Constance Wu said, “Crazy Rich Asians was on a bigger scale. People used to say, ‘Oh, well, she can’t carry a show. She can’t carry a movie.’ But that’s why it was hard for Asian Americans — they couldn’t carry a show or movie because nobody had ever let them.”
According to a recent study from McKinsey & Company, Asian Pacific Islander (API) representation in movies reached nearly 20% in 2022 — a significant increase from 3% in 2000 — but only 3% of that came from films produced in the US. Likewise, the researchers found that over two-thirds of API consumers find the available onscreen representation unsatisfyingly inauthentic.
Here are 27 celebs who spoke out about AAPI representation in Hollywood:
1.
In 2021, Olivia Rodrigo told People, “Representation in TV and media is so important. And I’m so glad that I can hopefully be an example for a little Asian girl out there, that they can do anything that they set their mind to.”
2.
In 2018, Sandra Oh told Vulture, “When I got the script for Killing Eve, I remember I was walking around in Brooklyn, and I was on my phone with my agent, Nancy. I was quickly scrolling down the script, and I can’t really tell you what I was looking for. So I’m like, ‘So Nancy, I don’t understand, what’s the part?’ And Nancy goes, ‘Sweetheart, it’s Eve, it’s Eve.’ In that moment, I did not assume the offer was for Eve. I think about that moment a lot. Of just going, how deep have I internalized this? [So] many years of being seen [a certain way], it deeply, deeply, deeply affects us. It’s like, how does racism define your work? Oh my goodness, I didn’t even assume when being offered something that I would be one of the central storytellers.”
3.
In 2021, Simu Liu told TIME100 Talks, “I can be someone I didn’t have as a kid…I loved comics as a kid, I loved superheroes, but I really didn’t see myself represented in that space. I really hope with [Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings], kids who are like me, who grew up similarly, can have that.”
4.
In 2022, Mindy Kaling told Today, “I think when my show Never Have I Ever debuted on Netflix, I remember thinking, like, before it came out, ‘This is a really specific story.’ It’s an Indian American family — and not only Indian but South Indian, which has its own specific cultural nuances. One of the members of the family is an immigrant, the mom, and then the cousin also is a more recent immigrant, and the girl is Indian American. So, it felt so specific to my lived experience. And you have this feeling in TV where you’re supposed to be doing things with broad appeal. And I was like, I wonder if this is going to be really niche? And I have never been more happily surprised that that show, you know, 40 million people watched that show when it came out.”
5.
During a 2023 TIFF event, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan said, “How many times was it the white girl? How many times was it the white girl that they chose? How many times did I want to be the white girl that they chose? Because then I realized I’m never gonna be the white girl because I’m a brown girl.”
6.
In 2023, Dinah Jane told People, “I’m the first female artist of Polynesian descent in the mainstream world to [open my own record label]. I want to give that platform to the next generation of Polynesian kids.”
7.
In 2022, Drew Afualo told Teen Vogue, “Polynesian people in mainstream media [are] like The Rock, Dinah Jane [of Fifth Harmony], Jason Momoa, and that’s it. It’s just the three of them, and like, if it’s not sports, we’re not really talked about.”
8.
In 2021, Charles Melton told Entertainment Weekly, “I was flying, and there was a 50-year-old guy who looked like my father, just a white American male. And, he was like, ‘I’m a huge fan, can I get a photo?’ After I got through security, he introduced me to his wife, and his wife was Chinese. They introduced me to their son, who is 9. And his wife looked to her son and said, ‘See, he looks like you. He’s a movie star.'”
9.
In 2021, Gemma Chan told British Vogue, “It’s only a fairly recent thing that Asian females have been able to be the protagonists of stories…Individual successes are one thing. But structurally, when you look at who can actually get projects green-lit in the UK, who are in those positions of power, those gatekeeping positions – there aren’t that many Asians. There aren’t many people of color in those positions.”
10.
In 2022, Bowen Yang told the RepresentASIAN Project, “As the sole writer of this movie, Joel [Kim Booster] shaped [Fire Island] in a way that was ultimately equitable. If I’m representing Howie as this honest representation of what the gay Asian American experience is like, that has a lot to do with Joel’s pretty lived-in, rounded-out experiences.”
11.
In 2023, Bretman Rock was the first openly non-binary person on the cover of Vogue Philippines. They told Good Morning America, “It’s truly a love letter to my baby self in the Philippines. Like, just even, you know, like, me being on the front of the cover of Vogue makes people feel like they could be that too…brown, gay kids at that. Like, we’re not supposed to be cover girls. We’re not supposed to be cover boys.”
12.
