FROM FANBOY TO FAME YOSON'S RISE TO STARDOM

The Kiwi actor shares his adventures on and off screen

- Leena Tailor

You can't blame Yoson An for “nerding out” while sitting in a cockpit filming with Gerard Butler for two weeks. The Chinese-born Kiwi star still pinches himself about working opposite the legendary actor in the 2023 movie Plane, which went to number one on Netflix.

“I straight up told Gerry how big a fan I was,” Yoson recalls. “I was like, ‘Dude, I grew up watching all your movies!’ I loved him as King Leonidas from 300 and in The Phantom Of The Opera. Back in my musical days, I sang his Phantom tune Music Of The Night and now I have a video of us singing it together!”

It's one of many pinch-me moments the actor, 33, has experienced during his impressive rise to global fame. While he never considered an acting career growing up in China, his love for the screen started young as he got hooked on Chinese soap operas.

After stints in Macau, Hong Kong, Perth and Sydney, Yoson's family settled in Auckland when he was around eight. An anime enthusiast, he ventured into musicals after a teacher found him playing piano and encouraged him to take part in the school's production of Les Misérables.

From behind the piano, Yoson noticed how fun it looked to perform on stage, so he joined the choir, then landed the role Yertle the Turtle in