hail Mary,” though, know about the string of tragedies that befall the mission. For one, an explosion during early mission tests forces the cowardly Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) to go on the mission. And Dr. Grace did not want to go. The head of the mission (Sandra Huller) has to drug him and force him on board the spacecraft. What’s more, Dr. Grace awakens from his extended cryo-sleep after a second cataclysm killed Yao and Ilyukhina. Dr. Grace will have to complete the mission on his own.
Many audience members will likely recognize Ken Leung, as he has been working on screen since the mid-1990s. In 1995, he appeared in an episode of “Law & Order,” and also in Todd Solondz’s bleak adolescent drama “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” Leung sprang into the public eye in 2008 when he appeared as a series regular on the hit TV series “Lost,” and he’s been working steadily ever since. For the purposes of this article, we shall mention that Leung had a small part in Cameron Crowe’s 2001 sci-fi freakout “Vanilla Sky.” It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role, but he’s definitely recognizable. He plays an art editor at a magazine who gets to yell at Tom Cruise as he passes by.
Ken Leung has a small role in Vanilla Sky
“Vanilla Sky” is a remake of the 1998 Spanish film “Abre Los Ojos,” written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Penélope Cruz plays the same role in both movies. “Vanilla Sky” follows the adventures of David (Tom Cruise), the caddish, oversexed owner of a publishing company. David inherited his wealth, and has never wanted for anything. He’s having a friends-with-benefits affair with his good friend Julie (Cameron Diaz) who assumes it’s something more. David goes to a party and meets Sofia (Cruz) and the two hit it off, leading David to pursue a relationship. This, of course, will greatly upset Julie.
Early in the film, to establish David’s laissez-faire attitude toward his magazines, he is seen walking merrily through his office. One of the art editors in the office shows David two possible mock-ups for an issue of Rise Magazine, a Maxim-style mag all about bikinis and beer. The character is played by Ken Leung. We only see him through glass, holding up photos of a bikini model (Izabella Miko), asking which cover looks best. Leung is only credited as “editor.”
The rest of “Vanilla Sky” spins off into some pretty wild territory, and it’s not until near the end of the film that it’s revealed Cameron Crowe has actually made a science fiction movie. Julie, out of jealousy of Sofia, gives David a ride in her car and violently crashes it. Julie dies, and David’s face is scarred. He wears a “facial prosthetic” — a mask — for portions of the film. David has to reckon with his lack of character, and begins to spin out mentally. Life becomes more and more dream-like. Is this the dream? It’s a mystery.
Ken Leung’s career after Vanilla Sky
I dare not reveal any of the additional twists in “Vanilla Sky,” although if you had seen the 1998 original, then you know how it ends up … and when.
Ken Leung, meanwhile, had a great 2001. In addition to working with Cameron Crowe for “Vanilla Sky,” he also had a small role in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” and Tony Scott’s “Spy Game.” Leung has a talent for attracting interesting projects by established filmmakers, and it seems to have served him well. He was in Brett Ratner’s Hannibal Lecter movie”Red Dragon” in 2002, and played a detective in the first “Saw” in 2004. He is one of the rare “Saw” characters who didn’t return for a sequel. Even dead characters come back in those movies. Leung worked with Noah Baumbach in the excellent divorce drama “The Squid and the Whale.” He worked with Ratner again for “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and had a small role in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” He can do blockbusters and soulful indie dramas.
Ken Leung was also a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Karnak in the 2018 TV series “Inhumans.” Leung’s TV career has also been prolific, and attentive viewers might recognize him from shows like “The Good Wife,” “Person of Interest,” “The Blacklist,” and even the most recent version of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Most recently, in film, he was in Justin Lin’s “Last Days” and, of course, “Project: Hail Mary.” Leung is not quite an A-list movie star, but his career is impressive.
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