In 2021, Constance Wu told TIME, “[When Crazy Rich Asians came out] I was in a unique position, having that happen to me with two big-profile projects: first there was Fresh Off the Boat, which was seeing yourself represented on network American TV. That was something that really hadn’t happened in a long time. Crazy Rich Asians was on a bigger scale. People used to say, ‘Oh, well, she can’t carry a show. She can’t carry a movie.’ But that’s why it was hard for Asian Americans — they couldn’t carry a show or movie because nobody had ever let them.”
13.
In 2016, Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu told Entertainment Weekly, “The one thing I’m supposed to do is make this movie great and entertaining for everybody, and of course, to be as true and to make this the example of what a movie like this can really be so that others can follow, and we can open up a gate for other Asian stories.”
14.
In 2017, an Instagram commenter criticized Chloe Bennet for using a stage name. She replied, “Changing my name doesn’t change the fact that my blood is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin, or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese. It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn’t cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable.”
15.
In 2021, Rina Sawayama told TIME, “If it’s a unique story coming from a marginalized group, it’s important that labels let artists be themselves…I’m so fortunate I get to write songs for a living. I’m not going to waste that by writing whatever is already out there.”
16.
In 2024, Auli’i Cravalho told Teen Vogue, “More, more, more, more! It’s part of the reason I’m so excited for [the Moana] live-action. I’m not reprising my role because I’m happy to pass that baton on to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent. I look forward to ushering her into this.”
17.
In 2020 Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall told Vogue Arabia, “I was 18 when I moved, just after I did The X Factor [in 2011]. I went from being the token person of color to being in London, where it didn’t matter. All of a sudden, I was thrown into the limelight [with Little Mix], and people didn’t know what I was, so I went along with it. I had suppressed who I was because I wasn’t proud. I had been bullied into thinking I should be ashamed of my identity, so I didn’t talk enough about my heritage in interviews. It makes me sad to think about it now.”
18.
In 2021, Hayley Kiyoko told People, “[The growing number of Asian American artists is] all I’ve ever wanted. Especially growing up, all I’ve ever wanted was to have people I could look up to that look like me, that I could connect to, and so I think it’s so incredible to see so many artists getting mainstream support and fix that.”
19.
In 2017, Thank You For Your Service actor Beulah Koale told Stuff, “Jason [Hall, the writer/director] really wanted a Samoan to play a Samoan, as did I. But I know a lot of people higher up did not. They wanted the guy that could bring in the dollars and has a face. But I’m so competitive that I knew there was no one else for the role. The fact that Jason said he wanted this Samoan kid from New Zealand and that Solo [Tausolo Aieti, the real-life person he portrayed] is proud that a Samoan is playing a Samoan.”
20.
In 2016, Gerald Ramsey, who’s known for playing Mufasa in the North American touring production of The Lion King, told the Center for Asian American Media, “So when I got offered the contract to come be Mufasa on the tour, my initial reaction was to decline it. Part of being from the Pacific is you don’t want to embarrass your family at any point. I didn’t expect to get hired, and so when they offered me this position, I was petrified to show up to the company, and they may realize, ‘Oh, he had a good audition, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing.'”
21.
In 2022, James Hong told Variety, “I started in 1953, so at that time, the industry didn’t take us seriously. They just said, ‘Oh, Asians are not qualified to be the top actors.’ You’d have the white actors tape up their eyes. It was terrible — I had to bear with that for maybe 20 years or so. And then finally, I formed the East West Players, and that started things going.”
22.
In 2023, Avan Jogia told Teen Vogue, “[Door Mouse] was born out of not feeling very much agency in the film industry, especially as an actor of color. I was looking to find parts that I felt like I could dig a little deeper into as an actor and train myself to give good performances and improve as an actor.”
23.
In 2024, Sasha Colby told Teen Vogue, “I think as a Pasifika trans woman, when I look for representation, unfortunately, in media and in entertainment, the representation that I would gravitate to is just a broad umbrella of a POC trans person.”
24.
In 2021, Danny Pudi told Entertainment Weekly, “I have felt pressure to be everything to everyone or to capture the Asian American experience.”
25.
In 2022, Jacob Batalon told SYFY, “Being Filipino and being proud of my heritage, it gives me this great sense of responsibility to be a better person. It means a lot. I think that I wanted to represent people and to make sure that they know that they are more than enough. They don’t need to be a certain way, look a certain way to really be successful.”
26.
In 2021, Raya and the Last Dragon voice actor Kelly Marie Tran told Pop Sugar, “I never thought I would ever get to be a Disney princess, much less have that movie be inspired by the part of the world that my family’s from.”
27.
And finally, in 2022, Michelle Yeoh told People, “You know what, it’s not about other people doing for us. First, we have to do for ourselves. We should never give up. We should always push. We should always step up and step forward to make sure the changes are there. Don’t wait for Hollywood to change this course.”
Check out more API-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn’t end after May. Follow BuzzFeed’s A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest API content year-round.
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