Chinese born Mardy Ma, formerly a business woman in the theme park industry and now a Los Angeles resident, will be seen in a leading role, “Chen” – portraying “Chang’s mom” – in the upcoming sports drama film “Chang Can Dunk.” The film will debut on the Disney + streaming network on March 10th. Written and Directed by Jingyi Shao, “Chang Can Dunk” is the story of a young Asian American teen and basketball fanatic who just wants to dunk and get the girl. However, he ends up learning much more about himself, his best friends, and his mother as the film progresses.
In 2014, Actress Mardy Ma wowed TV audiences around the world with her heartbreaking dramatic performance in the BBC/Sundance TV movie “One Child” – a film that continues to draw viewers today on streaming platform Amazon Prime.
In “Chang Can Dunk,” Mardy Ma plays the role Chang’s mom, “Chen.” According to Writer/Director Jingyi Shao, “Chen is Chang’s mother and a first-generation Chinese immigrant who works hard as a nurse to provide for her only child. Between her stressful job and raising a teenage boy on her own, Chen tries her best but sometimes fails to see all that is going on with her son. But when she finds out about her son’s secret passion, she too becomes inspired to look within and grow.” Says Ma, “I was honored to have been chosen for this wonderful part, and I greatly enjoyed working with my director Jingyi Shao, along with the rest of my cast and crew. I truly hope viewers around the world will enjoy ‘Chang Can Dunk’ as much as those of us did who made it!”
Bloom Li, who plays the lead role of Chang in the film, said, "It was a joy working with Mardy Ma on ‘Chang Can Dunk.’ Mardy is truly an inspiration and an amazing artist – one of the most unique and interesting people I’ve ever met. She is such a powerful actress who has accomplished so much in just a short time, I found myself constantly in awe of all that she has done. It was incredible to watch her put everything she had into the role of Chen. I learned a lot from acting opposite her because she was present, unpredictable, and always kept me on my toes. Her character is vital to the film and Mardy elevates the impact through her performance. My favorite memory of working with Mardy is watching her relentlessly pursue the truth and never being satisfied when she felt like she hadn't reached it yet. That's what this art is about struggling to find true expression and Mardy does that to the highest extent. I can't wait for the world to watch her work."
Regarding Mardy Ma’s role in his film “Chang Can Dunk,” Writer/Director Jingyi Shao adds, “I knew from the beginning of this film that the character of Chen would be hard to cast. Luckily, I found Mardy Ma, who not only brought the authenticity and strength I was looking for but also a deep and nuanced understanding of the character that I had not yet discovered. Mardy, through her focus and dedication to the role, truly made Chen her own. This was not easy, considering the character was based on my own mother!” Mardy gave her all on this project – working with her taught me that the unexpected is often what is truly needed.”
“Mardy Ma is an absolute force as a performer. She dropped into her character, Chen, with great depth, nuance, and complexity. It was a joy to witness her bring Chen to life in the film and to observe her dedication to her craft. She will have an acting career to be reckoned with,” remarks “Chang Can Dunk” Acting Coach Noëlle Gentile.
The film’s producer Rishi Rajani said, "Mardy brought a beautiful authenticity to the role of Chen in our film ‘Chang Can Dunk.’ Her thoughtful, nuanced approach added a wonderful layer to the character. We're so glad she came on board!"
Adds Pamela Thur, Executive Producer of the film, “Jingyi Shao wrote and directed ‘Chang Can Dunk,’ a coming-of-age drama about an Asian-American high school basketball player. At its core, the film explores the relationship between Chang and his mother, Chen, an overworked nurse and single mom. As Chen struggles to support her son in the American suburbs, their differences feel colossal. Beyond her stern exterior lies a mother’s love that is expressed in ways Chang cannot understand. Jingyi conducted a worldwide search for the role of Chen. Mardy Ma instantly brought a raw intensity to the role. Mardy artfully portrayed the cultural nuance of Chen and elevated the film beyond expectations. The scenes between Chang and Chen are some of the most powerful scenes in the movie. I would certainly work with Mardy again.”
