Do Thi Hai Yen (born October 1, 1982) is a Vietnamese actress. She grew up in Hanoi and graduated from the Vietnamese Ballet School after seven years of study.
In 1999, director Tran Anh Hung invited Hai Yen, only 17 at that time, to play a role in the movie “The Vertical Ray of the Sun” (France). The film was nominated at the Chlotrudis Awards in 2002.
In 2000, Hai Yen appeared again in the movie “Song of the Stork” (Singapore), by Jonathan Foo (Singapore) and Quang Binh (Vietnam). The film received the "Best Feature Film" award at the Milano Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for Grand Prix award at the Paris Film Festival in 2003.
In 2001, Hai Yen became a leading actress in Vietnam when she was selected in a competition attended by more than 2,000 candidates in Vietnam and overseas to play the main female character next to two world famous actors, Sir Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters, The Cider House Rules, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and Brendan Fraser (Gods and Monsters, The Mummy, Bedazzled, Crash), in “The Quiet American” directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Saint, Dead Calm). It was the first time in Vietnam’s history that a Vietnamese actress was selected as a main English speaking character in a Hollywood movie.
