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Diana Lin

Diana Lin

Actor · Born January 1, 1962 (64) · Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

Diana Lin Xiaojie (also called Xiaojie Lin) is a Chinese Australian actress. For her performance in Under the Skin she was nominated for the 1994 AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama. Lin began her career in China where from 14 years old she started training for the Chinese Beijing Opera Company as a singer before going to Shanghai and taking up acting with the city's Theatre Academy. She started taking on film roles such as Shang Jie with the Pearl River Film Studio in Guangzhou. She migrated to Australia in the early 1990s, basing herself in Sydney. Her first featured role there was in the fifth episode of 1993's anthology TV series Under The Skin. Soon after she moved away from acting due to the lack of good Asian roles. She made her return to acting in The Family Law. She then went on to land a major role in the 2019 American film The Farewell.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1962 (64)
From
Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
Works as
Actor
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 1% in 30 days

What are Diana Lin's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
27%
Survival
21%
Bonds
19%
Morality
11%
Society
11%
Ideas
11%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Bittersweet
2
Melancholic
2
Contemplative
2
Hopeful
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Diana Lin's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Diana Lin's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Road Not Taken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Fight Against Evil 3(2026)

    as Wang Xiuqin

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Miracles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Show 2 episodes · as Zhang Li Fen

  • Those Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Show 36 episodes · as Yue Xiu'e

  • Big World(2024)

    as Chen Suqun

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Interior Chinatown(2024)

    Show 10 episodes · as Lily Wu

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • The Long Season(2023)

    Show 12 episodes · as Luo Meisu

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • The Portable Door(2023)

    as Mrs. Dao

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Lonely Blue Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Mother

  • The Farewell(2019)

    as Lu Jian

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Australia Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Madam

  • The Family Law(2016)

    Show 11 episodes · as Maisy

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows

  • Suicide Club in Southeast Asia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Actor

  • Women's Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    as Pregnant Woman

  • Business Circles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Actor

  • Cops and Desperados (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    as 梅容

  • 警官与侦探 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Actor

  • 幸福不是毛毛雨 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Actor

  • Country Folk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    as 白银

  • 人生没有单行道 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Actor

  • Summer Never Ends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Grandma

  • Whispers of Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • 老去的家 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · as Lin Haixia

Career shape

Star power in the 87th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 23 titles, 20 of them dated from 1984 to 2026; peak year 2024.

Biggest box office

Big World (2024)

$110M worldwide

Highest rated

The Long Season (2023)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Interior Chinatown (2024)

Film career

19842026

Peak 2024 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting23 of 23: 23 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score71st

By decade

1980s7 · acting1990s1 · acting2010s3 · acting2020s9 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Diana Lin's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

93rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 3 are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Broadly Agreed1

Most loved · actor

The Long Season (2023)

Midcredits 99th · 94% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Diana Lin's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 17 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Diana Lin work with?

People who share at least 2 of Diana Lin's MovieCove titles; Tzi Ma shares the most, 2.