Samantha Tan

Born and raised in Malaysia, Samantha is an international actress, writer, director, chef-entrepreneur and dancer now based in Los Angeles after working in London and New York. She is the first Malaysian ever to become a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio, led by co-presidents Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino in NYC. Samantha is the writer, director, producer and star of the short film "Ally Chia", a dramedy loosely based on her real life experiences as a struggling chef. The film was shot in one day with an all-female crew, and is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. "Ally Chia" marked Samantha's first original script and directorial debut, and was also a second-rounder for the MACRO Episodic Lab powered by The Black List. The short was made as a proof-of-concept for a TV series, which she is currently developing. Prior to this, Samantha was the first Malaysian in history to be accepted into the MFA Acting program at Actors Studio Drama School in NYC. She made headlines when she raised $105,000 in 2 weeks via an unprecedented viral fundraising campaign to pay her tuition and secure her foreign student visa. She is still amazed and grateful to this day for the generous souls all around the world who donated and made her training possible. Samantha is known for her deep emotional range and versatility across genres, as well as her unique physical gifts as a dancer, rhythmic gymnast and kickboxer. She is also multi-lingual and speaks fluent Malay and basic Cantonese, Mandarin and Hokkien/Taiwanese. Her notable UK credits include Disney's High School Musical (original London cast), The King & I (Royal Albert Hall) opposite Daniel Dae Kim, Bizet's Carmen at the O2 Arena, the BRIT Awards, and most notably the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony, where she was a featured dancer behind Russell Brand watched by an estimated TV audience of 750 million worldwide.