Sung Kang Quotes

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.

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.

The fact that I am a Filipino actor playing a Filipino role is crazy. Filipinos are the second largest Asian minority in the United States, and we're hardly represented in the media and on television.

All Americans knew was 'The Joy Luck Club' and children of dry cleaners trying to assimilate. The Asia that I was seeing was a world of people who are incredibly sophisticated, and I wanted to represent that side.

I'm so sick of people misunderstanding Asians in America and what we're about.

We do see Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Chow Yun Fat, but it's very rare to see the Chinese male actor in Hollywood movies, which is something I take great umbrage with. You know, my son is Asian. He may want to direct one day; he may want to be an actor like his father - and I want that to be open to him.

Pre-'Tokyo Drift,' I was like: 'Am I gonna play Yakuza #1 and Chinese Waiter #2 for the rest of my life? Is America even ready for an Asian face that speaks English, that doesn't do Kung Fu?'

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.

As an Asian guy, I would love to see a big blockbuster with Asian lead characters.

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

I never thought an opportunity like 'Crazy Rich Asians' would ever come my way.

You know, we never grew up with Asian American role models in the entertainment industry, unfortunately. I'd never seen an Asian face singing on TV.

Jackie Chan is so international. Everywhere you go, people know who he is. I hope I can be like that one day too - to be an actor that represents Asia to the world.

One stereotype I get a lot as an Asian actress is that you're playing the model minority - that Asians are the best, that they're perfect and positively moral all the time.

I am ambitious, and I'm excited for my career to grow, and I do want to represent the Asian community and the Filipino community.

We promote Asian storytelling - not just Asian stories but Asian people in stories with the full spectrum of the human experience. When you say, 'Oh, it's not enough attention on Asians. It's more black and white,' that game becomes like you're playing the discrimination Olympics.

Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe - these leading men. These are the ones I grew up with. And Hugh Jackman. I love everything that these guys are doing. It's kind of been my mission to be an Asian-American version of that.

In movies and television shows, there has never been a really good Chinese lead. So often the Chinese look like they are very scared and shy.

I don't want to be defined as the Asian leading man. I want to be the leading man. Henry Golding.

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.'

It's true that as Mr. Chan makes more American movies - and gets older - we will never again see the kind of fistfight choreography that the star would devote four months to shoot.

I definitely have been approached and reached out to by a lot of young Asian American and Asian women, which has been really cool for me.

It wasn't until I worked on 'Crazy Rich Asians' that I all of a sudden have this Asian crew of friends that I became super close with.

Where are the Asian leading men? Well, we're being kicked to the ground; we're not being supported. We're not considered sexy or masculine, this or that. When you start hearing something enough, you start to believe it. But our world is changing, and I think we're starting to see that that's not the end-all be-all.

I want people to look at me in the future and feel that there's this Asian hip-hop artist who's fresh and hot.