Dichen Lachman

Dichen Lachman (born 22 February 1982) is a Nepali-born Australian actress and producer of German and Tibetan descent. She appeared in the soap opera Neighbours as Katya Kinski and in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama television series Dollhouse as Sierra. Lachman portrayed Suren in the American remake of Being Human as a main character during the show's second season. Lachman has also starred in the 2014 film Lust for Love and had a recurring role in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Jiaying, Skye's Inhuman, ageless mother. Early life Lachman (བདེ་ཆེན།) was born in Kathmandu, where she lived until she was eight years old. She moved to Adelaide, Australia in late 1988 with her family. Her mother is Tibetan and her Australian father is of German heritage. She attended West Lakes Primary School, Gilles Street Primary School, Norwood Morialta High School, St Mary's College, Adelaide, Annesley College and the University of Adelaide. Lachman moved to Los Angeles shortly after she finished with the Australian TV drama Neighbours in 2007. Career Lachman filmed an ad for Wanadoo which was filmed in Australia and aired in the United Kingdom. In 2005, she joined the cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Katya Kinski. She had auditioned for the role of Elle Robinson, but the producers decided to create the part of Katya for her. Lachman played a small role in the feature film Aquamarine. After she finished shooting the role of Aaren in the film Bled, Lachman joined the cast of the film Aztec Rex in Hawaii. In an interview with The Soap Show, Lachman said she had appeared on the BBC television show Ready Steady Cook while visiting England in late 2006. In the interview, she explained that she was in Los Angeles to advance her acting career, but said she would love to work in the UK and Australia. On 26 March 2008, it was announced that Lachman would portray Sierra in the television series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. Her character is an Active (or "doll"), whose real name is Priya Tsetsang. Sierra is one of many who can be "programmed" with multiple personalities and abilities to engage in specific assignments. In an interview with ScifiNow, Lachman responded to the rumor that she would star in the upcoming television show based on Star Wars by saying, "I am a huge George Lucas fan. I love those movies and it would be a dream come true—I'd love to do it, it would be incredible." She was named one of the 100 hottest women on screen for 2009, by the lesbian media site AfterEllen.com. "What a privilege to be there," she said. She guest starred as an insurance agent/street racer on NCIS: Los Angeles. She also appeared as Amy Hanamoa, the widow of a murdered police officer, in an episode of Hawaii Five-0. Lachman made a guest appearance in an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, for its fourth series Torchwood: Miracle Day. Additionally, in 2011 it was announced in Variety that Lachman would be joining the cast of Being Human as a series regular. Lachman also made a brief appearance in the web-series The Guild during Season 5, episode 8 as a party guest during a gaming convention. In 2012, it was announced Lachman would be joining the Shawn Ryan–driven pilot Last Resort for ABC, and she subsequently appeared as a main character during the show's 13-episode run. She also guest starred in the second season of the Jane Espenson scripted web series, Husbands. Between 2010 and 2013, while working on other productions, Lachman and her close friend Anton King produced Lust for Love. King wrote the script in 2010 and used Kickstarte to raise funds to make the movie. The initial goal was to raise US$70,000; however, when the deadline was reached on 11 November 2011 over 1,500 people had pledged money, with a final figure of US$101,030. To complete the movie, additional funds were raised through friends and family. British filmmaker Jack Wylson came on board as a producer, Australian actor Adam J. Yeend as co-producer, and Adam Bricker as director of photography. Alessandro Ongaro of Luna Pictures Entertainment also made major contributions during post production. In 2014, Lachman began shooting in Canada, where she joined the cast of The 100 in the role of Anya and had a recurring role on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. On 11 June 2015, a new movie called Too Late, starring Lachman, was released during the Los Angeles Film Festival. On 22 October 2015, it was announced that Lachman landed a recurring role on the third season of Michael Bay’s action-adventure TNT series The Last Ship. Lachman had been cast as Jesse, the helicopter pilot who lives off the grid. She is set to star as Reileen Kawahara in Netflix's upcoming television series, Altered Carbon, which is currently in production.