Who is Sebastian Lee?

May 31, 2023 6:50 AM

Sebastian Lee, played by Thomas Chaanhing, is a single episode character on Transatlantic. He is portrayed as a filmmaker but I cannot find him in real life. Any idea who he was or who the character is based on?
posted by donpardo to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Wifredo Lam?
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:32 AM on May 31, 2023

I haven't seen the tv show Transatlantic, but is there a chance the character is based on the famous cinematographer James Wong Howe? He worked on a film called Transatlantic in 1931, so it might be a filmmaker nod to his influences, especially shooting on ships:

> "In Transatlantic (1931) Howe pioneered in using a wide-angle lens, deep focus, and ceilinged sets to replicate shipboard claustrophobia"
posted by bluecore at 8:29 AM on May 31, 2023

Response by poster: It could be Howe*, but it would be odd to do that without explicitly using his name. I don't see any indication that Lam was a filmmaker.

*Derail: Howe was married to author and poet Sanora Babb who wrote, among other things, "Whose Names Are Unknown" a dust bowl novel. Her notes were allegedly given to John Steinbeck for "Grapes of Wrath". GoW and WNAU are very similar, both thematically and in specific plot points.
posted by donpardo at 8:54 AM on May 31, 2023

Response by poster: Update: I have just finished Julie Orringer's "The Flight Portfolio" the novel that inspired Transatlantic. Sebastian Lee is not mentioned. Side note: The novel is much better than the show.
posted by donpardo at 11:31 AM on July 31, 2023