The Japanese-born American actress and singer was on the SFVJACL panel of Asian Americans in the entertainment field
Tamlyn Tomita has spoken up about the lack of hot Asian male movie stars in the industry.
Speaking on a panel at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Citizens League (SFVJACL), Tomita said the film and televsion industry comprised of predominantly of white males. “We happen to look at movie stars and they’re usually white men,” Tomita said.
Tomita said that a few exceptions can be found in the African American community. “There are a few African American actors who are hot such as Denzel Washington.”
However, the actress added that other ethnicities are less well represented in terms of “hot” male actors.
“I’d like to uplift Asian American actors and Latino American actors to be put up there as hot items we can all lust for because it makes us want to watch their movies so much.”
Tomita also encouraged viewers to use social media to tell actors what they want to see. “We need to ask you what you want to see and what you expect of us,” she said. “When you say you really enjoy something or dislike something, tell us what you want to see.
The actress added that all Asian Americans are part of the same community. “We’re all part of this story of America. Whether or not you have an accent or if you’re from another country or Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, South Asian, we are all part of the same community and there are always similarities we can share.”
Tomita, who is best known for her role as Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II, was speaking on a panel held by SFVJACL that discussed Asians in the entertainment field.
The panel was presented by Guy Aoki and also featured Keiko Agena, Francois Chau, Amy Hill, Clyde Kusatsu, Elizabeth Sung and Chris Tashima.