Actor hopes to open doors for more young Asian talent

Chinese American actor and producer Daniel Wu said he hopes his career can help create more opportunities for the next generation of Asian actors, as he reflected on identity, cultural exchange, and his decades-long ties to Hong Kong cinema at the New York Asian Film Festival.

Wu received the festival's Best from the East Award and also introduced the movie Cold War 1994 to the audience. He said he felt "excited, proud and honored" by the recognition.

"Although I was born and raised in the West, I've always represented Hong Kong film," he says. "Hong Kong film has had its ups and downs over the past 30 years, but it's always going to survive."

Returning to Hong Kong to film has always felt like "a homecoming", Wu says.

Reflecting on his cross-cultural career, he acknowledges the complexities of his identity. As a Chinese American who has spent much of his career in Hong Kong, he says he feels more at home filming in China, where he does not feel like a "minority", while continuing to navigate questions about where he belongs.

Wu says his mother's advice helped him embrace both sides of his identity.

"You should just think of yourself as a person of the world and not necessarily someone of the East or the West," he recalls her saying. "You're both worlds."

Wu says he now sees his career as "right in the middle on this bridge", connecting cultures while helping expand opportunities for future generations of Asian actors.

"The only reason why I keep trying to work in the United States is to show the next generation that it's possible for people like us," he says. Growing up, he rarely saw Asians on screen except in stereotypical roles.

"I'm trying to help open up a path for the next generation so that we have more representation and more visibility in the West," he adds.

Speaking about his role in Cold War 1994, Wu says the character was unlike any he had played before. Rather than a clear-cut hero or villain, the morally ambiguous mastermind challenged him, both as an actor and as a person at a different stage of life.

"I never played a character like this that was so morally ambiguous," Wu says. "I've played bad guys, good guys and young cops, but I've never played an older mastermind like this.

"It's interesting to be at a different stage in my own life and relate to this character and understand him."

Set against the backdrop of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the film also offers audiences a chance to revisit a pivotal chapter in the city's history through cinema.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York has partnered with the New York Asian Film Festival since 2009. This year, 17 Hong Kong films are being showcased at the festival.

Maisie Ho, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, says the film festival serves as a bridge between the East and the West.

"For Asian Americans who were born and raised here, movies provide a valuable way to reconnect with their identity, culture and roots," she adds.

Ho says the festival also allows audiences of all backgrounds to gain a deeper understanding of Asia's cultural diversity through cinema.

She describes Wu as "already an ambassador bridging the East and the West", saying his cross-cultural experiences help audiences appreciate different perspectives.

Through figures like Wu and platforms such as the festival, cultural exchange becomes more meaningful and accessible, she adds.