British actress
Mei Mac (born July 1992) is a British actress and theatre maker. For her performance in the stage adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro, she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.
Early life
Mac was born in Birmingham to a working-class Hong Kong immigrant family.[1] She initially intended to study medicine at university.[2] At 16, she was inspired to pursue acting by artistic director Kumiko Mendl of the New Earth Theatre, of which Mac is now an associate.[3]
Career
Stage
Mac's first theatre role was in the role of San in Whole Hog Theatre's stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke.[4] Studio Ghibli head and director of the original movie Hayao Miyazaki said of Mac's performance: "I've never imagined San as a real-life human being, but if she did exist, it would be you."[1]
In August 2022, it was announced Mac would play the lead role of Mei in the Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of another Studio Ghibli movie, My Neighbour Totoro.[5] The play opened at the Barbican to positive reviews.[6] Mac's performance earned her a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Performer in a Play,[7] and an Olivier Awards nomination for Best Actress.[8]
In May 2023 Mac appeared as Juliet, alongside Ncuti Gatwa's Romeo, as part of the Coronation Concert[9] and starred in Kimber Lee's untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play, in the Royal Exchange, Manchester and Young Vic in London.[10]
Television
Mac has appeared in the long-running BBC drama Call the Midwife,[11] and in the Comedy Central sketch show East Mode.[12]
In 2024 it was announced she would join the cast of The War Between the Land and the Sea.
[13]
Personal life
Mac is openly queer.[14] During lockdown, she co-founded Rising Waves, a collective for British East and Southeast Asian (BESEA) artists.[15]
Awards and nominations
References
