Nearly two decades into a career that’s delivered blockbusters like Crazy Rich Asians and Wicked, director Jon M. Chu has opened up about the nagging doubt that’s shadowed him from the start.
“I didn’t think I deserved to be in Hollywood,” he confessed recently during a Canva Create panel. The moment hit hard around Crazy Rich Asians, his 2018 hit that put Asian stories front and center in mainstream cinema. Recalling the chat, Chu said the mention of that film “lit up” something in him.
“That was a big point in my life. I didn’t think I deserved to be in Hollywood. I was discovered and I got very lucky. And when you win the lottery, you think you actually dont know how you got there… So you actually cant win the lottery again”.
It’s raw stuff from a guy who’s now steering massive projects, including Wicked (2024) and its sequel Wicked For Good (2025). He often wrestles with one question: “Why am I the person to tell the story?”. But Chu pushed through by betting on what felt personal. “I had to learn how to win in a different way or how to tell my story,” he explained. That led to choices like In the Heights, where he warned his team: “I’m going to take five years and I’m not going to make you any money. Luckily they were fine with it”.
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Chu’s candor lands at a time when Asian directors are finally getting big swings, but the pressure’s real. His breakout felt like luck, not skill—echoing what so many in the industry battle quietly. Yet those “lottery” breaks turned into proof: audiences connected with the family meals, the banter, the inside jokes he poured in. No one else could’ve made Crazy Rich Asians sing like that.
“When you said my list of movies, it lit up and you said Crazy Rich Asians,” he said. “That was a big point in my life. I didn’t think I deserved to be in Hollywood. I was discovered and I got very lucky. And when you win the lottery, you think you actually don’t know how you got there. So you actually can’t win the lottery again.”
He’s not slowing down. Warner Bros has him attached to a Hot Wheels movie with Bad Robot, plus a Dr. Seuss adaptation, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, alongside co-director Jill Culton. From lottery winner to sure bet, Chu’s rewriting his own script—one that proves he belongs.
