Despite being in his mid 90s, Hong looked dapper – and chipper – as ever as he literally cemented his name in showbiz history with his hand and footprints at the famous cinematic venue. He was joined by fellow Asian-American actor Lucy Liu for the tribute, which took place on his birthday on February 22.
Here’s a look inside his prolific career and life in the spotlight:
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James Hong has roots in Hong Kong
Hong was born in Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesota on February 22, 1929, to his parents Frank Wu Hong and Lee Shui Fa, who are originally from Hong Kong, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The family lived in Hong Kong for a few years until James was 10 years old, before returning to the US. “I vaguely remember being in Kowloon,” Hong previously told SCMP. “It’s very memorable in a sense that I didn’t get into any violent situations or fights,” he says. It was a different story once he was back in America.
When James first started acting, Asian-Americans were at “ground-zero” and heavily typecast in “gimmick roles thrown in there to make people laugh,” he said.
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What is James Hong most famous for?
Hong has been acting for over seven decades, getting his first roles in the 1950s. He has since starred in Big Trouble in Little China, Blade Runner, Chinatown, Wayne’s World 2 and Seinfeld, among others. More recent releases include Everything Everywhere All At Once, Wendell and Wild, Disney’s Turning Red, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.
He’s an advocate for Asian representation in film
Hong has been a spokesperson for Asian-American representation for decades.
In 1965, he co-founded the East West Players, described on the organisation’s website as a “home for deeply authentic Asian-American stories and creativity” with a vision to “inspire and advocate for a world free of racism and discrimination through transformative artistic works”.12 pairs of famous people you didn’t know were related
He’s been married since 1977
Hong tied the knot with his wife Susan in 1977, and they’ve since welcomed three daughters, according to The Guardian.
He also has eight grandchildren, per the same source.
Can James Hong speak Chinese?
Hong speaks English, Cantonese and a bit of Mandarin, which he unexpectedly came out with on the set of Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“When I was a child I spoke [the southern Chinese dialect] Taishanese, but they wanted me to speak Cantonese. I know some Mandarin because I’ve been to China and taken classes, and I did one speech so beautifully, and afterward Michelle Yeoh said, ‘That’s Mandarin!’ So I had to go back and redo it in Cantonese,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuqKzwLOgp52jZMC1xcueZp6mpJq%2Fta3Ip6SepqRkrrPAyJyjnmdjZ4J0hJhxZqadlal6q63MnqpmoJ%2BjtG7Dx6hkoZmjYry3sdFmbWloXZ28rbjYsKaonF2WsLW1zaBknKqVmba1v4xybGaxlZa%2FbrvLnWSwmaNir7C%2BzWasrGWYpLuoecqopaBloJa%2FprrTrA%3D%3D