Crystal Yu is an actor, director, and educator known for her captivating performances across film, television, and voiceover. She is currently filming Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender as Lady Poppy Beifong.  

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Crystal starred alongside Jason Watkins and Sir Ian McKellen in The One Note Man, a live-action short film shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards. Her recent credits include Sunrise (Lionsgate) with Guy Pearce, Sister Boniface (BBC/Britbox), Good Omens (Amazon), The Sandman (Netflix), Doctor Who (BBC America), Silverpoint (Hulu), Soulmates (AMC) and many more. She was the feisty but lovable Dr. Lily Chao in BBC's award-winning medical drama Casualty. She also worked closely with Claudia Black in Deus, a sci-fi thriller set in the orbit of Mars.  

 

In the world of gaming, Crystal is best known as the voice of Alter in the global AAA hit Apex Legends, as well as Li Tian Ning in Season 3 of Skull & Bones. Her other voiceover work includes Unknown 9: Awakening, Capes and Diablo IV.  

 

Beyond acting, Crystal has earned recognition as a writer and director. Her short film GRIT, created for the 2022 London 48 Hour Film Project, was nominated for Best Film and Best Direction, winning Best Actor and Best Cinematography. Are You Sleeping?, which she wrote and directed, premiered at the 2020 FrightFest Film Festival and was later nominated for Best Director Short Film at the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival. Questions to Love, an unusual love story created during the pandemic received an Honorable Mention at the Arts Film Awards and was selected for screening at the China Women's Film Festival.  

 

Crystal was a finalist for the 2020 Asian Women of Achievement Awards in Arts and Culture. Originally from Hong Kong, she left home at the age of 11 after being awarded a place at the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School in the U.K. Crystal is deeply passionate about ensuring inclusivity and accessibility in the arts and has been the patron of SLiDE Dance - an inclusive dance charity - since 2017.

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