Ching Chong Ling Long Portrayal: Asian American Actors in Hollywood
By: Nguyen
What is the reasoning behind the lack of Asian American actors in leading roles?
My opinion is that the movie studios have no guts to take a risk on Asian-American actors and of course systemic racism in the Entertainment industry.
Left: Jet Li, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen & Jackie Chan
When I ask my Non-Asian friends as well as Asian friends, “Can you name some Asian actors in leading roles?”, they always say: “Jackie Chan” and “Jet Li” (occasionally Bruce Lee). It’s pretty sad and funny that all these Asian actors are associated with martial arts and nothing else. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Asian men were always portrayed as “Mr. Miyagi” (wise elderly person), “kung fu masters”, “nerds”, “asexual friend” and so forth. What about Asian romantic leads, got any of those?
