Anh, born in 1987, is an actress and stuntwoman with 17 years of experience. In 2007, she started her career and was invited to act in ‘Sat thu’ (Assassin). The actress drew special attention for her beautiful, sexy appearance and martial arts skills which she showed in ‘Vuon doi’ (tentatively translated as Garden of Life), ‘Huong Co Dai’ (Wild Grass Fragrance), ‘Cau Vong Don Sac’ (Monochrome Rainbow), ‘Dai Gia Khong Chong’ (Single Tycoon), and ‘Vat chung mong manh’ (Fragile Evidence).

She won the Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional Long Dress) Beauty Award, and the Most Popular Beauty Award at the Cherry Blossom Beauty Contest in 2009. She was also honored as the most excellent cascadeur in Asia at the Korea Culture & Entertainment Awards 2016 in Korea. 

Currently, Phi Ngoc Anh is starring in ‘Nguoi Tham Lang’ (The Silent Person), running her own entertainment company which specializes in training young actors, and sometimes working as an action director.

The beauty organized a not-for-profit club which taught young women and children aged 5-15 to protect themselves in 2018-2020. However, because of the pandemic and busy working schedule, she temporarily stopped the operation.

Anh told VietNamNet that she is always busy, but can be flexible in arranging her time. She goes to the film studio in the morning and practices in the evening. When she has to be filmed at night, she will have to reduce the time for practice. To act in complicated action movies, she and her co-workers have to practice intensively for several hours or for up to 24 hours. 

If she has free time, Anh will spend money on her work and family, like taking her three children and picking them up at school, exercising at gyms and practicing martial arts at home. She said she tries to balance her career, family and passions, though she admitted that sometimes she feels exhausted because of overwork.

At the age of 37, to maintain her health and prolong her career, Anh follows a strict scientific diet and exercise regimen. She consumes a lot of protein to increase muscle strength, because she needs energy to work, and limits sugar. When filming, she eats home-cooked food, mainly potatoes, bananas and eggs. 

For her, stature is very important for an action actor. She has to maintain a well proportioned body to ensure flexibility, agility and a beautiful appearance on screen. If she gains a little weight, she will become slow and less attractive.

Every injury is a lesson

Passion is the main motivation that prompts Anh to maintain her profession which is difficult and dangerous. Injuries such as nosebleeds, bruises, torn eyelids, and dislocations occur often. Each injury is a lesson that helps her become more agile and concentrated.

Anh said cascadeurs’ incomes have significantly improved compared with the first years when she began the job. The strong development of the movie industry has allowed stuntmen and women to have stable incomes and better pay.

Anh always encourages cascadeurs to become ‘action actors without stunt doubles’. This was her dream when she began working. 

"At that time, stuntmen in Vietnam only stood in for actors. But there are many stunt doubles who are not only good at stunts, but also beautiful and expressive. Why[1]  don’t we help them develop their career and become real actors?” she said.

After one year of working as a stunt double, Anh was advised by her teacher – cascadeur Quoc Thinh – to try acting. Anh then went casting for many films and opened up a new way for her co-workers. At QuocT hinh Cascadeur Club, Kim Dung and Si Tue have also become actors.

The most difficult period in Anh’s career was the time when her mother passed away. The death of the mother caused her to lose energy to work for a long time. 

Meanwhile, in 2016, Anh suffered a serious injury and had to experience a 12-hour surgery. After that, she had to stop her exercises for more than a year. However, with great efforts, she overcame the difficult period and returned to her favorite career.

Anh believes that female cascadeurs face more difficulties than males do. They are more easily injured and need more time to recover. However, female cascadeurs are more flexible.

 
Thanh Phi - Ngoc Nhi