The following is a list of significant characters who feature in the 2008 film Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood. Casting calls were held in Fresno, California, Detroit, Michigan, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, from which Eastwood selected ten Hmong American lead actors and supporting actors. Of them, only one was not a first time actor. Of the Hmong cast, five, including Bee Vang, one of the principal actors, were from the state of Minnesota. Ahney Her comes from Lansing, Michigan. The casting agency recruited thirty actors and over 500 extras. The firm recruited many Hmong actors from a Hmong soccer tournament in Macomb County, Michigan. Sandy Ci Moua, a Hmong actress based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, assisted with the film's casting of Hmong actors.