James Hong on His Most Memorable Roles

Take a look back at the most prolific Hollywood actor you’ve maybe never heard of, Minneapolis native James Hong. The 91-year-old, who lays claim to more than 600 onscreen roles over his 60-plus-year career, took a break from his latest—lobbying for a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—to tell us about some of his most memorable roles.

by

Next time you’re in Minneapolis, drive past 4451 Pillsbury. Don’t bother the current residents; simply roll by to pay your respects to the childhood home of the most prolific Minnesota actor ever.

Not Jessica Lange or Judy Garland. No, we’re talking about the guy with more than 600 onscreen roles dating back to 1954—the only actor to share scenes with Clark Gable, Groucho Marx, and a shark from The Last Sharknado. We’re talking about 91-year-old James Hong. The guy Norman Lear and Mike Myers both praised for perfect timing. The guy Jack Nicholson liked acting with in Chinatown so much that he cast him in his Chinatown spinoff, The Two Jakes.

James Hong. The guy who’s averaged 10 roles a year for nearly 70 years. The guy who, despite all that, still doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “How good do you have to be in roles like [Lo Pan] in Big Trouble in Little China... before you get a star?” Hong wonders aloud.

Hawaii Five-0 and Lost star Daniel Dae Kim wondered the same thing and recently started a campaign to finally get Hong his star. And while Kim’s campaign is spiking awareness and nabbing headlines on major entertainment websites, Hong, who’s tried unsuccessfully for a star before, wants all the help he can get. “Tell the Chamber of Commerce of Hollywood, OK?” Hong urges. “Write them a letter!” Stamped and in the mail, legend.

As himself, You Bet Your Life, 1954

It changed my life that I got on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life. I had the second-biggest fan mail ever on his show. He chose, for some reason, Johnnie Ray, and the audience just roared. And then he said, “I guess you’ll have to do me,” so I did [an impression of] him, and the crowd, again, just applauded, and sent in all kinds of fan mail.

Chinese policeman, Soldier of Fortune, 1955

My first feature. Clark Gable had returned to the movie industry, and that was one of his return features. As small a role as that was, I said, “Boy, this is great, being in a movie with Clark Gable.” In essence, I might be the only living, working actor that has worked with Groucho Marx and Clark Gable.

Communist soldier, Blood Alley, 1955

With John Wayne and Lauren Bacall. My scene was with Bacall. I was a Communist soldier. That was the problem, in those days there were no non-cliché roles for the Asian American actors. A lot of my older colleagues were playing Japanese soldiers, et cetera, et cetera. I had to take those roles or not do anything.

Fifth brother, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, 1955

Finally, a so-called non-cliché role as Jennifer Jones’s nephew. When she went back through her homeland, her village, there I was. But they cut some of my roles out with Bill Holden because they thought it was too pink. In those days, the McCarthy issue was very strong.

Chan, I Dream of Jeannie, “Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper,” 1966

I just remember she was gorgeous. Beautiful. And very professional. I saw her at one of the Comic-Con autograph shows, and I said hello. She was really warm. She’s never really changed. She’s still the same person. She made that show.

Doctor, Chinese waiter; All in the Family; 1971, 1975

Norman Lear said, “James, your timing is just perfect. I’ve got to look for something for you.” So, to come from Norman Lear, who is the king of comedy writers and directors, that was quite a compliment. But you see, I get those compliments all the time, but I don’t have a star to prove anything. 

Assorted roles, Kung Fu, 1972–75, 1994–96

After about the sixth role I did, the producer stopped me at the cafeteria and said, “James, I’m so glad you’re here, because every time I have difficulties casting a role, I just simply call your agent.” So, I went on to play maybe eight roles, maybe nine.

Evelyn Mulwray’s butler, Chinatown, 1974 (and again in The Two Jakes [1990])

Nicholson said, “Welcome, James. Welcome.” It was great to work with all those stars. And they remember what you did. Then, Jack Nicholson directed The Two Jakes. He loved the scene that I did with him. He shows that scene every time he goes on an interview.

Hannibal Chew, Blade Runner, 1982

They were shooting inside of that icebox down in L.A. Frozen Food, and everything was going semi-wrong. They put these eyeballs on my shoulder, and I get so frightened by them. So, I said to myself as Hannibal Chew, “These eyeballs are my children. They are my kids that I’ve raised up all these years, and I send them out into the world.” So, I was talking to these eyeballs as if they were my children, and that’s what made that scene come alive.

David Lo Pan, Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

John Carpenter said, “James, you should get an award for playing that role as Lo Pan.” And in essence, that was my award. How good do you have to be in roles like in Big Trouble Little China? How good do you have to be before you get a star?

Bruce, Seinfeld, “The Chinese Restaurant,” 1991

I read the script and it says Elaine puts a tip of $5 on my desk and I ignore her. I said to the director, “How could any maître d’ ignore a $5 tip? That’s not real.” He says, “I don’t know, but you’ll make it work.” So, come to the scene, I say, “What am I going to do?” When she puts the $5 down, I simply turned the page on the guest list and covered up the $5 and I said, “Yes, what is it you want?” And she said, “No, no, no!” I made sense out of nonsense. And throughout the scene, I did that. “Cartwright, Cartwright.” It’s nonsense, but all of it worked. Every little joke worked.

Jeff Wong, Wayne’s World 2, 1993

Mike Myers loves the kung fu fight I had with him. He adores that scene. He’ll show that scene when he’s interviewed. And it’s just so perfect. The comedy came through, the fighting came through. The timing is boom, boom, boom, boom.

Hoshi, Friends, “The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion,” 1997

How can you forget working with all those young people who were so talented? What a combination of talent. It’ll never be done again.

Master Wong, Balls of Fury, 2007

What can you do? You can only do what is said in the script. The part where I trained the guy had a lot of heart and a lot of laughs. When they went to the big tournament, they lost all of that. The heart went out; the development of the story went out.

Mr. Ping, Kung Fu Panda, 2008

The role that I was supposed to play, Dustin Hoffman got the part. In the final moments of beginning the movie, they said, “James, I’m sorry about that. But there is another role if you want it.” And Mr. Ping turned out to be a much better role than the old master because Mr. Ping had all those frailties, and I played that to the hilt, of course—how I loved my son and wanted to sell noodles. It’s a role that’s got heart.

This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue.

Mpls.St.Paul Daily Edit

Sign up for our daily newsletter.