Trailer Source: "Chang Can Dunk" trailer on Disney YouTube Channel.
About "Chang Can Dunk”
“Chang Can Dunk,” an original, live-action film from Disney, will air exclusively on Disney + starting March 10, 2023.
“Chang Can Dunk” follows Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American high school student in the marching band, who bets the school basketball star that he can dunk by homecoming. The bet leads the 5’ 8″ Chang on a quest to find the hoops he needs to dunk in order to impress his crush, Kristy, and finally gain the attention and respect of his high school peers. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he’ll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
Bloom Li (“My Dead Ex,” “Into the Dark”) plays the lead, Chang. Li was encouraged to audition by a friend and submitted a self-made tape on his own, which put him on the path to eventually getting the part. Ben Wang (“Good Egg,” upcoming “Sight,”) play’s Bo, Chang’s best friend. Wang was recently seen in Disney’s Launchpad short “Dinner Is Served” on Disney +, and also played the leading role in Jin Wang in the Disney + series “American Born Chinese.” Zoe Renee (“Jinn,” “The Quad”) plays Chang’s girlfriend, Kristy. Zoe will next be seen in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” And Mardy Ma (“One Child,”) portrays Chen, Chang’s mother.
In his feature film debut, Jingyi Shao wrote and directed “Chang Can Dunk” from a script he wrote that placed second on last year’s Blacklist. Brad Weston is producing along with Emmy award-winning Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani of Hillman Grad Productions. Pamela Thur serves as executive producer. To lend authenticity to the film and properly represent the dunk culture, filmmakers hired one of the foremost dunk experts, Connor Barth, to help the actors train.
Announced as in development in 2019 with a script by Jingyi Shao, it was announced in September 2021 that Shao would also serve as director on the project. Initially announced to begin production in October 2021, principal photography commenced ahead of schedule in September of the same year. Scenes were filmed October 22–23, 2021, at Frank Scott Bunnell High School in Stratford, Connecticut. Filming also took place for a month and a half at Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut. By December 2, 2021, filming had wrapped up.
About Mardy Ma
A resident of Pasadena, CA, Mardy Ma is an entrepreneur/actress/producer who was born and raised in the countryside of Henan province, China. Inspired by her father – a farmer and businessman who often had to travel hundreds of miles to Shenzhen close to Hong Kong to become involved in small business ventures — Mardy dreamed of a life that would ease not only his burden but also that of her mother.
At age 19, while Mardy was at her first year of college in Zhengzhou, China, she opened up a popular restaurant across the street from her college through funds gathered by family members. The business did so well, she then bought a Korean restaurant next to her first one at age 20, during her second year of college, and transformed it into a successful Chinese restaurant. She owned and operated two restaurants concurrently with attending college!
After she graduated from college, Mardy sold her two restaurants, then moved to Shanghai where she went into the real estate business and used her restaurant profits to invest in other real estate properties located throughout Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Concurrently, Mardy began studying acting at Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2000 and appeared in occasional bit parts on Chinese television. She also studied acting at the Beijing Central Theater Academy in 2001, and is currently taking the master’s acting class at John Ruskin Theater in Santa Monica, CA.
In the early 2000s, Mardy made a slight switch from the real estate world, combining her knowledge of the entertainment and real estate worlds, and signing on as the Asian deal closer and negotiator for the premiere independent, Hollywood, CA-based entertainment design company now known as Legacy Entertainment. In this capacity, Mardy negotiated deals for large theme parks, hotels, and destination resorts contracts in China and across Asia. Legacy has been responsible for major attractions in the U.S. including those at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, as well as The Galaxy Hotel/Resort and Studio City Casino/Resort both in Macau, and dozens of other major theme parks, water parks, aquariums, hotels and resorts located across Asia and around the world.
