For the Pudding, Dorothy Lu and Anna Li examine the match rate between actor ethnicity and the characters they played. The rate is higher than you might think.
On a character level, 207 out of 236 Asian main characters—88%—were portrayed by actors of the same ethnic background.
This was more accurate than we’d expected! We were ready to blame Hollywood, but it looks like casting directors have been paying attention to Asian actors’ ethnicities.
Honestly, as an Asian American, I only care that Asians are represented fairly in films. If a Korean can act Chinese or vice versa then it’s all good.
