The one role out of more than 500 that’s stuck with James Hong

The one role out of more than 500 that’s stuck with James Hong

In the sci-fi action marvel spanning multiple universes Everything everywhere all at once, James Hong, 93, plays Gong Gong, the stern father of protagonist Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh). She tried to please him all her life, seemingly with little success, and her disapproval was one of the defining pressures that shaped her many possible deadlines. Over his nearly 70 years of acting experience, Hong has taken on hundreds of roles and become one of the most recognizable character actors in the world. But he says one of those roles stands out from all the others for him, and Gong Gong brought back memories of playing that role.
“It’s not a problem for me to go from benign grandpa to villain, which is sort of a version of Lo Pan,” Hong told Polygon. “I always remember Big problem in little China and Lo Pan. It was a good thing for me to be in this movie with John Carpenter and to accomplish what I did. This character, of course, replays in my mind, and the creation [of him] jumped into other characters. There is almost always a side of Lo Pan in the other characters I play.
On the surface level, elderly grandfather Gong Gong doesn’t seem to share much with the evil demon-controlling wizard Hong starred in 1986’s. Big problem in little China. But both films gave Hong a dual role: Just as Gong Gong manifests differently in different universes, Lo Pan manifests in different contexts and times as an all-powerful malevolent conjurer and a seemingly frail, harmless old man.

Picture: 20th century
It’s an understatement to say that Hong has played a wide variety of roles over his decades-long career. Chances are you’ve seen him in something, maybe without realizing it was him. His earliest roles were as unnamed background characters, but he’s played everything from comedic scene-stealers, as the restaurant host in a memorable episode of Seinfeld, to dramatic roles as the loyal butler Khan in Chinese district and replicant designer Hannibal Chew in blade runner. He’s been in sci-fi movies, police procedurals, and action movies, and he’s lent his voice to iconic animated roles, like Po the Panda’s business-savvy dad, Mr. Ping in kung fu pandaEmperor Chi-Fu’s adviser in Mulaneand even the wise ritual runner Mr. Gao in Pixar turn red. He’s been in the industry long enough to see the types of film and TV roles offered to Asian Americans change dramatically.
“In the beginning, it was always bad guys or Asian Americans who needed help,” Hong says. “And we were never the heroes…In the 500 or so roles I’ve played, I’d say maybe 10 of them were major figures in American life, like doctors or lawyers and so on. .”
In 1965, Hong established the Asian American theater organization East West Players to help increase representation in the theater industry. Slowly the industry began to recognize Asian American actors and other roles began to open up. He quotes Lost star Daniel Dae Kim, who also headlined the Five-O’s from Hawaii reboot, as an example of this success, as well as Everything everywhere all at onceIt’s Michelle Yeoh. Hong wants every aspiring Asian-American actor to have a chance to play meaty roles like Evelyn Wang.

Picture: A24
“I hope in my lifetime I see them all, eventually, in much bigger roles,” he says. “So like Stephanie [Hsu]the leading lady [in Everything Everywhere]and Ke [Huy Quan, who plays Evelyn’s husband], who returned to the industry. He was absent for a long time, because there were no roles. Now there is! I am so happy. He’s such a good actor.
The entertainment industry is still far from perfect representation. But it’s come a long way since Hong’s first nameless characters. Hong’s first major role was in 1957 as Barry Chan, the son of Chinese detective Charlie Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan — a character played by white actor J. Carrol Naish (who by the way also played a Chinese caricature in the very first live-action Batman series). Now in 2022, Hong plays the patriarch of a Chinese family, in a story specifically about generations of expectations, cultural shifts, and struggles. At the same time, this family is embroiled in a martial arts extravaganza across the universe. movies like Everything everywhere all at once bear witness to the path traveled by this representation.
“We are on the same level as all SAG players,” Hong says. “This movie proves it!”
Everything everywhere all at once will be available in theaters nationwide on April 8.

