Gana Bayarsaikhan () is a Mongolian actress and model known for her role as "the girl" in the 2019 film Waiting for the Barbarians and as Tuva Olsen in the 2020 Sky TV series Intelligence.
Early life and career
Bayarsaikhan was born and raised in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She started her career as a model, and has appeared in Schön magazine. After finishing drama training, she took a coaching programme to help her accept her own speech and accent for auditions.
Bayarsaikhan made her screen acting debut as the android Jade in the 2015 film Ex Machina alongside Domhnall Gleeson. and secured small roles as Khutu in Ben-Hur (2016) and in Wonder Woman (2017).
Bayarsaikhan became the first Mongolian actress ever to play a lead role in a Hollywood movie when she was cast as "the girl" in the 2019 film Waiting for the Barbarians, which co-starred Johnny Depp and Mark Rylance, and premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2019, to which Bayarsaikhan attended. Director Ciro Guerra described how Bayarsaikhan and the other 14 Mongolian actors shared their culture, enriching the film in the process.
Bayarsaikhan plays Tuva Olsen, a main character in the 2020 Sky TV series Intelligence, alongside David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed. Series 2 of Intelligence was released in 2021.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRole2014 Ex Machina Jade 2016 Ben-Hur Khutu2017 Wonder Woman Throne Room Amazon 2018 Sweet Lies (short film) Honey2019 Mad Lord (short film) Sokushitsu2019 Waiting for the Barbarians The Girl 2020 Three Dots and a Dash (short film) Nikita Hayashi
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2019 Peaky Blinders Li 1 episode ("The Loop")2020-2021 Intelligence Tuva Olsen Main role - 12 episodes 2021 Queens of Mystery Yetao 2 episodes - Modern Art of Murder 1 & 22022 Documentary Now Masho 2 episodes - Soldier of Illusion, Parts 1 & 2
References
External links
Profile Models: Gana Bayarsaikhan ScottMarshall Agency: Gana Bayarsaikhan