FAMOUS FILIPINOS / ASIANS

Nicole Bilderback

Bring It On 2 DVD was released yesterday, but we are paying homage to the original movie whose cast includes Korean born Nicole Bilderback.  Nicole’s character, Whitney, was one of the main cheerleaders on the team with Torrance, played by Kirsten Dunst.

Born June 10, 1975 in Korea and raised in Tulsa, OK by her adoptive parents, Jim and Lois Bilderback, Nicole is also well known for her role as Summer in Clueless (1995), her recurring roles on television’s Dark Angel, Dawson’s Creek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nicole has also starred in hit shows as The Practice, Heroes, Without a Trace, House MD and Boston Legal.

[photo sources: 1, 2, 3]

[photo source]

Cliff Curtis

was born July 27, 1968 in New Zealand and is of Maori (Polynesian ancestry) descent. 

Curtis next stars this Fall on NBC’s Trauma, an intense, action-packed television show about a San Francisco First Responder paramedics team traveling by land, sea, or air to rescue victims from the heights of the Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay.  The show premieres Monday, September 28, 2009 at 9/8c on NBC.

Curtis most recently starred in Push (2009), 10,000 BC (2008), Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and received his first major role with Harvey Keitel and Holly Hunter in The Piano (1993).

Taiwanese actor, Jay Chou, will play Kato in “The Green Hornet”.  Seth Rogen will play the title character, while Michael Gondry directs.  Cameron Diaz, Nicolas Cage, and Edward James Olmos will also star.

Jay Chou

was born on January 18, 1979 and is a Taiwanese musician, singer, producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. He is well-known for composing all his own songs and songs for other singers. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for popular Chinese singers. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B, rock and pop genres, covering issues such as domestic violence, war, and urbanization.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

is the newest national ambassador for the Diabetes Aware Campaign and appears in a Novo Nordis and Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) sponsored PSA that debuted on People.com August 12th.

Aiming to reach 24 million Americans living with Diabetes and 6.2 million more who are unaware they have the disease, the campaign attempts to underscore the importance of detection, monitoring, and disease management.

“We can make a difference in our own families through exercise, eating right and teaching healthy behaviors to our children.”

Stats, action kits, and more info are available on the NYC Department of Health’s Diabetes Prevention and Control program website.

Dwayne Johnson born May 2, 1972 is an American actor of Samoan and African-American descent, a former nine time world champion professional wrestler with the WWF/E, and a former defensive tackle for the University of Miami.

Johnson not only landed his first leading role in The Scorpion King (2001), but also the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Race to Witch Mountain, and Planet 51.


[sources: Access Hollywood tv, Celebrity Babies.com, About.com, Wiki]

Michaela Conlin, born June 8, 1978, is an American actress of Chinese and Irish descent.  She is most known for her role as Angela Montenegro in FOX’s hit series BONES, also starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz.

I’m excited for all the Asian men and women who seem to be appearing more frequently and are having recurring or main roles in television and film.

While Asians or Asian mixed celebrities have previously been integrated in the mainstream media, they were either cast in martial arts roles (Bruce Lee, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, MIchelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi) or their ethinicity was physically difficult to identify (Phoebe Cates, Victoria Principal, Keanu Reeves) if we even thought to ask (hello? Eddie Van Halen and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett !?!)

Now I’m seeing Asians on primetime tv (grey’s anatomy, dollhouse, bones, gossip girl), box office smashes (star trek 2009, hangover, knocked up), and hit cable shows (bsg, firefly)…with LEADING ROLES…rock on!

Brandon Soo Hoo born November 2, 1995 (Wiki) plays the young Storm Shadow in GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra and was Tran in Ben Stiller’s, Tropic Thunder, (2008).

Though the specificity of his Asian heritage has yet to be confirmed on the internet, where everything is true, Lee will be tagged as “other” (than Filipino/mix) Asian.

Brandon holds a black belt in Tae Kwan Do and is currently training in extreme martial arts and Wing Chun Kung Fu. Soo Hoo has also received training in weapons such as the bō staff, sword, and the nunchaku.^[2] (Rock on!)

Soo Hoo was nominated for and won the award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor award at the Young Artists Awards.^[3]

Meg Tilly is half Chinese from her father.  Born February 14, 1960, Meg is a Candian Broadway stage dancer and ballerina best known for her stelllar performances in Agnes of God and The Big Chill.

She was nominated for Oscar and won a Golden Globe for best suporting actress in a motion picture for Agnes of God. Rightfully so, cuz this chick done FaREAKED me OUT with that performance.  If you’re lookin for a scary movie…this is a must rent.

Jane March - Chinese / Vietnamese (mother), English / Spanish (father) - born 20 March 1973 is a film actress and former model.  She is best known for the female lead opposite Bruce Willis in The Color of Night (1994).

She also had lead roles in The Lover (1992) and The Stone Merchant (2006)

Lee Byung-hun (born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor, most recently starring as Storm Shadow in the hollywood blockbuster, GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra; alongside other famous hollywood actors as Sienna Miller, Channing Tatum, and Marlon Wayans.

His westernized name is…Brian. Awesome.

Lee is Buddhist, fluent in English and able to speak French and Mandarin, in addition to his native Korean.  His sister, Lee Eun-Hee, won Miss Korea in 1997.