Yunjin Kim Quotes

More Asians need to be on television as a positive role model.

I've always wanted to be in comedy... growing up with Asian parents and not seeing yourself represented in media - it was always just a daydream.

I was very conscious of the world being this very crazed place that demanded explanation. I didn't see a whole lot of people who looked like me doing it on television.

If you watch any show that stars white people, white people aren't coming up to them like, 'Thank you for showing my face on the big screen.' Because they see their faces in popular culture all the time.

It still baffles my brain that I actually get to portray a character on American television that's this gay, femme-y Filipino guy.

When I was growing up, in the '80s and '90s, I just never really saw myself reflected in the things that I had a liking for. It makes a difference.

Growing up, the only Asian face I saw on air was Connie Chung or extras on M*A*S*H. That was it. You could either be Chinese delivery guy No. 4 or maybe one day read the news.

You'd see Asian faces on TV, but it was so rare, especially in the comedy space - that for me was Ken Jeong doing stand-up... it's amazing that I can call him a friend now and a colleague.

Growing, up I didn't really have anyone to look up to. There weren't a lot of Mexicans on T.V. except for those in boxing.

There's a reality that the market is changing, and the stories of the Latino community need to be out because there's a huge audience in need of films that would represent them.

Growing up, I remember watching TV, and I didn't see a lot of people who looked like me, especially someone who passed as a glamorous model on a mainstream TV show.

When I started acting... the community was largely Chinese-American or Japanese-American, so even then I felt like a minority in the minority.

There were so few examples of Asian or Asian-American lead characters on American TV or even in the movies. And the ones that have existed for so long were either stereotypical or offensive in some way, or just not reflective of the lives of people in the community.

I think it's something much bigger than just pro wrestling and the industry I work in. It's across all media. You look at Hollywood movies: there's not the Muslim hero or the guy who looks like me and has a name like mine who is portrayed in a positive manner or in a leading role. So, growing up, I didn't have a role model that looks like me.

It's important, as a young person of color, to see yourself reflected in the media.

When 'Joy Luck Club' came out, I kind of became a role model for the Asian acting community. I started to talk at colleges and emcee charity things. I'm much more connected to my sense of being Asian now.

A lot of the time, because we don't have many Latinx scenarios on the landscape, not just in television or film and other media, we haven't gotten the chance to tell our story from our point of view.

You can watch TV and see experts of all different colours and hues. But the minute you get past nine o'clock and you're in primetime drama land, it's like entering another world, one that doesn't reflect the diversity of the society that we have in Britain in 2016.

When I found out that I'm playing Nagini, I thought it was meaningful because it's an important character in the 'Harry Potter' series. 'Harry Potter' is a franchise film with many Caucasian actors, so I thought many Korean viewers would be happy.

I didn't always see someone that I could relate to, that would tell me that being Black and gay is okay.

Every time I do something, I think, 'Am I portraying Asian people in the way I want to be portrayed?'

Other Asian actors, especially American-born actors, sometimes shy away from immigrant roles.

I've always been very passionate about trying to have Asian-Americans or Asian faces be more prominent in mainstream media.

You rarely see a Filipino family on TV.

'Crazy Rich Asians' has been compared to 'Black Panther,' but I feel like that's a false equivalency. The idea that there's only this film for Asians and that film for African Americans - it's so binary. I don't think it's like that at all. There should be and will be many films and many stories. Hopefully this just opens the floodgates.