Gemma Chan's law degree has been very useful for her acting career.
Gemma Chan
The 'Crazy Rich Asians' star studied at the prestigious Oxford University and though the subject used a "quite different part of the brain" to being in front of the camera, she believes studying has made it easier for her to learn scripts, and she's also very careful when it comes to checking her contracts.
She told Modern Luxury magazine: "It is quite helpful with the memorisation, I had to learn about 2,000 cases by heart, so I am fairly good at learning scripts quickly. On the whole, it is quite a different part of the brain: Law is very analytical, and acting is more instinctive and emotionally driven.
"But, it does come in handy with learning lines ― and reading my own contract."
While the 36-year-old star enjoyed the "challenge" of studying for her degree, she thinks she would have made a "pretty miserable lawyer".
Gemma is "grateful" to have been a part of 'Crazy Rich Asians' because she had never been part of a project that inspired so many "personal reactions" and she hopes the movie has heralded a change.
She said: "I have never been part of a project where people had such personal reactions to it. People come up to me on the streets or at the airport just to say thank you.
"I think it has to do with people feeling seen for the first time. It feels amazing to be a part of it, and, hopefully, it is just the start."
The 'Captain Marvel' actress recently admitted she is keen to play "history's losers".
She said: "History is written by the winners, but I'm interested in history's losers, finding those stories and helping to tell them."
Tagged in Gemma Chan