hollywood on S Anand

How to find a Chinese actor to cast in Hollywood

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 07:08:21 +0000

Film actors mostly act within their own industry.

For example, Hollywood actors act outside Hollywood just 10% of the time. Chinese actors act with non-Chinese actors just 1% of the time.

So, if you’re a Hollywood producer trying to cast a Chinese actor, how would you find them?

One way is to list Chinese actors with the largest number of Hollywood co-stars. Let’s see who tops that list.

#5. Pei-Pei Cheng

You may know her as Jade Fox, the sly governess in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), or Golden Swallow, the skilled swordsman sister in Come Drink With Me (1966), or even as the voice of the matchmaker who disgraces Mulan in Mulan (2020).

She mainly acts in Chinese films, co-starring nearly 180 times with actors like Hua Yueh, Lieh Lo, and Chung-Hsin Huang. But she’s also co-starred over 20 times with Hollywood actors like Jamie King (of Sin City), Peter Bowles (of The Bank Job), and Sandra Oh (of Grey’s Anatomy).

#4. Jet Li

You may know him as Han Sing, the martial artist and ex-cop in Romeo Must Die (2000), or Gabe Law, the former MultiVerse Authority agent in The One (2001), or Yin Yang, the unarmed member of The Expendables (2010).

He has co-starred over 100 times with Chinese actors like Jackie Chan, Simon Yam, and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung. But he’s also co-starred 30 times with Hollywood actors like Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, and Sylvester Stallone.

#3. Joan Chen

She’s famous as Wanrong, the Chinese empress in The Last Emperor (1987), Josie Packard, the owner of the Twin Peaks mill in Twin Peaks (1989), or Dr Ilsa Hayden, assistant to the villain Rico Dredd in Judge Dredd (1995).

She’s co-starred over 80 times with Chinese actors like Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Leon Lai, and Tony Ka Fai Leung. But she’s co-starred over 40 times with Hollywood actors like Michael Caine, Peter O’Toole, and Christopher Walken.

#2. Jackie Chan

The most famous Chinese martial arts actor in the world, and one of the highest-paid actors in the world, is famous as Detective Inspector Lee in Rush Hour (1998), Mr Han in The Karate Kid (2010), and the voice of Monkey in Kung Fu Panda (2008).

He has co-starred nearly 200 times with Chinese actors like Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Maggie Cheung, and Kent Cheng. But he’s co-starred over 50 times with Hollywood actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Owen Wilson, and Chris Tucker.

#1. Michelle Yeoh

You may know her as Wai Lin, the Chinese spy and James Bond’s ally in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Yu Shu Lien, the warrior swordswoman in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), or as Eleanor Young, the domineering mother-in-law in Crazy Rich Asians (2018).

She’s an actress at the borderline of the Chinese - Hollywood clusters. She’s acted ~60 times with Chinese actors like Maggie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat and Jet Li. But she’s acted almost as many times with Hollywood actors like Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington.

More actors

Here are half a dozen more Chinese actors that have acted with Hollywood actors often.

It’s interesting to see that 3 of the top 6 (Chow Yun-Fat, Pei-Pei Cheng, and Michelle Yeoh) had all acted in the blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).

So, perhaps the simple message to our Hollywood producer is to “look no further than the cast of the first foreign-language film to break the $100mn mark in the USA.”

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 13:39:09 +0000

Can foreigners break into #Hollywood?

A break into films is hard. Particularly when you’re a foreigner. But is Hollywood more open or less open than other countries?

If we go by iconic actors, the numbers are not encouraging. Just 2% of Will Smith’s co-stars are non-Hollywood. But over 30% of Jackie Chan’s co-stars are non-Chinese.

But #clustering shows that Hollywood is actually among the most open to foreigners. #dataanalysis

Can foreigners enter Hollywood?

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 13:25:46 +0000

An aspiring Malaysian actor posted on Reddit:

I am a 18-year old biracial Malaysian kid who wants to be an actor in Hollywood. I’m taking a diploma for performing arts in a college called Sunway University in 8 days and I’m considering pulling out of it because why do something that I like when my dreams might never be fulfilled and the price for taking this diploma is seriously expensive. I am starting to doubt my chances of making it to Hollywood and I suffer from extreme anxiety. Is it possible for someone like me to enter Hollywood? What are my chances?

Breaking into Hollywood is hard. As a foreigner, it would be even harder. So I asked myself:

Do Hollywood actors act with foreigners?

Let’s take Will Smith. He frequently acts with Martin Lawrence, Tommy Lee Jones, Jaden Smith, Jon Voight, and 84 other actors.

His every co-star is a Hollywood actor, except the Spanish actor Jordi Mollà in Bad Boys II, and the Dutch actor Marwan Kenzari in Aladdin. Will Smith acts with just 2% of foreign co-stars.