Legacy desired to establish a stronger foothold for itself within the burgeoning Chinese marketplace, and Mardy Ma exhibited a strong understanding of real estate and entertainment. It was an ideal match. Honing an affable, 'never-say-die' approach to her role as the deal closer and contract negotiator for Legacy, Mardy has for, the past ten years, brought into the company hundreds of millions of dollars in Chinese contracts for concept design and architectural fees for a variety of projects. Dozens of major theme parks and resorts have been built in China since 2000, and on behalf of Legacy, Mardy has negotiated countless deals from scratch, beginning with the sites upon which major attractions have been built, including Haichang Polar Ocean World in Shanghai (opened in 2018); Dream Bund World Studios in Hengdian (opened in 2019); and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Exposition Park in Chengdu (opened in 2009); to name just a few.
"Mardy Ma provided an excellent bridge to our Chinese clients," says Taylor Jeffs, President and Chief Creative Officer of Legacy. "Her understanding of entertainment, design, and real estate development provides a superior approach to explaining how our approach to design differs from traditional architectural firms. This has made all the difference in the world for our expanding efforts throughout China. I know from spending a great deal of time with Mardy that she has a natural presence about her, a great sense of humor, and an innate ability to immerse herself 'in the moment' and that is a very strong calling card for her as an actress."
In an amazing moment of opportunity, in early 2014, while Mardy was continuing to negotiate several large contracts in China for Legacy, she received a phone call out of the clear blue sky regarding an audition in Beijing for a prominent role in a TV movie. At the time of the phone call, Mardy was in Shenzhen, across the river from Hong Kong in China's southern region — a three-hour flight to Beijing. She had only been told that the audition was for a part in a BBC TV movie entitled "One Child" – and that the show would later film in London and Hong Kong. Mardy flew to Beijing for the audition, with little more than the slight hope that she would actually score the challenging lead role – that of a Chinese mother fighting to get her son off a murder charge with the help of her older child, a daughter she was forced to leave for adoption years previous.
Mardy did the audition, and while she felt that she had done a very good job, she also knew that the competition would be strong. So, she returned home hopeful, but unsure as to what if anything would happen. A few weeks after the audition and having rationalized it as simply a "fun exercise," Mardy received the remarkable news. She had secured the acting role of a lifetime. A journalist writing about “One Child” has said, “Mardy Ma is an entrepreneur/actress/producer who has appeared in film and television projects in China, the USA, and Great Britain. Her work includes the role of the anguished birth mother, Liu Ying, to Katie Leung’s character in 2014’s ‘One Child,’ which was produced by Sundance/BBC. Mardy Ma received numerous positive reviews for her acting work.”
After 2014, Mardy continued to work within the theme park business. She moved back from the U.S. to Beijing to work on several theme parks and resorts projects in 2018, and had an office in Beijing. While working on more theme parks projects in China, she co-produced an all-star cast feature film called “Mo Er Dao Ga” (aka “Anima”) with Enlight Media, one of the top film companies in China along with Jackie Chan’s film company Yaolai Film Group. She was the Co-Executive Producer and one of the investors for that film
During Christmas 2019, Mardy returned to America for the holiday season. She’d planned to return to China to continue with her theme park business after the holidays, but the COVID 19 pandemic began in China and then ran rampant around the world. Realizing she would be “stuck” in Los Angeles indefinitely, she began to further pursue her Hollywood acting career. From 2020 to 2023 (during the pandemic) Mardy retired from the theme park business and became a full-time actress, playing the lead part in over 20 short films; along with three feature films; and three TV series. The films in which Mardy appeared were selected by various film festivals around the world, including the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and others. In addition, five of her films were presented in Los Angeles at the AFI FEST in 2021.
In early 2021, Mardy worked with “Chang Can Dunk” Producer Rishi Rajani on a Rising Voices Film Foundation invested short film entitled “Only The Moon Stands Still.” Mardy played the lead in that film, which was screened at the Tribeca film festival in New York.
Ma’s most recent role, “Chen,” is in the 2023 Disney Plus feature film, “Chang Can Dunk.” She will soon also be seen as “Mrs. Chin” in the Disney + TV series “American Born Chinese,” and in Lulu Wang’s Amazon series “Expats,” in which Ma plays opposite to Nicole Kidman. In her spare time, Ma is a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, performs stand-up comedy at various LA comedy clubs, and enjoys playing the drums.
