Riz Ahmed in Closed Circuit (2013)
Riz Ahmed
◄ IMDb Polls
Poll: Crazy Sexy Asians
The popularity of the "Starring John Cho" memes highlight another of the many problems Hollywood has with casting - the assumption that worldwide audiences can only reliably relate to straight white male protagonists. From an interview in Salon magazine with up-and-coming actor Jake Choi, "Asian men in media are so de-sexualized and emasculated. Part of it is fear and racism. An Asian woman can be with a white man because that doesn't compromise white male sexuality and dominance and the perception of straight white male insecurity. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) aside, Asian men are mainly portrayed as emasculated. Even ads do a better job than films to portray sexy Asians.
When Jet Li and Aaliyah made Romeo Must Die (2000) they shot a kissing scene, but it was cut from the film. Now, wanting to be objectified might sound silly or superficial. But framing an up-and-coming actor as a swoon-worthy hunk is a major part of how Hollywood grooms leading men like Channing Tatum, Michael B. Jordan and Chris Pratt.
Which of these swoon-worthy Asian actors do you think has the most "hot leading man" potential?
* actors must currently be between 20 and 40 years old
Results of 470 votes:
-
1.
-
2.
Dev Patel in Lion (2016)
Dev Patel -
3.
Henry Golding in Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Henry Golding -
4.
Steven Yeun in The Walking Dead (2010)
Steven Yeun -
5.
Harry Shum Jr. in Shadowhunters (2016)
Harry Shum Jr. -
6.
Daniel Henney in Criminal Minds (2005)
Daniel Henney -
7.
Ian Anthony Dale as Simon Lee
Still from "The Event"
Ian Anthony Dale -
8.
Manish Dayal
Manish Dayal -
9.
#8
Godfrey Gao -
10.
Joe Taslim
Joe Taslim -
11.
Rahul Kohli in iZombie (2015)
Rahul Kohli -
12.
Manny Jacinto
Manny Jacinto -
13.
Amir Arison
Amir Arison -
14.
#13
Avan Jogia -
15.
Ludi Lin
Ludi Lin -
16.
Kris Wu in Somewhere Only We Know (2015)
Kris Wu -
17.
Max Minghella at an event for The Internship (2013)
Max Minghella -
18.
Rain in Ninja Assassin (2009)
Rain -
19.
Talu Wang
Talu Wang -
20.
Jay Chou in Now You See Me 2 (2016)
Jay Chou -
21.
Ali Fazal
Ali Fazal -
22.
Mahesh Jadu
Mahesh Jadu -
23.
Hasan Minhaj in Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King (2017)
Hasan Minhaj -
24.
#3
Jake Choi -
25.
Actor Lewis Tan for Muscle Fitness Magazine
Lewis Tan -
26.
Ki Hong Lee in The Mayor (2017)
Ki Hong Lee -
27.
Jordan Rodrigues in Dance Academy: The Movie (2017)
Jordan Rodrigues -
28.
Mike Moh
Mike Moh -
29.
Shazad Latif in 'Salting the Battlefield'
by David Hare
Shazad Latif -
30.
Kevan Ohtsji
Kevan Ohtsji -
31.
Chris Pang
Chris Pang -
32.
Yoshi Sudarso
Yoshi Sudarso -
33.
Simu Liu
Simu Liu -
34.
Gerrard Lobo
Gerrard Lobo -
35.
Vincent Rodriguez III at an event for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015)
Vincent Rodriguez III
