“ I had a mould director tell me , ‘ You ’re not quite white-hot enough for the part . ’ ”
1. Darren Criss
Gleestar Darren Criss , who is half - Filipino , saidin 2020 : “ It ’s hard , this idea of ‘ ashen - passing . ’ It ’s not even a term I heard of until the past two years . When multitude have a say in who you are — masses you do n’t even know — it makes you rethink what your equalizer is . Something you ’ve had down your whole life-time . It ’s a crafty cocktail in America . I ’ve always been proud of my inheritance , of being Filipino . Just because people do n’t see it , does n’t make it any less real to me . "
2. Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa , who is Filipino on her mother ’s side , has long facedassumptionsabout her ethnicity . “ Everyone automatically assumed that I was Latina , and most people still do , ” theHigh School Musicalalum toldAllurein 2023 . “ When I tell them I ’m Filipino , they ’re like , ‘ What ? ! ’ You have n’t met my mother . I call up that I ’m quite ambiguous so people do n’t really live . But I am doing everything that I can to have people know because I am lofty . ”
3. Auli’i Cravalho
Auli’i , who is of Native Hawaiian , Puerto Rican , Lusitanian , Chinese , and Irish descent , give away in a2022 interviewthat she was described by casting professionals in Hollywood as “ racially equivocal . ” She said , “ multitude did n’t know my brass , and when drop did see my face , they ’d say , ‘ You ’re racially equivocal . ’ I ’m wish , ‘ That ’s a new term . I ’ve never learn that one before , ’ which go forth me even more internally scattered because my identity has always been Hawaiian . ”
“ short , all of these phrases were squeeze at me : ' Well , you ’re white - passing , but you ’re also racially ambiguous , so you could play Latinx , you could trifle Asian , you could play all of these different things . ' I was like , ' I just want to play fresh women . The taproom is there , ’ ” theMoanastar supply .
4. Keanu Reeves
In a 2021 interview withNBC Asian America , Keanu — who has Chinese heritage — said , “ My family relationship to my Asian identity , it ’s always been good and healthy . And I love it . " When require about his thoughts on being labeled a person of color , however , The Matrixactor say , “ I do n’t bang if I hold with that assertion . But I do n’t not fit . ”
5. Olivia Munn
Back in 2015,New GirlactorOlivia , who is part Vietnamese , revealed that she ’s been tell she ’s “ too white ” in “ so many ” acting sense of hearing . She toldPrestige Hong Kong , “ I ’d go out for so many auditory modality , for everything . And then I ’d be told , ' You ’re too Asiatic ' or ' You ’re too white . ' I remember someone separate me , ' Do n’t feel risky . One day they wo n’t be trying to match you to fit with anyone else . You ’ll just be hired for you . ' So you ca n’t help but get discomfited . That ’s part of it all . ”
6. Janel Parrish
Pretty Little Liarsstar Janel , who is half - Asian and from Hawaii , has described her feature as “ ethnically ambiguous , ” perBustle . “ I had a really laborious prison term because they did n’t quite know how to place me into a family , ” she suppose in 2018 as she recalled struggling to bag acting gigs because of her ethnicity .
7. KJ Apa
Riverdalestar KJ , who is of Samoan and European descent , saidin 2020 : “ I ’m half Samoan , but nobody knows it because I ’m blanched and I have [ dyed ] red haircloth . My dad is a chief in Samoa . I almost identify more as a Samoan than I do as a New Zealander , just because I grew up with so much Samoan family line , and the Samoan polish is really tight to me . I experience ashamed of myself for not pursue it more . ”
8. Darren Barnet
Never Have I Everstar Darren , who is part Nipponese , toldTeen Voguein 2021 that he has struggled with impression like he ’s “ not Asian enough ” in the acting populace . He said , “ I felt like I could n’t equip in anywhere . Even arrive into acting , I never really thought about leaning into my Japanese inheritance because there ’s this feel I have that I ’m not Asian enough to do it . And I feel like if I was cast as a clearly Asian character , there ’d be controversy around that . ”
9. Chloe Bennet
Finally , Chloe , who is Chinese and American , revealedthat she had a stray director explicitly tell her that she was n’t “ quite white enough ” for a role , nor was she “ Asian enough ” for another . “ An uncomfortable amount of my feedback had to do with the fact that I did n’t look like what they expected me to search like . I had a casting managing director tell me , ' You ’re not quite lily-white enough for the part , but you ’re not quite Asiatic enough for the best friend role . ' And I recollect genuinely thinking , Oh yeah , yeah she ’s correct . Like , I ’m not fully white-hot so I could n’t possibly be the lede even though there was no limitation on the equipment failure of the character saying that this persona demand to be any ethnicity , ” said theAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.actor .
