Sonoya Mizuno Quotes

Growing up, I never saw any Asian faces on TV, so it didn't feel like a viable option.

I grew up accepting that my nationality was not depicted on TV or film. To be honest, it was something I didn't acknowledge as a kid. But once I realized my love for acting and the possibility of pursuing a career in it, I quickly noticed the absence of Asians in general and thought, 'Well, I'm gonna try to change that.'

We all know the power of film; we all know there's almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do.

It's always fun to see faces that are either familiar or resemble yours. I was fascinated by movies like 'Big Trouble in Little China' growing up because there were so many Asian people in it! The same with 'Year of the Dragon' or 'The Last Emperor'. It was just so great to see so many Asian actors working.

Honestly, I was watching Marvel films and was always crestfallen: Where are the super-Asians? People are looking to be represented by their heroes.

Iris is the Lois Lane of 'The Flash.' It's a really special role. Knowing they were willing to offer it to an African American - Iris is traditionally white - I knew how important this would be for so many people.

One of the great joys of my life post-'Friends' has been being approached by Asian women who have told me how much it meant to see an Asian face on their TV screen when they were growing up.

Quite honestly, I never thought it would be possible for Asians to make it in the States. But now I feel like it's totally changing. You see so many Asian celebrities now, and more and more of them are taking bigger roles in movies. I feel like everything has changed.

When I sold my first middle-grade novel in 2005, it wasn't that common to put an author photo on the back flap, but 24-year-old Korean-American me insisted. I wanted Asian girls to see my face. And more than that, I wanted them to see what is possible.

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

Seeing someone that you can relate to in the media is everything as a child, and a lot of people are not granted that luxury.

In the early days of my carer as an actor, I shared what was then the prevailing attitude of Negro performers :;that the content and form of a play or a film scenario was of little importance to us. What mattered was was the opportunity, which came so seldom to our folks ... Later I came to understand that the Negro artist could not view the matter simply in terms of of his individual interests, and that he had a responsibility to his people who rightfully resented the traditional stereotyped portrayals of Negros on stage and screen.

I hoped that I would be a lead in my career; of course that was a hope of mine. But I never thought I would be so lucky to be the lead of a romcom. Simply because I don't get those opportunities, for probably many reasons, but one of would likely be because I'm Asian.

The biggest compliment that I receive is when other black folks come up to me and say, 'You changed the way that I thought about Chris Darden.'

I want people, no matter who they are to be inspired by 'Black Panther.'

Representation makes a difference.

I hope that there's a little black boy somewhere in Montana that never thought that he would see a reflection of himself, and he turns on the television, like, 'Oh my God, thank you.'

'Black Panther' has made me embrace my natural black hair. The representation of natural black hair in the film has made me reflect on myself.

It's really empowering when you see yourself represented in entertainment and, especially, onstage when you're talking about how this country came to be.

To be a Miss World is to carry a burning torch. It is like action carried out by one to illuminate the lives of many.

Just as with the Miss South Africa platform, I understand the responsibility of being Miss Universe and the impact it has on millions of lives.

The images you see in media are vital to impacting not just what the world sees in terms of who can be a computer scientist, who can be techie, who can be a geek or who can be a creator; it also impacts the girls and what they internalize.

We really owe it to our world to infuse our entertainment with messaging.

There's part of me that would love to wear a ruffly collar and do a period drama, but that's not going to happen. You don't have Asians in those sorts of things.

If you take a step back, you realize that the TV landscape really has been... There have been some amazing shows in terms of representation, but not for Asian people.