I mean, the ones that got their fame in Hollywood.. not Jet Li or Jackie Chan whose obviously already a big star in Hong Kong.
For me it's Rick Yune. He's great both as protagonist and antagonist!
Shichinosuke Nakamura
shareHe's the emperor in The Last Samurai, right? Is he an American though?
shareit doesn't matter, he's Asian and an actor that worked in an American film with American stars.
shareYeah.. I just want to highlight some underapreciated Americans actors who happen to be an Asian descent. Sometimes I wonder why Hollywood often cast real Japanese or Chinese actors when there are many Americans that can also fit the requirements.
They don't cast many real African black actors, or native Spanish hispanic actors, do they? To be fair, they often cast a lot of real British and Irish actors too. Yet I find the whole native Asian, instead of Asian Americans, cast into American films and play along with American actors is an interesting phenomenon.
Asian actors are also cool though.
well, it goes like this, they (the studios) are not the government, they are private companies with private money, with private investors that are out to make a buck, they basically don't have to answer to anyone, so they do what they want when and how they want and they cast actors that they think will make them money, which is what it's all about,
shareDon't get me wrong, I'm not whining or anything. I'm not even an Asian American.
I just find this thing interesting and want some discussion.
So, why would casting native Asian is believed by producers to bring more money? I understand if the actor is already huge in Asia, like Jackie Chan or Donnie Yen. Asian audience would like to see them, regardless of the country of origin of the movie itself.
But for not very famous actors in Asia... I don't get it. Nakamura for example, I think he's famous in Japan only. I mean, the Chinese, Korean, and the whole South East Asian people won't even recognize him. So how can he bring more money for the movie, except maybe in Japan?
It didn't matter who they cast as the emperor in The Last Samurai, the money man was Tom Cruise, once he was on board, investment money just poured in, Nakamura had a very small part in the movie.
shareI love Ziyi Zhang, Tony Leung.
shareOh, i just remember James Hong. Everyone loves James Hong. He's been in movies since the '50s and has more than 500 films, tv episodes and videogames under his belt. Impressive!
shareJames Hong is very wealthy and owns a lot of real estate in Hollywood; but my guy is Al Leong. Everybody knows him--he's been in 69 movies or TV shows since 1983--but most people don't know his name. He's the little dude with the very long black hair and Fu Manchu mustache, and I think it's in his contract that his character has to die in every single thing he's in.
My gal is the First Lady of Martial Art, Michelle Yeoh. I have never seen a fighter with greater concentration (what the Japanese call Zanshin) or more precise form; and she is as good in straightforward movies (like Sunshine) as she is in martial art films. She is also the first woman to do her own stunts in a Jackie Chan movie, Supercop. One of the stunts was to jump a motorcycle onto the back of a moving train, and Michelle had never ridden a motorcycle before! And she ages amazingly well!
I just googled Al Leong and wow how can I not known his name. He's great and very likeable. Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhiyan) in the Raid movie reminded me of him. Apparently, he also has to die in every movie lol.
Michelle Yeoh is actually Malaysian and already very popular in Hong Kong and all over Asia before she played in American movies. She starred along with Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau and many other Hong Kong superstars. And yes, she ages amazingly well!
OOT but Cynthia Rothrock is almost a reverse version of Michelle Yeoh. An American actress that was also quite popular in Hong Kong movies.
My most memorable character has to be Harold Sakata, who captured my imagination with his portrayal as the iconic villain Oddjob in Goldfinger. I was a teenager when I first saw that film.
A couple of years later, I had the good fortune of moving to Hawaii. While there, I was enthralled to have the opportunity of watching him perform live as a professional wrestler. It was a mesmerizing experience for me because I was on the high school wrestling team.
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shareRinko Kikuchi in Babel
Sonoya Mizuno in Ex Machina
Zhan Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha
Sandra Oh in Sideways
Jamie Chung in Eden