It's a long-accepted truism that “representation matters” when it comes to how minorities are portrayed in the media. For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, who make up less than 6% of the U.S. population, getting the chance to tell their stories or share their perspectives in the public sphere is a rare opportunity. When those opportunities are limited to a select few minor TV and movie roles, it means a large portion of the U.S. population will understand members of the community only through the characters shown on screen, who are often one-dimensional and stereotypical. The more Asian American faces there are in Hollywood, then, the more multifaceted and complex the community is understood to be, and the more opportunities there are for Asian Americans to stake their claim in America’s complicated history.
The entertainment industry has come a long way since the days of Mickey Rooney’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s character, Mr. Yunioshi, or Long Duk Dong (played by Gedde Watanabe) in Sixteen Candles, both of which depicted racist caricatures meant for comic relief. As veteran actor and activist George Takei pointed out, “When you have a minority leading actor, the story is told from that vantage point.” As such, in recent years, there has been a big push for Asian Americans to land leading roles and to take the helm behind the camera. Films such as Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, and Minari have all brought Asian Americans to the big screen, and shows including Killing Eve, Fresh Off the Boat, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have cast Asian Americans in lead roles, elevating their voices within Hollywood. But there is still a long way to go. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, here are 12 quotes from Asian American celebrities speaking to the importance of representing their cultural heritages on screen.
My dear Asian American friends, we are building our own damn houses. We got the tools, the ability, and we definitely got the style. Just because others don't see it, doesn't mean we don't have it. We do. I've seen it.Constance Wu on the cultural significance of "Crazy Rich Asians"
Constance Wu, who starred as the matriarch of the Huang family for six seasons of ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat, has been an advocate for Asian American representation on screen. She’s had leading roles in films as wide-ranging as 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians and 2019’s Hustlers, and most recently starred in Christopher Makoto Yogi’s I Was a Simple Man.
Sometimes I wonder if the Asian American experience is what it’s like when you’re thinking about everyone else, but nobody else is thinking about you.”Steven Yeun on explaining the Asian American experience to a largely white audience in "Minari"
Steven Yeun’s fame might seem sudden to some, but for fans of The Walking Dead, the actor’s star has been on the rise for quite some time. The Seoul-born, Michigan-raised actor played Glenn Rhee on the cult favorite zombie series, but has taken a turn toward realism with his recent projects, including 2021’s Minari, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, making him the first Asian American to receive that honor.
Representation is a problem, because our movies don't really depict the world as we see it around us, especially for female characters. There are less opportunities for women to play incredible roles. And then if you're a woman of color, that's put you in an even bigger stereotype.Priyanka Chopra on the need for more South Asian faces in TV and film
Though Priyanka Chopra got her start on the beauty pageant circuit, the talented entertainer's crossover into acting, singing, and dancing was inevitable. She made a name for herself in the U.S. in the role of Alex Parish on the sci-fi series Quantico, and has since starred in the romantic comedy Isn’t It Romantic and the class satire White Tiger, as well as a number of music videos with her husband, singer-songwriter Nick Jonas.
I saw Joy Luck Club when it came out… with my longtime collaborator, Mina Shum. We’d just done Double Happiness and we saw this movie and we were weeping. Like, shuddering weeping. Weeping more than really the film deserved. Our experience was much bigger than what was being called for. And we haven’t even scratched the surface of how deeply we need to see ourselves represented. And how it’s not just leaving the images to the outside voices. It’s finding it within ourselves.Sandra Oh on the necessity of Asian Americans seeing themselves represented on screen
Actress Sandra Oh’s breakout role was undoubtedly as Meredith Grey’s best friend, Dr. Cristina Yang, on the long-running TV series Grey’s Anatomy. But in 2018, she landed the role of a lifetime, as titular character Eve Polastri in Killing Eve, for which she won Best Actress at the Emmys in 2019, making her the first Asian American woman ever to do so.
When you have a minority leading actor, the story is told from that vantage point. We don’t have that opportunity to tell that story from the Asian American vantage point, or the Asian vantage point, in Hollywood films. So we’ve got a ways to go yet, but we’ve made tremendous progress.George Takei on how the industry has and has not changed over the years
George Takei is a Hollywood icon, not only to his devoted legions of Star Trek fans (he played Lt. Sulu on the original series), but also to countless Asian American actors and aspiring actors. The Los Angeles native is an outspoken advocate for Asian American and Pacific Islander representation and LGBTQ+ rights, and has had countless cameos and roles in TV shows and movies over the years, including Fresh Off the Boat, The Simpsons, and The Twilight Zone.
