'Warrior': Olivia Cheng plays Ah Toy, the most desired Chinese woman of the wild wild west
Cinemax's upcoming series, 'Warrior', is a subtle replication of a very clever art of showmanship, and let's just say, it is the actors who have truly given the show its much-required edge. Based on the writings of Bruce Lee, 'Warrior' is set in Chinatown in the late 1800s, a time when San Fransisco was known for the notorious slave trade as thousands of Chinese men and women would be shipped in each day. Chinatown became a tiny and rather defamed replica of the nation in the West, and within itself, it managed to develop a living organism with its desirous lust and needs. Although Andrew Koji's Ah Sahm is the expected protagonist, yet, it is Olivia Cheng's Ah Toy who will certainly become a talking point on the show.
Cheng, who is renowned for her bold portrayal of unconventional women, holds up the real-life story of Ah Toy, a Cantonese-born American prostitute and madam in San Francisco, California, during the California Gold Rush, and perhaps, the first Chinese prostitute in San Francisco. Life was not a gold rush for Ah Toy, although as Cheng explains on the show, she was the only woman in Chinatown who was not for sale. Ah Toy endured an excruciatingly long travel across the sea on a steamboat, along with her husband, but was widowed even before the journey would take her to her destination. However, her quick wit and charming face soon made her an object of interest for the Captain and considering her own hapless situation, Ah Toy turned her misfortune into her greatest advantage.
