Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
A lot of people go on this journey of finding themselves and then eventually realize that their true self wasn't on the outside but it's always been there.
I understand the whole constant foreigner stereotype, but for me it's important to portray immigrant characters like Jian-Yang and Danny Meng with humanity.
My publicist actually told me about the book. She's half-Indian, half-Dutch, and she was like, 'You've got to do this book. It's called 'Crazy Rich Asians.''
I think in China they have a camera for every street corner, and if you jaywalk, they don't give you a ticket. They put you on the big TV screen to shame you.
I know Asian actors out there won't even audition for a role that have an accent. But for me, I was the kid with an accent. I still have an accent to some degree.
I've heard other actors saying they don't want to play a character with an accent at all. To me, that's kind of an insult to somebody like me who did have an accent.
Immigrant characters now are getting much more well-rounded, and they have personalities, which is important because we do need to portray immigrants in a humanizing way.
That's what's great about standup comedy: the instant feedback. You get up on stage, you tell a joke, if it doesn't work, come back the next day with a better version of it.
I've learned to not have expectations. I think the first movie I did, I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to win an Oscar!' You can't do that, you're going to let yourself down.
Mother always tries to buy things for a reasonable price. I was never allowed to buy things at full price. Probably, it's rooted in the Chinese mentality. We are very thrifty.
I studied economics and thought I wanted to play with the stock market - my dad was a financial adviser - and I was going to go down that path. I was an intern at Smith Barney.
Certain stories, like my mom leaving when I was 15-years-old to go back to China because she didn't quite assimilate like we did, that was a moment that was very sad in my life.
I spoke English when I moved to the U.S.A. but I had an accent. To get rid of it, I watched a lot of TV-shows and tried to repeat after the tv-hosts. I liked shows about hip-hop.
When you are in America, at least for me, as an immigrant, I try to be as Americanized as I could. I just want to be an actor, I don't just want to be an Asian actor necessarily.
I went to college as an economics major because that was the easiest major that could still please your Asian parents, and then, much to their dismay, I became a stand-up comedian.
You'd see Asian faces on TV, but it was so rare, especially in the comedy space - that for me was Ken Jeong doing stand-up... it's amazing that I can call him a friend now and a colleague.
You know something like 'Patriots Day' that I did a few years ago, which is a drama, is very different than comedy. That was super rewarding. I want to do more of that and also my own writing.
For once in my life, I wanted to flaunt my Asian side instead of hiding it to fit as somebody else... 'Crazy Rich Asians' made me want to get in touch with my roots, instead of running away from them.
One of the hard things coming from an immigrant family - or any family that doesn't believe in the arts - is that you have to disappoint your parents. That's hard for people to do if you're a good kid.
Growing up, my dad was 'get a real job, don't go pursuing your dreams, that's how you become homeless.' So, do I pick my family or do I pick my own happiness, and how much does my own happiness depend on my family?
When a Spanish actor does an accent, that's sexy. When Peter Sellers did a French accent in 'Pink Panther,' that's funny - he got nominated for a Golden Globe. How come whenever an Asian actor does an accent, he's stereotyping?
I hope I can get to more and more of the Chinese audience and kind of lead the way to maybe, y'know, inspire seems like a big word, but y'know... inspire to get people into entertainment because I think we can be just as good as anybody else.
I have some scripts, I'm putting a couple of projects together with people I want to work with. I think that's the most exciting part, when you can hopefully create your own content and find the people that you love that you get to work with.
My job is to go into that audition and be good enough of an Asian actor - or an actor in general - to land that role so they don't have to go out and hire a white guy. My job is to make sure I capitalize on these opportunities that other people created.
Look, to be honest, when certain movies like 'Ninja Assassin' came out, that had a sexy, sexy Asian man with a six-pack, that made some people think, 'Maybe I should go out there and date an Asian dude.' And that did pretty good for us in a way of representation.
I don't know why people feel the need to do this to me, but my friend asked my dad, 'Aren't your proud of Jimmy now that he's a successful actor?' And my dad was like, 'No, not really. I wish he was a scientist.' I guess scientist is more noble in the Asian culture.
I was always pretty good with making deals. When I was in sixth grade, when Pokemon cards were hot, I might have started with, like, three or four cards, and then at the end of the year, through trading with my friends and everything, I ended up with the biggest card collection in my school.
I always have to brace myself when I visit my parents. My mom often greets me with a slew of nonconstructive criticisms: 'Jimmy, why is your face so fat? Your clothes look homeless and your long hair makes you look like a girl.' After 30 years of this, my self-image is now a fat homeless lesbian.
I was doing stand-up at the Improv and when the host introduces you, 'OK, the next comedian, you've seen him on 'Silicon Valley.' People always clap. They really watch the show and they are fans of it. And then they said, 'You are also going to see him in 'Crazy Rich Asians,' and I did not expect this, but the applause was even louder.