Ivan Chun
Having been born and raised in Hawaii, I never experienced the minority and marginalized experiences that other Asians may have experienced, since Asians are the majority of the local population.
Then I moved to Los Angeles and in a conversation with an African American man, he referred to us as “colored.” Internally I thought, “I was born like this, no one colored me!” Thus, was my awakening to the ignorance of being stereotyped and marginalized.
This became more apparent when I was pursuing an acting career and was told by an agent that I was limited because I’m Asian. I thought what BS! The only thing limited was people like him who thought that way. But he had a point, because another agent asked me why I didn’t have any martial arts experience, because that’s where the jobs were. And then at auditions, even though a role was not specifically for an Asian, I was asked to deliver the lines with an Asian accent. These experiences continued with the roles available at the time which was in the 1980s and 1990s (boy, am I dating myself.)
At the time I had to reflect, that here I am doing all the right things: training with one of the best acting teachers in LA, taking voice and dance lessons to be prepared, and this is what I get?
Things sort of improved after that and my biggest claim to fame was being cast in several Disney commercials in non-stereotypical dad roles. I shelved this pursuit soon after seeing that the landscape was not changing anytime soon for Asian actors, although I always saw myself as an actor who happened to be Asian.
That’s all hindsight now, and it’s a different world with more opportunities for actors “who happen to be Asian,” to show their skills through social media, especially on YouTube. Today they don’t have to wait for an audition call.
Asian men are now sexy, desirable and no longer have the yoke of having to be a geek and a nerd. Good luck to them and may they fulfill their dreams to tell stories that impact, make a difference and inspire legions of audiences.
Narrative Plenitude is a global discussion that aims to project more authentic depictions of underrepresented communities in order to break past the one-size fits all story cycle told by mainstream media. What’s your narrative? Please email tanya.raukko@intertrend.com, if you would like to have your story featured.
