Gana Bayarsaikhan () is a Mongolian actress and model known for her role as "the girl" in the 2019 film '' Waiting for the Barbarians'' and as Tuva Olsen in the 2020

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

TV series ''

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

''.

Early life and career

Bayarsaikhan was born and raised in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. She started her career as a model, and has appeared in '' Schön'' magazine. After finishing drama training, she took a coaching programme to help her accept her own speech and accent for auditions. Bayarsaikhan made her screen acting debut as the android Jade in the 2015 film '' Ex Machina'' alongside

Domhnall Gleeson Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. The son of actor Brendan Gleeson, he studied media arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology. He began his career by directing and writing several short films, and garne ...

. and secured small roles as Khutu in ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' (2016) and in ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' (2017). Bayarsaikhan purportedly became the first Mongolian actress ever to play a lead role in a Hollywood movie when she was cast as "the girl" in the 2019 film '' Waiting for the Barbarians'', which co-starred

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

and

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

, and premiered at the

76th Venice International Film Festival The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019, at Venice Lido in Italy. Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel was the jury president for the main competition. Alessandra Mastronardi hosted the ...

on 6 September 2019, to which Bayarsaikhan attended. Director

Ciro Guerra Ciro Guerra (born 6 February 1981) is a Colombian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2015 film ''Embrace of the Serpent'', which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, and for '' The Wind ...

described how Bayarsaikhan and the other 14 Mongolian actors shared their culture, enriching the film in the process. Bayarsaikhan plays Tuva Olsen, a main character in the 2020

TV series ''

'', alongside

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...

and

Nick Mohammed Nicholas George Mohammed is a British actor, comedian and writer. He has portrayed the character Mr. Swallow across both stage and television for over a decade. He is the creator of the Sky One comedy series ''Intelligence (British TV series), ...

. Series 2 of ''

'' was released in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Profile Models: Gana BayarsaikhanScottMarshall Agency: Gana Bayarsaikhan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayarsaikhan, Gana Actors from Ulaanbaatar Living people Models from Ulaanbaatar Mongolian female models Mongolian film actresses Mongolian television actresses Year of birth missing (living people)