James Hong

James Hong Bio

James Hong (born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer, and director whose prolific career has spanned more than six decades in film, television, and animation. He has appeared in over 600 productions since the 1950s and is widely regarded as one of the most prolific character actors in American media. A co-founder of East West Players, the first Asian American theatre organization, Hong became a familiar face through roles in Chinatown, The Sand Pebbles, Big Trouble in Little China, and Blade Runner, and gained renewed prominence as Gong Gong in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). He received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2022 and continues to work both in front of and behind the camera.

Across decades of work, Hong has moved easily between Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, prime-time television, sitcoms, and animated features. His career arc, from a Minneapolis upbringing to a star-studded Hollywood tribute, illustrates the long path he has traveled as a pioneer for Asian American performers.

Early Life and Background

James Hong was born on February 22, 1929, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Chinese emigrant parents Ng Fok Hong and Lee Suey Far. His father had moved to Chicago from British Hong Kong via Canada before settling in Minneapolis, where he owned a restaurant and served as a leader of the local Hip Sing Tong. Through his father’s restaurant, Hong was exposed at a young age to Peking opera performers rehearsing in the family shop, an early encounter that sparked his lifelong interest in performing arts.

For part of his early education, Hong lived in Kowloon, Hong Kong, before returning to the United States at the age of ten. Growing up, he was often the only Asian student in classes of hundreds, an experience that exposed him to bullying and racial prejudice and shaped his awareness of the barriers facing Asian Americans in the entertainment industry. He graduated from Minneapolis Central High School and later studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, where he joined the Minnesota Army National Guard.

His university studies were interrupted when his guard unit was mobilized during the Korean War and sent to Alabama for training. While stationed at Fort McClellan and Camp Rucker from 1952 to 1953, Hong entertained fellow soldiers, and the camp general asked him to remain in charge of live shows rather than deploy overseas. After his service, Hong moved to Los Angeles in 1953 and completed his degree at the University of Southern California.

Path to Acting

After settling in Los Angeles, Hong worked full time as a road engineer for Los Angeles County during the day while acting in the evenings, on weekends, and during vacation and sick days. His early entry into show business came through dubbing Asian films for American release during the final years of the Golden Age of Hollywood, including the 1956 release Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. In February 1954, he appeared on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, where he did several impersonations, including one of Marx himself, and won $140 with his quiz partner.

Television quickly became an important stage for Hong. In 1957, he was cast as Number One Son Barry Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, a British-American series starring J. Carrol Naish. Hong later revealed that Naish had him fired from the series in a racist outburst over a missed line, an experience that underscored the discrimination he faced early in his career. He soon rebounded with guest roles on Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Hawaii Five-O, and the original Kung Fu, building a steady résumé across prime-time drama.

In 1965, Hong helped co-found East West Players, the first Asian American theatre organization and the longest continuously running minority theatre in the United States. The company was created to expand opportunities and representation for Asian American actors, an effort that remains central to his legacy. After roughly five and a half years balancing engineering with acting, Hong left his day job to pursue performing full-time.

James Hong Career

Early Career (1954–1960s)

Hong’s first major film role came in 1955 when he acted opposite Clark Gable in Soldier of Fortune, marking his entry into Hollywood features. In 1961, he appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, his first major studio musical and an early milestone for Asian American representation on screen. The mid-1960s brought steady guest work on series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and Hawaii Five-O, as well as his role as bar owner Mr. Shu in the 1966 Steve McQueen drama The Sand Pebbles.

Throughout the 1960s, Hong also built a presence on episodic television, appearing on Perry Mason, Ensign O’Toole, and Kentucky Jones, while continuing to perform on stage with East West Players. These years cemented his reputation as a reliable and versatile character actor across genres, from spy thrillers and war stories to light sitcoms and family musicals.

Breakthrough (1970s–1990s)

The 1970s pushed Hong into some of his most memorable work. In Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) and its 1990 sequel The Two Jakes, he played the loyal butler to Faye Dunaway’s Evelyn Mulwray. In 1979, he appeared in the comedy The In-Laws, and in 1980 he delivered a brief, comedic performance as a Japanese officer in the cult hit Airplane!. He also took on the role of Dr. David Tao in the 1972 Blake Edwards thriller The Carey Treatment, expanding his range into morally complex characters.

Hong’s most enduring cult role arrived in 1986 when he played the immortal sorcerer Lo Pan in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, opposite Kurt Russell. That same prolific decade brought his portrayal of eye manufacturer Chew in Blade Runner (1982), his work as a director on films such as The Vineyard (1989), and his memorable turn as Bruce, the host of a Chinese restaurant, in the 1991 Seinfeld episode “The Chinese Restaurant.” He also appeared in Wayne’s World 2 (1993), True Confessions (1981), Black Widow (1987), and Red Corner (1997), confirming his status as a genre-spanning character actor.

Notable Works and Milestones

Hong’s signature work spans Chinatown, Blade Runner, Big Trouble in Little China, The Sand Pebbles, and his voice role as Mr. Ping in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. His role as Gong Gong in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) brought him a new wave of acclaim, including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture shared with the ensemble. In 2022, at age 93, he became the oldest person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a moment highlighted by actor Daniel Dae Kim, who launched a 2020 GoFundMe campaign to support the honor.

James Hong Award Nominations

James Hong has received recognition across his long career, including an Annie Award nomination for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for his performance as Mr. Ping in Kung Fu Panda. He has also been honored by his peers with ensemble nominations tied to major productions, including Everything Everywhere All at Once. His body of work across film, television, and animation has earned him a reputation as one of the most nominated and awarded character actors of his generation.

James Hong Awards Won

James Hong won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture as part of the ensemble of Everything Everywhere All at Once. He also received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022, becoming the oldest person ever inducted at age 93. Earlier in his career, he won an Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Television Production tied to the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and he earned a Good Conduct Medal during his United States Army service in the early 1950s.

James Hong Family

James Hong was born to Chinese emigrant parents Ng Fok Hong and Lee Suey Far. His father owned a restaurant in Minneapolis and led the local Hip Sing Tong, while his mother helped raise Hong and his siblings in a household connected to both American and Chinese communities. Hong’s paternal grandfather was from Taishan, and family ties to Hong Kong remained important throughout his upbringing, including a formative stretch living in Kowloon during his early education.

Hong married Susan Tong in 1977, and the couple has three daughters and eight grandchildren. In 1994, Hong, his wife, and his daughter April appeared together in the mountain-bike travel documentary Full Cycle: A World Odyssey, riding beneath the Hollywood sign. He is a Presbyterian and attended Westminster Presbyterian Church with his family as a child in Minneapolis.

Personal Life

James Hong lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Susan Tong, to whom he has been married since 1977. The couple has three daughters and eight grandchildren, and Hong has often spoken about the importance of family in shaping his long career. He continues to balance voice work, on-screen roles, and producing projects from his Los Angeles home.