On the other hand, Jackie Chan is more cosmopolitan. He acts with:

Chinese actors like Yuen Siu-Tin in Drunken Master
Hollywood actors like Chris Tucker in Rush Hour
Japanese actors like Kumiko Goto in City Hunter – which is based on a Japanese Manga of the same name.
South Korean actors like Su-cheon Bae in Huo shao shao lin men – a Korean/Mandarin film
Indian actors like Disha Patani in Kung Fu Yoga - an Indo-Chinese film
Spanish actors like Eva Cobo in Operation Condor - shot in Spain
Danish actors like Pilou Asbæk in the upcoming film Snafu

Of his 224 co-stars, 70 are non-Chinese. Jackie Chan acts with over 30% foreign co-stars.

Are Chinese films be more foreigner-friendly? Should our Malaysian friend try there instead?

Is Hollywood less open to foreigners than other countries?

I took all movie actors across the world and broke them into groups using a community structure. Actors within the group act mostly within themselves, and less with other groups.

The largest group is Hollywood, with ~80,000 actors (mostly American). They act with each other 90% of the time and act with other groups only 10% of the time.

In comparison, the Chinese group has ~20,000 actors. They act with each other 98% of the time. When they do act outside the group, it’s mostly with Hollywood (0.5%), Japanese (0.3%), South Korean (0.3%), and Indonesian (0.1%)

Clearly, Jackie Chan is more the exception than the norm.

But among the large groups, there are 2 groups that are even more insular than Chinese actors.

The ~8,200 Turkish actors act only with each other 99.1% of the time, occasionally venturing to act with Iranian actors (0.2%).

Even more insular are the ~7,000 Filipino actors who act with each other 99.3% of the time. They occasionally venture out to act in Hollywood 0.2% of the time.

There are no other sizeable groups of actors that’re as insulated.

Hollywood is actually among the most cosmopolitan groups, along with the West European films. So, to our budding Malaysian actor, I’d say:

It’s hard to get an acting break. As a foreigner, it’s 10 times harder in Hollywood. But you’re better off in Hollwood or Western Europe than in any other country, where it would be 50 to 100 times as hard!

Comments

How isolated is Bollywood from world cinema? - S Anand 5 Jan 2022 3:35 pm (pingback): […] These are the major group actors based on who they act with most. […]
I tested the best ways to mail people - S Anand 6 Jan 2022 11:32 am (pingback): […] write more about did 100% worse at #4 than #2 (4.4% down to 0%) […]
Vidyasekar 21 Dec 2021 7:15 pm: I don’t know whether it has a business value or not. But it gives a hammer shot on the head and looks at the Cinema industry and its behaviors.
My Year in 2021 - S Anand 2 Jan 2022 1:36 pm (pingback): […] On learning, I discovered network clusters. My PyCon talk on movie networks is the start of a fascinating exploration of actors that I’ll write more about. […]
Vinu 1 Jan 2022 1:08 am: Interesting data driven view of comparing the level of tribalism (if I can use that term ) within the various film industries around the world. I wonder, though, If casting decisions are directly made by the actors or the initial production and directorial leadership. some stars will command more of a say in whom they will co-Star with and with whom they won’t… but I wonder if that’s relevant to but a small fraction. Its good mental gymnastics, but at the core, your advice is good ;)
How to find a Chinese actor to cast in Hollywood - S Anand 20 Feb 2022 12:38 pm (pingback): […] example, Hollywood actors act outside Hollywood just 10% of the time. Chinese actors act with non-Chinese actors just 1% of the […]

Hollywood actors jigsaw quiz

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:00:00 +0000

I've jumbled up pictures of 5 highly paid Hollywood actors. You can move the jumbled blocks around, like a jigsaw. Can you guess the actors and the movie?

Comments

Vikas 16 Mar 2007 12:18 pm: nice one
Sashi 21 Mar 2007 10:51 am: cheers
kas 15 May 2007 10:01 am: who is da 3rd actor?
C.S.Damodaran 26 Jun 2020 5:15 pm: What are the answers if we are not able to turn it to green

Movie jigsaw quiz 4

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:00:00 +0000

I've jumbled up 3 stills from an old movie. You can move the jumbled blocks around, like a jigsaw. Can you guess the actors and the movie?

Movie jigsaw quiz 2

Thu, 25 May 2006 12:00:00 +0000

I've jumbled up some stills from movies. You can move the jumbled blocks around, like a jigsaw. Can you guess the movie?

Comments

Ravi Karthik 25 May 2006 8:18 am: Pirates of the Caribbean - Your ex-VM classmate from Chennai
S Anand 25 May 2006 7:34 pm: Hi Ravi, where are you these days?
Anonymous 26 May 2006 9:47 am: the images keep loading and changing even when they’ve fully loaded. I think its a bug. Can you fix it? Otherwise the puzzle is brilliant!
S Anand 26 May 2006 12:08 pm: Thanks! This may not be a bug, though. each jigsaw has 3 images from the same movie. Even after loading fully, the jigsaw will loop through images.

Bollycat

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:00:00 +0000

Bollycat: a list of Bollywood films plagiarized from Hollywood.