1937 – H. B. Warner
Lost Horizon
Henry Byron Warner did his job, and he did it well enough. True, the character was white washed, as most ethnic roles were back in the 1930s. Warner wasn’t even close to Chinese, nor did he look it, even under the makeup that did its best to make him appear Asian. And no, dressing someone Chinese clothing does not make him look Chinese. Maybe that’s why he had so many scenes in which his face was either partially covered, or in heavy shadow.
Chang was a rather simple character. There was no complexity to the role, and I don’t think Warner was required to stretch himself as an actor. The part was fairly uninteresting and unmemorable. I’m not saying Warner did a bad job. I’m just saying that the role wasn’t particularly Oscar-worthy. There I said it.
Chang was a calm, mild-mannered man who took those qualities to the extreme. He was educated, cultured, and clearly British, belying the ethnic name of Chang. He was the host of the fabled Shangri-La, the mythical Himalayan paradise whose inhabitants live in peace and serenity, their lives measured in centuries instead of decades. They have all the comforts of the outside world without its problems and unrest. But now I’ve gone on to describing Chang’s environment instead of Chang, himself. That’s how unremarkable the character was.
In fact, the most interesting scene in which Warner took part was one in which Chang was invited to a room with the story’s protagonists, and accused of lying to everybody. They threatened him, saying that they would not allow him to leave the room until he told them all the truth. His response was given with a gentle smile, saying that the enigmatic leader of the city of Shangri-La wanted to see Mr. Conway, at which point he was allowed to leave the room.
And that was it. No conflict, no complexity, no character arc, no development. There just wasn’t much that H. B Warner could do with the part. He played it the only way it could be played, and that was all he could do. To be honest, I’m not really sure why he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.