Growing up, I never saw any Asian faces on TV, so it didn't feel like a viable option.
In Hollywood, there's not a ton of roles for Asian people. So a lot of it is waiting and waiting and waiting.
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.
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.
Growing up, my favorite movies were 'Forrest Gump,' 'Shawshank Redemption,' 'Gladiator' - none of them really had Asian leading men.
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.
I never grew up thinking, 'Why aren't there any Asians?' But then Lucy Liu came on, and I was like, 'Oh my God, she is my favorite.' I was nothing like her, but I just loved her because she was the only Asian I saw.