We don’t express [love] like Americans. It’s done in so few words … done with our actions. Look at all the sacrifice, look at all we do for each other on a daily basis; the love is assumed in our homes and culture and community. We’re not going to have a scene. I’m not going to define love in an Asian American family through your blender or lens.Eddie Huang on the importance of depicting Asian Americans outside of the white gaze in his film "Boogie"
Eddie Huang is well-known as an advocate of authenticity within the Asian American community. Over the years, he has been a chef, an entrepreneur, an author, a TV host, a director, and so much more. In his latest endeavor, the 2021 film Boogie, Huang adamantly centered an Asian American character and family that might seem unlike the ones Hollywood has typically depicted, in a push for three-dimensional, complex characters on screen.
I guess the goal is that, eventually we can be at a place where we won’t see white people playing Asian people anymore. We’re not there yet [laughs]. But in an ideal world you won’t see a Korean American playing a Taiwanese character, especially an immigrant character.Randall Park on feeling ambivalent about playing a Taiwanese character as a Korean American actor on "Fresh Off the Boat"
Though he may be best known as the dad on Fresh Off the Boat (playing opposite Constance Wu), Randall Park is fast becoming a Hollywood mainstay. The actor currently stars on the popular series WandaVision and Young Rock, and was a regular on BoJack Horseman (he voiced Moose, among other characters). In 2019, he also starred as the romantic lead in Always Be My Maybe, alongside comedian Ali Wong.
When I want to play this fun character who [has] big flaws and things like that, I sometimes think that I’m speaking for all Indian American women. And so I’m like, damn it, why wasn’t this [set] 75 years in the future? When you’re like, ‘Enough Indian American women. We’re sick of it! Too many!’ And I could just do what I want.”Mindy Kaling on the burden of representation playing the lead on "The Mindy Project"
Mindy Kaling is well aware that many of her characters are inherently unlikeable: On The Office, she played the sometimes-oblivious Kelly Kapoor; on her series The Mindy Project, she played the character Mindy Lahiri, who Kaling once described as "delusional." But the actress says that these decisions are deliberate — the characters that interest her, she says, are inherently flawed and complex.
There’s a misconception that I can’t relate to the quote-unquote "Asian American experience" because I didn’t grow up with an Asian mom and dad. And that’s just not true. I am Asian American, and so playing a girl who is half Korean, half white, but her white dad tried really hard to connect with her mom’s heritage — that’s very familiar to me.Lana Condor on playing mixed-race protagonist Lara Jean in "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before"
Gen Z found a true protagonist to root for in Lana Condor’s Lara Jean Covey, the hopelessly romantic teen caught up in one too many love triangles in Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (and its subsequent sequels). Even more exciting for Asian American fans was the fact that Condor was portraying a mixed-race teen, Lara Jean, a character with obvious ties to her Korean heritage.
Being Filipino growing up was a challenge. It took me a while to really own that part of who I was and to realize that it’s another part of me, you know? I’m a Filipino American. I’m a proud, out gay man. I love martial arts and I love barbershop music. And I love musical theater. And I love lifting weights. It was really tough as a kid trying to be something that was acceptable. Ultimately, I realized there’s a lot of pride in my culture and in what our ancestors went through, and … now, in this landscape, we all have an understanding of how hard it is to be here, let alone just accepting and [being] present to your authentic self.Vincent Rodriguez III on owning his cultural identity
Asian American men have historically been portrayed in very one-note ways in Hollywood: as kung fu masters, dorky nerds, mild-mannered store clerks, or evil villains. Vincent Rodriguez III broke that mold with his leading-man role on Crazy Ex Girlfriend, as caring and charismatic Josh Chan.
I think the more conversations we’re having — and the deeper those conservations go — the more Hollywood listens. And when I speak about Hollywood, it’s thousands and thousands of people, and some want to do the right thing. But it’s reaching the very, very top and getting everyone to understand why it’s important.Harry Shum Jr. on the hope that Hollywood will continue to champion representation and open up opportunities for Asian American actors
Before he was a breakout star on Glee, Harry Shum Jr. was a dancer whose claim to fame included stints as a backup dancer for Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez. Since then, however, he has achieved leading-man status on both the small and big screens: In addition to smaller roles on Awkwafina’s Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and in Crazy Rich Asians, he’s starred opposite Jessica Rothe in the 2020 film All My Life.
The way that the media portrays people is the way that they are then treated in real life. Anything I grew up being taunted with — the accent, the ‘ching-chongs’ — those are generated from characters or the way we are spoken about in standup comedy… So I latched on to strong Asian American idols — Margaret Cho, Lucy Liu — that represented us as truly authentic beings. Maybe not authentic, but just ourselves.Awkwafina on the importance of Asian American role models when she was starting out
Back in 2012, Awkwafina was best known as a YouTube rapper. By 2018, she was sharing the big screen with the likes of Sandra Bullock, Rihanna, and Anne Hathaway in Ocean’s 8 and stealing the show in Crazy Rich Asians, which premiered that same year. It was her role as Billi in 2019’s The Farewell, however, that won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
Photo credit: Kumiko SHIMIZU/ Unsplash
