Most 94-year-olds would be happy to sit back and put their feet up, but James Hong didn’t become one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood by taking it easy. His wife, Susan, keeps asking him when he’ll retire. He’s just too busy. Even though he has more than 450 acting credits to his name, there’s still so much he wants to do. “I’d like to make a couple of other movies because this is my chance,” he says. “I’ve waited all these years to do projects and now people are going to back me.”
And that’s down to Everything Everywhere All at Once. The sci-fi martial arts fantasy, starring Michelle Yeoh as a frazzled Chinese American immigrant named Evelyn who suddenly finds herself swept up in a multiverse-spanning battle, was the breakout hit of 2022 and has since become an awards juggernaut, with 11 Oscar nominations. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, it’s the frontrunner to pick up the best picture statuette at the Academy Awards this month.
Hong, who plays Evelyn’s stern and old-fashioned father, is overjoyed at the film’s success. “It’s almost a miracle that I would be in a picture after all these years that’s recognised by the industry,” he says over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles. “I never dreamed that would happen.” Dressed in a khaki shirt and jacket with a matching baseball cap, he looks like a hipster grandad. Susan hovers in the background, to help with any questions he struggles to hear.
Just a few days ago, Hong was at the Screen Actors Guild awards, accepting the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. There was something he wanted to get off his chest. “My first [big] movie was with Clark Gable,” he said, reminding the audience that he had been in the business for nearly 70 years. For much of the last century, Hollywood was rife with “yellowface” – white actors playing Asian roles. “The producers said the Asians were not good enough and they are not box office.”…
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