Eric Nam Quotes

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

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

When I came on to 'Iron Fist,' it was really Colleen Wing that sold it for me. I thought it was a good opportunity to see a really strong female Asian American.

I would love to be on 'Glee,' thus furthering the myth that I'm a gay man.

Prior to 'Tokyo Drift,' the iconic perception of Asians in Hollywood films has been either the Kung Fu guy, the Yakuza guy or some technical genius. It used to be such a joke, to be laughed at rather than with.

My hope is that shows like 'Fresh Off the Boat' open the door for even more of those kinds of characters for Asian actors and actresses.

There's a great myth about cartoonists, writers and people that are on TV.

Hollywood panders to the 18-to-34 crowd. That demographic doesn't care about race and the package it comes in. They care about the hottest chick. They just like hot chicks.

It's a better time for actresses on TV than on film.

Growing up, I never saw Asian-Americans on TV at all.

As an Asian-American actor, I believe it is important to never settle for the status quo. I feel a responsibility to do everything in my power to create positive perceptions of Asian Americans through my work.

Growing up biracial, I didn't have someone to look up to watching TV or movies. Halle Berry was the closest one who looked like me. I'm happy to see more biracial people on screen, and I'm happy to represent for the little girls who didn't have someone who looked like me on TV.

Let's face it. How often do you see an Asian face in films and television? They are practically invisible. Now and then, you will get one, and, interestingly, he gets the role of a scientist. Isn't that interesting?

I want to see more Asian. I want to see more Latin. I want more Indian. There's more than Mindy Kaling out there, guys! There's more than Bai Ling.

The truth of the matter is, there were shows that depicted black characters that were on in the '90s, and they gave everybody a glimpse into the black experience. And then they disappeared.

When I was in school, you never saw anyone who looked like us that was on TV. And that was really weird for me because there's so many people of South Asian descent in America - in the world.

Even though there's a lot of horror from Asia in the American cinematic tradition, I hadn't seen Asians at the center of it.

I just didn't see anyone on TV who looked like me, and then I saw George Takei being cool and piloting the spaceship on television.

We all know we're conditioned from music and television, so for us, we take great privilege in being role models, and having an impressionable audience its important for us to make sure what we're doing is in line with them.

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.

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.

I've done drag many, many years, but TV is a huge, powerful thing.

At the end of the day, I want to do film, and I want to do TV, but I grew up on stage, and I love music.

I didn't grow up with a lot of role models necessarily when I started out - there weren't many people who looked like me on TV. Not in England.

There were so many more opportunities in K-pop for a young Asian American singer.