"I hope Asian American kids watch CRA and realize that they can be heroes of their own stories"
Constance Wu has tweeted about the “historic” representation of Asian Americans on screen.
Crazy Rich Asians is just around the corner and the film’s lead star Constance Wu is embracing the hype by tweeting a heartfelt message about the “historic” representation of Asian Americans.
In the tweet, Wu wrote described how she began her career as a “theatre actress scraping by with waitressing jobs for 10 years.”
She admitted that she was expecting to be in the same position for the rest of her life. However, after landing her first ever leading role on a TV show in Fresh Off The Boat, her career skyrocketed.
“It was also historic – FOTB was the 1st TV show in over 20 years to center an Asian American story,” Wu wrote. “Suddenly w/FOTB’s success, people were talking about the lack of Asian American stories. Why had it taken 20 years?”
Crazy Rich Asians is also Wu’s first role in a feature film. “Before CRA, I hadn’t even done a tiny part in a studio film,” she said. “I never dreamed I would get to star in one because I had never seen that happen to someone who looked like me. CRA is changing that just like FOTB did.”
Wu went on to write that she hopes Asian American kids can feel inspired by Crazy Rich Asians.
“I hope Asian American kids watch CRA and realize that they can be heroes of their own stories,” Wu writes. “So for those who don’t feel seen, I hope there is a story you find soon that does represent you.”
Crazy Rich Asians will be released on 15 August and is expected to earn $20 million when it opens.
#CrazyRichAsians opens August 15th. Read below to understand why it means so much to so many people. All love. @CrazyRichMovie @FreshOffABC @WarnerBrosEnt pic.twitter.com/IISLRDMRjU
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) 1 August 2018