While it’s been a challenge for many Asian American actors and
actresses to break into Hollywood, it’s a much easier road for their
Asian counterparts to make a debut there. This month, Korean heartthrob
Rain will make his debut in Hollywood with the famous 60s-anime-turned-movie ”Speed Racer”, playing an Asian racer that is forced to defend his family name. Another Asian heartthrob, Takuya Kimura, is also said to be coming to Hollywood this year. He is set to star opposite hottie Josh Harnett in a movie titled ”I Come With The Rain”, along with korean actor Lee Byung-hun. A veteran actress from Hong Kong, Charlie Yeung, is also making her debut in Hollywood this year. She will star opposite Nicolas Cage in ”Bangkok Dangerous” and will probably play a damsel in distress (how else will Hollywood portray a petite Asian girl?). 

I can certainly understand why the road to Hollywood for these Asian
stars is a much easier one even though many of them don’t speak proper
English. Hollywood executives want to sell these movies in Asia and
having these big names would help guarantee a box office success in
that part of the world. As for my fellow Asian Americans, unless you
are one of the few who get to play the part of a stoner (John Cho or Kal Penn) or a bitchy femme fatale who karate-kicks her foes and works for a man named Charlie (Lucy Liu),
you are much better off going to Asia to make a name for yourself there
before taking a shot at Hollywood. You can also pursue the conventional
route by taking up martial arts.  Hollywood always wants Kung Fu
actors, especially Asian ones. Hollywood execs believe that Asians can
play those roles more convincingly than others. It’s like my visits to
Benihana. Somehow the food tastes less authentic if it’s cooked by a
Non-Asian chef. I like my chefs there to be Asian. The more Japanese
they look the better!