{"id":12892,"date":"2012-04-16T01:04:46","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T01:04:46","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-15T11:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T11:49:24","slug":"john-cho-speaks-on-being-an-asian-american-actor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=12892","title":{"rendered":"John Cho speaks on being an Asian American actor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor John Cho \u2014 famous for his role as Harold Lee in the \u201cHarold and Kumar\u201d films \u2014 discussed the intersection of acting and Asian-American identity Saturday evening at Yale University<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cho,<\/strong> who has also appeared in \u201cStar Trek\u201d and \u201cAmerican Pie,\u201d said he has always practiced a policy of \u201cnot doing stereotypical parts\u201d that typecast Asian-Americans. He told anecdotes from his childhood and talked about his Korean heritage in front of more than 200 students in the Berkeley College dining hall as part of the Asian American Cultural Center\u2019s annual celebration of Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month.<\/p>\n

Recounting his early acting days as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1990s, Cho said he did not expect to pursue acting, though he \u201creally enjoyed\u201d his time acting in student plays. Cho said those productions introduced him to Asian-American actors in the entertainment industry, which he said became important in shaping his own career.<\/p>\n

Cho said he thinks he was \u201ckind of preoccupied\u201d with his racial identity in college, an attitude he said is less common among college students today.<\/strong> He said cultural identity has become \u201cmuch more fluid\u201d in recent years and that students now identify not just by their ethnicity, but also by other factors such as their extracurricular activities and gender. While Cho said his Korean background has given him a sense of resilience, he added that he thinks it is \u201chealthy to jumble your identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since he began acting, Cho said the \u201cdemand\u201d for Asian-American actors has changed as the entertainment industry has recognized the \u201cpurchasing power\u201d of Asian-Americans.<\/strong> He added that he has noticed many more Asian-Americans on television \u2014 particularly in commercials \u2014 than before.<\/p>\n

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle: Part 2 Funny!<\/strong>
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