WITH AN EYE ON ... : Even after a string of sad to tragic roles, Vivian Wu is joyful

This year has been a productive one for actress Vivian Wu, who this week is featured in “Danielle Steele’s Message From Nam” on NBC.

The actress, recently named one of the 50 “most beautiful people in the world” by People magazine, also has prominent roles in the current “The Joy Luck Club” and in Oliver Stone’s upcoming “Heaven and Earth.”

The flurry of activity couldn’t make her happier. “I know everything takes its pace, and for what I want and for what I am, I think it’s taking a great pace,” Wu says contentedly. “It’s happening wonderfully.”

“Frankly, it hasn’t been real difficult,” Wu says of juggling her busy year. “I think I’ve been really, really lucky.”

Most of her roles this year have been of women with tragic lives, presenting acting challenges. “I’m not like that at all,” she explains with a laugh. “I think I’m a very happy-go-lucky person.”

In the two-part “Message From Nam,” Wu plays a Vietnamese woman who is passionately in love with a U.S. soldier.

“She devoted a lot of her life to him and even bore him a son,” Wu says. “But when he is killed during the war, she cannot face the fact that she has to raise an Amerasian child. It’s just not acceptable in (Vietnamese) culture. She agonizes over whether she should remain in Vietnam or try to begin a new life in the United States.”

This month, Wu will begin work in a leading role on the miniseries “Vanishing Son,” which was written and will be directed by Rob Cohen, who was responsible for “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.”

“Vanishing Son” focuses on the experiences of Chinese students who come to the United States, a subject close to the actress’ heart. Born in Shanghai, Wu began her acting career in China at 16. She later came to the United States on a student visa and attended Pacific College in Hawaii.

She describes her miniseries role as that of “a new woman, a modern Chinese girl. She knows how to control her life in order to get by.”

While Wu is eager to tackle the part, she also looks forward to the day when she can portray a heroine who is only incidentally Asian. I want to play a woman who would probably enjoy doing everything, she says. That would be an Asian breakthrough, because we haven’t had a (heroine) who is who she is: an individual as opposed to an Asian image. I want the audience to see another side of me that has nothing to do with tha image, that has nothing to do with my past. That, i think, would be my breakthrough.

“Danielle Steel’s Message From Nam” airs Sunday and Tuesday at 9 p.m. on NBC.