Unless you’ve been trapped under a Jason Statham-sized rock these past few months, you know that The Expendables 2 is set to blow up theaters this weekend. You also may know that Terry Crews isn’t the only one with notable “cannons” in EX2. Agent Maggie, played by Yu Nan, becomes The Expendables’ newest general ass kicker and first female member. She’s smart, deadly and, oh yeah, super hot.
Who is this mysterious new member? How did she become Ahnold the Govanata’s right-hand gal? Will she date me? Here is what we know about China’s female answer to Chuck Norris.
1. She’s a Chinese Native
Yu was born in the Chinese seaport town of Dalian. Dalian is also the hometown to Chinese acting legend, Toshiro Mifune who starred in over 100 films during his life. Toshiro, like Yu, was also a certified badass who starred in movies like Throne of Blood and Seven Samurai. I guess the superior ass kicking gene is in the Dalian water.
2. She’s a Graduate of the Beijing Film Academy
The Beijing Film Academy is the Harvard of film schools. In fact, BFA is harder to get into than Harvard. 100,000 students apply annually and only 400-500 are accepted. Wanna go to BFA? You would have better luck in a roundhouse kick contest against Chuck Norris.
3. She Speaks Three Languages
Yu is linguistic triple threat who is fluent in Mandarin, French and English. Translation: She can kick your ass in 3 different languages.
4. This is Her Second Hollywood Film
Her first film was the all-but-forgotten “Speed Racer” remake. Granted that film was about as dense as a saltine cracker but hey, what that film lacked in plot it more than made up for in eye candy. Yu Nan had a small role but did get to grace the screen with Black Snake Moan hottie, Christina Ricci. (By the way, Yes, That is John Goodman in the background).
5. She’s Highly Regarded in the International Film Community
This might be her first major US film (no, “Speed Racer” doesn’t count) but Yu has been making waves overseas for years #OceanPun!. She has been the star of many internationally recognized movies like “In Love We Trust” which won Best Screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival and “Tuya’s Marriage” which won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007.
6. Sylvester Stallone is a Fan
In an interview with Emanuel Levy, Sylvester Stallone said “Yu Nan is a wonderful actress and she adds a lot of mystery and intrigue to the story. Maggie (Yu’s character) challenges Barney all the time because Barney’s not very good with women” Sounds like in the movie Yu gives Rockie some butterflies in the stomach. Can’t say I blame him, look at that picture. If she’s good enough for Rockie, she’s good enough for me.
7. She Plays a Tech Expert in The Expendables
Ok, I gotta admit, I don’t think there is anything hotter than a girl that knows how to kick ass and then hack your facebook account. Yu plays EX2’s resident techie which automatically gives her an A+ rating in my book. She’s like a sexy Mac genius. Side note: If you are a sexy Mac genius, feel free to drop me a line.
8. She Won a Best Actress Award for her First Movie
Yu’s first major movie, “Lunar Eclipse” was also her first award winning movie. The movie itself garnered some international film buzz but it more famously landed Yu a Best Actress award at the Deauville Asian Film Festival. Surprisingly she didn’t win any award for Speed Racer. (Ok, I’m done with the Speed Racer jokes now).
9. She’s Not Afraid of Showing Some Skin
And I’m not afraid of looking at it. Seriously though, someone hand her a towel, she seems a bit dirty.
10. Shes Got More Movies Coming Out
She’s got three more movies coming out in the near future. Design of Death, The Five and Catching Monkey are all set to be released before the end of this year. So don’t worry, there is more of her for YU to see. Bazinga!