Welcome to the first episode of Hollywood Remixed, The Hollywood Reporter‘s podcast about culture change and inclusion in entertainment.
Each week, hosts Rebecca Sun (senior reporter) and Rebecca Ford (awards editor) will explore a type of character or story that has been traditionally underrepresented or misrepresented in pop culture, and interview a special guest whose work exemplifies a new breakthrough in representation. Each episode will be dedicated to a single theme, revisiting groundbreaking classics and introducing listeners to hidden gems, in order to better understand how film and television in the past have shaped progress in the present.
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In the first episode, “Long Duk Who? The Rise of the Asian Leading Man,” debuting Nov. 6, Henry Golding talks to the Rebeccas about his incredible rise to stardom since his 2018 acting debut in Crazy Rich Asians, rapidly booking multiple other leading man roles, the latest of which is in Paul Feig’s holiday romance Last Christmas, out Nov. 8.
Golding reveals how his upbringing, first in Malaysia and later in the U.K., shaped his perspective and identity as an Asian man, and he also shares his feelings about the criticism he received as a biracial Asian after he was cast in Crazy Rich Asians. Plus, he teases what’s ahead for him (hint: it rhymes with Fake Guys) and what kinds of roles he hopes to take on in the future.
And to go along with their chat with Golding, the Rebeccas take a look back at the Asian leading men who came before him (from silent-era heartthrob Sessue Hayakawa to the iconic Bruce Lee) as well as the more disappointing ways Asian male characters have been portrayed onscreen — from geeky caricatures (Long Duk Dong) to Fu Manchu villains (Big Trouble in Little China) or…not even Asian at all (Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s).
Hear it all now on Hollywood Remixed. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. In the coming weeks, the Rebeccas will welcome This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown, who will discuss black fatherhood, Hustlers director Lorene Scafaria, who will talk about the portrayal of female sex workers and The Good Place star William Jackson Harper, who will chat about black nerds on TV and in film.
