Racialicious Crush Of The Week: Russell Wong

March 1st, 2013 by Andrea

As for that swagger on full display in Joy Luck Club and Romeo Must Die: besides from what I suspect is sheer confidence–Wong impresses me to be someone who’d take being named one of People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” (this happened in 1995) with a wink, a grin, and a shrug and keeps it popping–he also took up martial arts (tae kwon do, Shoji Ryu karate, and Fu Jow Pai Kung Fu) and dancing (ballet and jazz–he’s appeared in videos by David Bowie and Janet Jackson). He also took film production courses at New York University (NYU). Asia Pacific Arts says this about Wong in their analysis about Asian American men in pop-cultural consciousness:

Ironically, no Asian American male star today, with the possible exception of Daniel Dae Kim, commands that sort of undeniable sexual allure within the mainstream imagination. That’s not to say today’s stars aren’t sexy; it’s just that the market and the marketing has changed. Further, Asian American males today are looking for their own styles of sexuality just as Asian American cinema is attempting to blaze its own identity.

But the icons are there…Russell Wong stormed into the popular consciousness with his memorable role as the steamy hunk in Wayne Wang’s Joy Luck Club…Wong is quiet, well-groomed, and grateful to be a part of Lee’s indie noir. But despite his pleasant demeanor, he doesn’t scream model minority, in part because of his size (six feet, well-built), and in part because in talking to him, you realize he’s been through a lot to get to where he is–he’s earned the right to be genteel.

When asked in an interview what upsets him, Wong gives a one-word response: “Racism.” (For those of you wanting to be all in his family life, he’s the father of a mixed-race daughter with African-American dancer Eartha Robinson. He says in the aforementioned interview that being a dad “changed” him.)

And his acting contributions have garnered the mixed-race (Chinese/white) actor some love right back: the Organization of Chinese Americans bestowed him their Image Award and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans gave him their Media Achievement Award in 1994. The Asian American Arts Foundation honored him in 1997, along with director John Woo.

Oh…and if you see a couple of Black women hunched over tablets and laptops saying Russell Wong’s name and some dates and giggling, that would be Tami and me trying to figure out the days we can love him, too. But not today, since it’s his birthday and all.

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Posted in Racialicious Crush Of The Week, asian-american, celebrities, east asian, film, hollywood, masculinity, mixed race, racism | 9 comments

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000709864513 Michelle Kirkwood

    Heck,yeah—I get this crush–I’ve been crushing on Mr. Wong since I first saw him in NEW JACK CITY back in the day–and he’s still hot like fire—as shown in that IKEA commercial, he dosen’t seem to have aged a day in last 2 decades,amazingly enough. He’s still here, even if he dosen’t get the hype his white comtemporaries usually get. smog Not a bad choice for crush of the week at all–and he can act on top of that. I remember this short-lived show called BLACK SASH he did a decade ago–it was pretty lame as hell, but at least he was the star, & was able to show off his kung fu skills.

    Talking about Asian-American actors with undeniable sexual allure—-what about Sung Kang, of “Better Luck Tomorrow ” and ‘The Fast and the Furious:Tokyo Drift” fame? Plus a brief bad dude role in “Ninja Assassin” and a conflicted drifter with issues in another really good indie called “The Motel”. He’s incredibly hot, has presence and attitude, AND can act on top of all that. He did a flick called “Undoing” years ago–his only leading man role to date–I have yet to see it,seeing as it was a little indie flick without much promotion/hype. But,anyway,he’s had some interesting things to say over the years about Asian-American representation in films,and he’s be worth checking into as a crush just to get his pic on here. Here’s the most recent interview I could find with him, and I’d like to suggest checking out Better Luck Tomorrow (or anything else he’s been in) to behold the magnificence that is Mr. Kang:

    http://www.ugo.com/movies/sung-kang-interview

  • ladyfresh

    long long long time crush here. *takes off earrings windmills arms*

  • http://profiles.google.com/kristennreynolds Kristen Reynolds

    Swoon – Adrien Brody. You’re not the only one!

  • Digital Coyote

    I will never. ever. stop being a fan girl for this man. I know nearly all of his movies by heart. He’s sessy as all hell, smart, and all around talented.

    I love y’all but I would leave a trail of bodies in my wake to get at that.

    Trust.

  • racialicious

    @digital_coyote:disqus @ladyfresh:disqus @SugeAveryLemonade:disqus–Andrea here…hold up. We’re gonna celebrate all that is Russell Wong on his 50th year amongst us with a body count? Y’all are a rough bunch…though I do want you to back me in a fight, hear? ;-D

  • racialicious

    Hey Kristen–Andrea here. Yeah, Adrien Brody is one of those guys who, physically speaking, I have to take a step back to nod at his beauty, though he has behaved in questionable ways and taken on some head-cocking roles (e.g. Cadillac Records). And, when he dresses up, he’s a stunner.

  • Hello Kitty

    Hey Andrea and Tami,

    If you love Russell Wong you should check out one of his early indie films, “Eat a Bowl of Tea” (1989) directed by a pre-”Joy Luck Club” Wayne Wang.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097261/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

  • http://profiles.google.com/kristennreynolds Kristen Reynolds

    I remember that kiss (reading about it, not seeing it – thankfully). Didn’t Halle Berry recently say something about it? It makes me uncomfortable that he took advantage of her simply because he saw an opportunity – and I can only imagine how she felt (and might still feel). Being unconventionally handsome can only take one so far.

  • sharon

    Ummmm…yumm. Nice to see that he hasn’t really aged a bit since New Jack City…