11 Asian American Celebrities Changing Hollywood

According to a report by Forbes magazine, Dwayne Johnson was the highest-paid actor in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021 thanks to his roles in films such as Central Intelligence, Moana, Jumanji: The Next Level, Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Jungle Cruise and Red Notice.

The former professional wrestler is now one of the most famous people in the world and the face of the Samoan community in mainstream entertainment.

In addition to his film roles, Johnson has also served as a producer on many of his films, and co-created a sitcom about his life growing up in Hawaii, his high school years in Pennsylvania and his college years in Miami, called “Young Rock,” which aired from 2021 to 2023.

Mindy Kaling is one of the most influential showrunners in streaming right now. After starring in The Office (which she also wrote), Kaling co-created and starred in her own sitcom, The Mindy Project, which ran for six seasons.

Kaling has since taken a break from acting, focusing on developing her own TV shows. Her Netflix series Never Have I Ever was a huge hit before it came to an end in 2023. Her next hit, the Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, introduced audiences to the now-star Renee Rapp.

Kaling also co-created the animated series “Velma,” which was pretty much universally hated… but enough people still watched it despite hating it that a second season was greenlit.

Two more shows created by Kaling are set to hit streaming soon: “Murray Hill,” a Hulu comedy about twenty-somethings in New York City, and “Running Points,” a Netflix comedy series starring Kate Hudson as the new president of a fictional Los Angeles NBA team.

Just 21 years old, Rodrigo has skyrocketed to success in 2021 with his debut single “Drivers License,” and is being hailed as the future of pop music.

Since then, Rodrigo has released two chart-topping albums, won three Grammy Awards, been named TIME Magazine's Entertainer of the Year, and gracefully left the Disney+ series that launched her career.
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”

She will become the first Filipino American to grace the cover of US Vogue in July 2023, according to Next Shark.

Chu is a celebrated director with a string of big-budget productions under his belt: Besides the two-part Wicked adaptation, he has also directed the Justin Bieber concert films Never Say Never, In the Heights, Now You See Me 2 and, most notably, 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, the first modern major studio film with an all-Asian cast in 25 years since The Joy Luck Club.

Crazy Rich Asians grossed $239 million worldwide, a big number for the romantic comedy genre considering many believe it's dead.

Now he's getting fans excited for this fall's Wicked by posting photos from the set, interacting with people online, and praising the cast.

It may have taken a while for Ewan's career to bounce back after his character Glenn was killed off on The Walking Dead, but it's been worth the wait: His career has skyrocketed since leaving the show in 2016.

Yeun was nominated for a 2021 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Minari, making him the first Asian American actor to be nominated in the category.

In 2023, he starred in and executive produced the Netflix series Beef, for which he won two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics Association Awards, and an Independent Spirit Award.

The Korean-American actor also stars as Mark Grayson, a teenager with psychic powers, in the critically acclaimed Prime Video series “Invincible.”

Wong won two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her role in Beef, making her the first Asian woman to win an Emmy Award for lead actress in a limited series or movie.

Besides “Beef,” Wong has produced three stand-up comedy specials: In the first, “Baby Cobra,” Wong was seven and a half months pregnant and pushed the boundaries of stand-up comedy by telling raunchier jokes than most.

Wong also wrote and starred in her own romantic comedy, One Day at a Time, and in a true power move, cast Keanu Reeves as her love interest.

Chopra, who was crowned Miss World in 2000, became a hit in both India and the United States, and in 2012 became the first Bollywood star to sign with American talent agency CAA.

Since then, she's amassed a massive Instagram following (over 91.1 million people), become a lifestyle celebrity (with her own hair care line, New York restaurant and home goods brand), written a best-selling autobiography, and enjoyed success as an actor and producer.

In 2020, Chopra signed a “two-year, multimillion-dollar, first-look television deal” with Amazon, Variety reported. Her first project after the deal will be the 2023 spy thriller series “Citadel,” which is already scheduled for a second season.

Yang, who joined the cast of the sketch show in 2019, is a star. The first Chinese-American comedian to join the show, Yang has quickly established himself as a key member of the cast: He's already garnered three Emmy nominations (one for writing and two for acting).

He's also branched out into film, appearing in films like “The Lost City,” “Fire Island” and “Brothers.” Later this year he will appear in a supporting role in “Wicked,” alongside recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone in a remake of Ang Lee's romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet.”

Zhao made history in 2021 when she won the Oscar for Best Director for her film “Nomadland,” becoming the second woman to win the award after Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, and the first Asian woman to do so.

Following Nomadland, Zhao directed the MCU film Eternals, which wasn't a huge hit with critics or fans but did reasonably well at the box office, grossing $402 million.

According to Deadline, Zhao's next project will be a film adaptation of the hit novel “Hamnet,” starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.

Cravalho made her film debut in 2016 as the voice of Moana, Disney's first Polynesian princess, marking a major step forward for Asian American representation at Disney, and she is set to reprise the role in “Moana 2” in 2024.

She told TheWrap that she won't be reprising her role as Moana in the live-action film in order to “pass the baton to the next young woman from the Pacific Islands,” but she will produce the movie with Dwayne Johnson.

Cravalho is also a live-action film star, most recently appearing in the musical film version of Mean Girls and the Hulu romantic comedy Crush.

In addition to online clamours for him to be the next James Bond, Patel has been a busy man: Since starring in the blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire, he's become one of Hollywood's most reliable (and appealing) stars.

He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017 for his performance in Lion, starred in the medieval epic The Green Knight, collaborated with Wes Anderson on the Oscar-winning short film The Curious Case of Henry Sugar, and made his directorial debut with the action film Monkey Man, in which he also starred.