Summary
Angel Studios’Sighttells the incredible real-life journey of renowned eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang. Wang grew up in China during the country’s seismic shift that was the Cultural Revolution and worked to find a way to emigrate to the United States. Directed by Andrew Hyatt and written by Hyatt, John Duigan, and Buzz McLaughlin,Sightis a story of perseverance, determination, and success against the odds.
Sightexplores the life of its subject by jumping between timelines, giving audiences a look at both the young Ming and an adult Dr. Wang. A key figure from Dr. Wang’s life, Dr. Misha Bartnovksy, is played by theversatile Greg Kinnear, who viewers may know fromAs Good as It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine, orMystery Men.InSight, Kinnear takes on the role of a mentor while bringing welcome moments of humor to Dr. Ming’s fantastic tale.
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Screen Rantinterviewed Greg Kinnear about his work onSight. Kinnear discussed working with Dr. Wang on capturing authenticity and injecting some levity into the story and touched on a rumor that he was up for the role of Qui-Gon Jinn inStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Greg Kinnear On Joining Sight
Screen Rant: Was this a story you had any familiarity with? And was there something you responded to the most when you got the script?
Greg Kinnear: No, I had no familiarity with it at all. I do feel like, in the last few years, there have been some Asian American stories that have been told, but there have historically not been a lot. It’s not unusual that this would be, “Oh, an immigrant story that I haven’t heard of.” I thought the story itself was quite powerful.
I always say timing is everything in these situations. We were in COVID and had been basically locked down for a year and a quarter or something. The decision had been made that movies were slowly going to limp back into process, and they sent this to me with the idea of moving to Canada and locking me into a house for two weeks by myself. I was told this before I read it—I just want to set the table. I was like, “Yeah, okay, let’s check this thing out.”
But honestly, I thought it was such an incredible story, and it so quickly put my own woes into perspective. It’s such a powerful story of a kid with so few opportunities and so much adversity against him. The fact that he was able to survive the Cultural Revolution in China, get out of that situation, get to the United States with a few bucks in his pocket, face adversity and racism, and ultimately succeed was really powerful. It’s a true-life story about an unusually successful person who shared their gifts. It’s very hard to tell that in a human story that an audience can track and follow, but I was quite taken with the script, and once I got over the idea of being locked in house for two weeks—which about did me in—I was like, “All right. Let’s go do it.”
Dr. Wang Was An Invaluable Resource During Shooting
And you had Dr. Wang on set for a lot of shooting.
Greg Kinnear: We did, and thank goodness we did. I spent about an hour and a half trying to figure out how to Zoom with you this morning. I am a Luddite, so to have a master craftsman in that world to talk to, to get any guidance from when you’re standing there holding whatever gizmos you’re holding, was really useful in terms of trying to sell it to the audience.
Was there a specific thing that you leaned on him the most for? You did have to rattle off a lot of terminology.
Greg Kinnear: I don’t know that there was a particular thing. That was part of the job. Ultimately, Misha Bartnovsky, who I play, was Dr. Wang’s friend and confidant. He was a sounding board. He was a mirror, in a way. But I’m kind of behind [Dr. Wang] as he’s very much guiding this story.
In all these cases, you never know, right? I didn’t know Terry (Chen) before. I knew his work, but I hadn’t worked with him. So, you hope that you may create a rapport. Of course, after we were both locked up for two weeks, we were hugging on the set. I felt like we really did connect, and he was wonderful in terms of telling the story in an honest way.
Greg Kinnear Advocated For More Humor & Lightness In The Movie
As Dr. Bartnovsky, you’re bringing a mix of wisdom and levity to a lot of moments, which is really nice. Was there any side of the role that was more challenging than the rest?
Greg Kinnear: In the original draft that Andrew Hyatt, the director, sent, there wasn’t a lot of humor. There was some, but I think that was one of the things that we worked on—to try to find those moments. The film is certainly not a bleak story, it’s a very hopeful story, but it takes some time to get there. You’re following some real adversity in terms of Dr. Ming’s story. But when [he and Dr. Bartnovsky] are together and you’re telling the story of trying to help this girl—yeah, we tried to add some levity to it.
There’s More To Dr. Ming’s Story Than Sight
Did you have a scene that was the most impactful for you during filming, or one that stuck with you the longest?
Greg Kinnear: I think the general sense I had was just being taken with the story, and having a great deal of respect for Dr. Wang and what his journey was. He was on set, and [it was great] not only [having] a springboard in terms of how to sell the technology of all this, but also having him tell stories about his own life. A movie’s a movie, so you have to follow the specifics of the story we’re telling, but this guy has a full life, and wrote a book about it. There’s a lot more than is in the movie, so it was nice to hear some of that.
Greg Kinnear Reflects On Mystery Men & Addresses A Rumor That He Almost Played Star Wars’ Qui-Gon Jinn
You are the first person I’ve met who was inMystery Men, which is a movie I have a lot of great memories with. I’m curious if and how that movie still shows up in your life—if you get approached about it often, or if you reminisce with cast members?
Greg Kinnear: It’s present in the sense that the Zoom I did right before you brought it up as well. It’s funny because it’s certainly not the lead reference that someone might approach me about, but it comes up periodically, and people were real fans of that movie. I love that cast. We had the most insane cast of actors working on that film. And, you know, it was a, it was a kooky [experience.] The amount of money they spent, the sets were amazing, all practical—this is way before CGI, obviously. It was a great joy to participate in that. I don’t think we had a third act very well figured out when we did a table read one time. We just stopped on, like, page 70, and were like, “Oh, we’ll figure the rest of that out.”
It’s also the 25-year anniversary of theStar Warsmovie you were in consideration for, so I’ve heard and read.
Greg Kinnear: Was I? Nobody told me!
Wow, interesting.
Greg Kinnear: Yeah, I never knew this. Honestly—I’m not being coy. I’ve never heard that. Which one? Who played me?
Liam Neeson—The Phantom Menace.
Greg Kinnear: Damn. Good one to get. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is true, what a missed opportunity for them.
About Sight
Sight, starring Greg Kinnear (as Misha Bartnovsky) and Terry Chen (as Dr. Ming Wang), follows the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon. Drawing upon the grit and determination he gained from a turbulent uprising in his youth, Dr. Wang sets out to restore the sight of a blind orphan.
Check back soon for our interview withSightstar Terry Chen and subject Dr. Ming Wang.
