James Hong

James Hong
Hong in 2011
Born	(1929-02-22) February 22, 1929 (age 95) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California (BS)
Occupations	Actor producer director
Years active	1954–present
Spouses	Pearl Huang ​ ​ (m. 1967; div. 1973)​ Susan Tong ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	3
Military service
Service	Minnesota Army National Guard
Years of service	1952–1953
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	Armed Forces Radio Service
Awards	Good Conduct Medal
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	吳漢章
Simplified Chinese	吴汉章
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wú Hànzhāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Ng4 Hon3zoeng1

James Hong (Chinese: 吳漢章; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. Known as one of the most prolific character actors of all time,^[1][2] he has worked in numerous productions in U.S. media since the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s. In 2022, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the American film and television industries.^[3]

Earlier in his career, Hong co-founded East West Players, the first Asian American theatre organization and the longest continuously-running minority theatre in the United States, to increase Asian American representation in the industry.^[1] Hong became known to audiences through starring in the detective series The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957–1958), and appeared in numerous shows including Hawaii Five-O (1969–1974), Bonanza (1960), Perry Mason (1962–1963), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965–1966), I Spy (1965–1967), and Kung Fu (1972–1975). He also guest-starred in numerous sitcoms including his memorable role as Bruce in the Seinfeld episode "The Chinese Restaurant" (1991).^[4][5]

He has appeared in numerous films, in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has acted in films such as Soldier of Fortune (1955), Flower Drum Song (1961), The Sand Pebbles (1966), Chinatown (1974) and its sequel The Two Jakes (1990), The In-Laws (1979), Airplane! (1980), True Confessions (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Balls of Fury (2007), Safe (2012), and R.I.P.D. (2013). Hong gained newfound prominence and acclaim for his role as the elderly grandfather, Gong Gong, in the Academy Award–winning science fiction absurdist comedy film Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) for which he earned a Screen Actors Guild Award.^[6][7][8]

As a voice actor, Hong has voiced numerous roles including Chi-Fu in Mulan (1998), Daolon Wong on the animated television series Jackie Chan Adventures (2002–2004), Professor Chang in Teen Titans (2003–2006), Mr. Ping in the Kung Fu Panda media franchise (2008-present), Zong Shi in Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021), Father Level Bests in Wendell & Wild (2022), and Mr. Gao in Turning Red (2022).