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Samantha Wan

Samantha Wan

Actor, director and writer

Samantha Wan is a Toronto-based actor-filmmaker. Co-creator and star of prime time comedy series, Second Jen, on CityTV. She also plays reoccurring character "Zoe Chow" in season two of Canada's hit series Private Eyes. She graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2011 then made her debut playing a principal role in the feature Devil's Mile and later moved to online series such as Leslieville, Ruby Skye P.I. and Out With Dad. Her first project Sudden Master was an online Kung Fu series commissioned by OMNI TV. It accumulated numerous awards including "Best Action Series" at the Action On Film Festival and Vancouver Webfest. The AOF festival also awarded Wan with the "Woman With A Vision" Award for her work as a producer and creator and best Female Action Performer of the Year. Samantha also won Best Actress in a Drama at the 2016 Hollyweb Festival for Sudden Master. Behind the camera, Wan co-directed the shorts "Where is Kitty Go Lightly" and "Second Jen Short film" (2014). Samantha is also a dancer, with a particular love for jazz and urban street dance. A fourth generation martial artist, studying Wing Chun under Grand Master Sunny Tang. Coupled with her fight skills, Wan is a certified combatant for stage and screen with Fight Directors of Canada.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Actor, director and writer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Down 13% in 30 days

What are Samantha Wan's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
43%
Self
23%
Society
15%
Survival
10%
Morality
9%
Friendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 1 · Intense 1

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

Steady 5 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 4 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
4
Hopeful
4
Warm
4
Romantic
3
Tense
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Feel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet1
  • 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 Samantha Wan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Samantha Wan'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

17 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • Head Over Heels(2024)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Mistletoe Time Machine(2022)

    Teleplay

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Road Trip Romance(2022)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Run the Burbs(2022)

    Show 12 episodes · as Cathy

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows

  • Love at Sky Gardens(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Expecting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Ali

  • The Kindness of Strangers(2019)

    as Receptionist

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Frankie Drake Mysteries(2017)

    Show 2 episodes · as Ai Lin

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows

  • Reel Women Seen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Samantha

  • The Handmaid's Tale(2017)

    Show 1 episode · as Aunt Claudia

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • Second Jen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Show 18 episodes · Co-Director · Co-Executive Producer · Creator · Story Editor · as Jennifer 'Jen' Wu

  • Private Eyes(2016)

    Show 47 episodes · as Zoe Chow

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows

  • Sudden Master (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 5 episodes · Producer · Writer · as Alex Cheng

  • Devil's Mile(2014)

    as Suki

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • LESlieVILLE (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Show 11 episodes · as Sera

  • Ruby Skye P.I.: The Haunted Library(2012)

    as Ophelia Bedelia

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Divorce Photographer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Erin

Career shape

Star power in the 56th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 16 titles, 15 of them dated from 2013 to 2024.

Highest rated

Private Eyes (2016)

Midcredits 72nd

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting12 of 16: 10 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score50thDirecting4 of 16: 3 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting3 of 16: 1 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing2 of 16: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 16: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2010s9 · 9 acting · 2 crew2020s6 · 2 acting · 4 crew

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 Samantha Wan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 33rd percentile, the median of all 7; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 36th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

35thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Ruby Skye P.I.: The Haunted Library (2012)

90th percentile spread · 37% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Private Eyes (2016)

Midcredits 72nd · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 51/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 38. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

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.

Who does Samantha Wan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Samantha Wan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Tien shares the most, 3.

Cinematographers

Producers