#role #stuck #James #Hong

The one role out of more than 500 that’s stuck with James Hong

In the sci-fi action marvel spanning multiple universes Everything everywhere all at once, James Hong, 93, plays Gong Gong, the stern father of protagonist Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh). She tried to please him all her life, seemingly with little success, and her disapproval was one of the defining pressures that shaped her many possible deadlines. Over his nearly 70 years of acting experience, Hong has taken on hundreds of roles and become one of the most recognizable character actors in the world. But he says one of those roles stands out from all the others for him, and Gong Gong brought back memories of playing that role.
“It’s not a problem for me to go from benign grandpa to villain, which is sort of a version of Lo Pan,” Hong told Polygon. “I always remember Big problem in little China and Lo Pan. It was a good thing for me to be in this movie with John Carpenter and to accomplish what I did. This character, of course, replays in my mind, and the creation [of him] jumped into other characters. There is almost always a side of Lo Pan in the other characters I play.
On the surface level, elderly grandfather Gong Gong doesn’t seem to share much with the evil demon-controlling wizard Hong starred in 1986’s. Big problem in little China. But both films gave Hong a dual role: Just as Gong Gong manifests differently in different universes, Lo Pan manifests in different contexts and times as an all-powerful malevolent conjurer and a seemingly frail, harmless old man.

Picture: 20th century
It’s an understatement to say that Hong has played a wide variety of roles over his decades-long career. Chances are you’ve seen him in something, maybe without realizing it was him. His earliest roles were as unnamed background characters, but he’s played everything from comedic scene-stealers, as the restaurant host in a memorable episode of Seinfeld, to dramatic roles as the loyal butler Khan in Chinese district and replicant designer Hannibal Chew in blade runner. He’s been in sci-fi movies, police procedurals, and action movies, and he’s lent his voice to iconic animated roles, like Po the Panda’s business-savvy dad, Mr. Ping in kung fu pandaEmperor Chi-Fu’s adviser in Mulaneand even the wise ritual runner Mr. Gao in Pixar turn red. He’s been in the industry long enough to see the types of film and TV roles offered to Asian Americans change dramatically.
“In the beginning, it was always bad guys or Asian Americans who needed help,” Hong says. “And we were never the heroes…In the 500 or so roles I’ve played, I’d say maybe 10 of them were major figures in American life, like doctors or lawyers and so on. .”
In 1965, Hong established the Asian American theater organization East West Players to help increase representation in the theater industry. Slowly the industry began to recognize Asian American actors and other roles began to open up. He quotes Lost star Daniel Dae Kim, who also headlined the Five-O’s from Hawaii reboot, as an example of this success, as well as Everything everywhere all at onceIt’s Michelle Yeoh. Hong wants every aspiring Asian-American actor to have a chance to play meaty roles like Evelyn Wang.

Picture: A24
“I hope in my lifetime I see them all, eventually, in much bigger roles,” he says. “So like Stephanie [Hsu]the leading lady [in Everything Everywhere]and Ke [Huy Quan, who plays Evelyn’s husband], who returned to the industry. He was absent for a long time, because there were no roles. Now there is! I am so happy. He’s such a good actor.
The entertainment industry is still far from perfect representation. But it’s come a long way since Hong’s first nameless characters. Hong’s first major role was in 1957 as Barry Chan, the son of Chinese detective Charlie Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan — a character played by white actor J. Carrol Naish (who by the way also played a Chinese caricature in the very first live-action Batman series). Now in 2022, Hong plays the patriarch of a Chinese family, in a story specifically about generations of expectations, cultural shifts, and struggles. At the same time, this family is embroiled in a martial arts extravaganza across the universe. movies like Everything everywhere all at once bear witness to the path traveled by this representation.
“We are on the same level as all SAG players,” Hong says. “This movie proves it!”
Everything everywhere all at once will be available in theaters nationwide on April 8.

#role #stuck #James #Hong