'This is my chance': 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' star James Hong, 94, opens up on continuing to work
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After an inspiring award acceptance speech, James Hong from 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' is all set to get back to work. In a recent interview, he shared his plans to keep working till he's 100 and get back to the SAG stage. He said, "I’d like to make a couple of other movies because this is my chance." He continued, “I’ve waited all these years to do projects and now people are going to back me.” James Hong, a hidden gem who has whopping 650 film and TV credits in his name, shared the stage with many known OGs back in the day from Clark Gable to Lauren Bacall, James Coburn, and Harrison Ford.
'Everything Everywhere All at Once' had all the makings of an arthouse hit even before it arrived in theaters. The film received widespread critical acclaim for its visual effects, humor, acting, and handling of themes such as existentialism and Asian-American identity. Although the movie received many note-worthy awards this entire award season, it all boils down to the upcoming Academy Awards also known as Oscars, the tensions are high and the winning anticipations are even higher.
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'There’s still a long way to go'
James Hong's acceptance speech not only teared up the audience but also got him a standing ovation. Hong went on to describe how the conditions were before when Asian actors weren't given much importance, as the producers thought that they weren't box-office material. "The producers said the Asians were not good enough and they are not box office. But look at us now!" Hong told The Guardians in a recent interview. The 94-year-old, who was born in Minnesota to Chinese immigrant parents has many films and TV show credits to his name, including his portrayal of Gong Gong, the cranky father of Michelle Yeoh's Evelyn Wang in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, James Wong shared about his upcoming plans and the urge to do more every time. He has just completed a project about the coming-of-age adventure film 'Patsy Lee & The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms', which he wrote, produced, and acted in, and is about to come back as Mr Ping, a noodle-loving goose, in 'Kung Fu Panda 4'. James told during the interview that currently the world has changed a lot and there have been many on-screen representations of Asians in the lead roles, probably pointing out 'Crazy Rich Asians' and Marvel box-office hit 'Shang-Chi'.
The love for cinema and the need to see more Asian representations led James to co-found East West Players in 1965, a theatre group created for Asian American actors so they would have the chance to perform roles beyond tired Hollywood stereotypes. "We were not important people in the United States as far as the film industry was concerned," Hong says. "Until about 10 years ago when we started to win awards. So it’s been a journey from ground zero to what it is now. But there’s still a long way to go," added Hong. "It’s almost a miracle that I would be in a picture after all these years that’s recognized by the industry," he said, further adding, "I never dreamed that would happen," as per the outlet.
How many movies has James Hong worked in?
James Hong started his career in the 1950s as an actor, producer, and director who appeared in more than 600 films, TV shows, and video games to date. The actor has also redubbed soundtracks of several Asian films. His notable movie roles include Hannibal Chew in 'Blade Runner' (1982), David Lo Pan in 'Big Trouble in Little China' (1986), Jeff Wong in 'Wayne's World 2' (1993), and Chi-Fu in 'Mulan' (1998).
Hong is also best known for playing Daolon Wong on the television series 'Jackie Chan Adventures', Mr Ping in the 'Kung Fu Panda franchise, and lastly Gong Gong in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'. Hong will be back to the silver screens in no time, as he has many projects up his sleeves. He will soon be joining his 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' co-stars Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu in 'American Born Chinese', a Disney+ comedy series about figures from Chinese mythology. We are surely going to wait for the outstanding James Wong and the amazing cast to come back together to create magic on screen.