Q with Tom Power Joan Chen is embracing her second act
Feb 12, 2026
Joan Chen, veteran actor and director known for The Last Emperor and Twin Peaks, talks about her new role in Montréal, ma belle and her career reinvention. She discusses playing a repressed immigrant mother who finds transformation. She reflects on performing in French, being discovered during the Cultural Revolution, early fame in China, and changing opportunities for Asian American roles.
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Late-Life Love And Transformation
- Joan Chen chose Montreal, ma belle because the role showed a middle-aged woman's emotional transformation and rare love story.
- She values portraying a late-life quickening that rarely appears onscreen.
Language Changes Thought And Character
- Joan Chen says switching languages reveals different sides of a character and changes thought patterns.
- She explains speaking French shifts mannerisms and can liberate previously suppressed expression.
Catharsis Through Immigrant Mother Roles
- Joan Chen says playing immigrant mothers has been cathartic because it reflects her own parenting experience.
- She recognizes the distance that forms when children adopt a new culture and become unfamiliar to their parents.
