Hollywood stars and shakers who were born in Malaysia | Campus.sg

Hollywood has long been the aspiration of many in the film and entertainment industry, and only a few Southeast Asians have made it to the big screen. But this changed with the emergence of actors like Michelle Yeoh and Henry Golding who were born in Malaysia, not to mention those who work behind the scenes as screenwriters or directors. Their contributions not only put Malaysia on the map, but also helped increase Asian representation in Hollywood.

Here are some quick facts about Malaysian-born figures in the Hollywood entertainment scene:

Michelle Yeoh

Before becoming the first Asian to win an Academy Award (2023) for Best Actress in Everything everywhere at onceMichelle was known to many of us in Southeast Asia as a Hong Kong action star. Born in Ipoh, Michelle trained as a professional ballet dancer in the UK and won the Miss Malaysia competition before heading to Hong Kong, where she became famous for performing stunts in action films. Her first big role in Hollywood was in the James Bond movie, Tomorrow never dies (1997), and then he came Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and Crazy rich asians (2018). And also became a part of Star Trek and marvel universes, which cemented her as a Hollywood star.

Ronnie Cheng

Born in Johor Bahru, Ronnie commuted to school in Singapore before heading to Australia to further his education. While many people know him through his roles in… Crazy rich asians and Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), some may also be familiar with his comedy specials on Netflix. Ronnie has always been about comedy, having started his career in Australia in a comedy series he created for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. One of his biggest accomplishments this year was winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show for his contribution to Daily showWhere he worked as a reporter for nine years and also appeared as a guest host.

Henry Golding

Henry rose to prominence in Crazy rich asians (2018), before landing the titular role in Snake-eyes (2021). He was also in Gentlemen (2019) and appeared alongside the cast Ministry of brutal war (2024). Henry Golding was born in the small town of Bitong in Sarawak, to a British father and an Ibanian mother. He honored his Iban heritage fully bejalaiIt is a traditional rite of passage in the jungles of Borneo. The family lived in Terengganu for a while before moving to the UK, where he trained as a professional hairdresser. He returned to Malaysia at the age of 21 to continue his career as a presenter for ESPN and BBC.

Adele Lim

He is best known for co-writing songs such as Crazy rich asians and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Adele began her career as a script coordinator on the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess (1995). She was born in Petaling Jaya, where she attended Sri Aman Girls School, and completed her studies at Emery College in Boston. In addition to writing scripts for several television shows, she is also a producer and director. In 2003, she made her directorial debut with a film Joy rideIt is a comedy film I co-wrote and stars Ashley Park and Stephanie Hsu. Adele is also set to direct the upcoming film The princess bride 3with Anne Hathaway reprising her role.

James Wan

Horror fans will know his name – James is responsible for directing the terrifying SAW franchise that debuted in 2004 and now has ten sequels, with X saw (2023). It continues to dominate the horror genre in Hollywood with other franchises such as Insidious, Annabelleand Sorcery. Besides directing, he is also a screenwriter, producer, and comic book writer. Besides horror, he has also directed other franchises such as Angry 7 (Fast & Furious series), as well as the DC Comic series Aquaman (2018) and its sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). James was born in Kuching and moved to Australia at the age of seven.

Worth mentioning…

Completing the list of famous Malaysian personalities, we also have Nigel Ng Comedian and YouTube personality who was born in Kuala Lumpur. After high school, he went on to study engineering in the United States and then developed his YouTube career while living in London. You'll know him as Uncle Roger, a character with an exaggerated Cantonese accent who is known for criticizing people's attempts to cook Asian food. Now he has his own chain of fried rice restaurants, with plans to expand beyond Malaysia.

If you have watched Mind your language (1977-1979) No matter how old you are, you probably remember the character of Chung Su Lee, the Chinese patriot. I've played it before Baek Sin LimWho was born in Penang to wealthy parents during the Japanese occupation. In defiance of her parents, she moved to London at the age of sixteen to pursue an acting career. She also appeared as Chin Li in 1971 Doctor Who series Evil mindAnd also the killer cleaner in Johnny English Reborn (2011).

There are more Malaysians than Singaporeans in Hollywood?

Singapore and Malaysia have always had this kind of mild rivalry (we even argue about it). food). So why are more Malaysian-born celebrities making it to Hollywood? Many people have pointed out that more Malaysians Leave their country To pursue their careers more than Singaporeans, citing lack of opportunities, economic instability, and Immigration status. Since most of these successful Malaysian-born talents come from privileged backgrounds, does this play a role?

Some people have noted that the local entertainment industry in Malaysia is more vibrant than it was in Singapore initially. When it comes to local Singaporean films being shown in cinemas, the titles most of us are familiar with probably come from a few notable directors (such as Jack Neo). In Malaysian cinemas, on any given week, there will be at least one locally made film on offer from various producers in genres such as horror, action, drama and comedy. For example, this year saw the release of Submission: Lahad Datu (An action film inspired by the Battle of Lahad Datu), Experts (stealing money), gold (Docudrama about the shuttle), Rain city (Drama in a small town) and Javanese ground fern (supernatural horror), to name a few.