HONG KONG, June 28, (AP): Growing up in the United States, Daniel Wu dreamed of a cameo in a Jackie Chan movie. The 35-year-old actor has long since realized that dream, costarring with the action comedy veteran in several productions.
Having achieved success in Hong Kong, Wu now hopes he can break into Hollywood as a positive example for a new generation of Asians.
“I would like there to be some kind of Asian-American role model for the kids out there today,” Wu told The Associated Press on Sunday as he promoted his new action thriller, “Triple Tap.”
As a youngster in Orinda, California, Wu said there were few Asian faces on the big screen he could look up to. Instead, there was Long Duk Dong — the awkward foreign exchange student parodied in the 1984 high-school comedy “Sixteen Candles.” So Wu found inspiration in a Chinatown video rental shop, devouring the movies of Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li, aspiring to “be in a Jackie Chan movie and be kicked down a flight of stairs.”
His fascination with Hong Kong cinema led to a trip to the former British colony in 1997 to witness its handover to China. Out of funds, he tried modeling and was spotted by a Hong Kong director in a fashion ad.

Frequent
Thirteen years later, he has 50 movies under his belt and is one of the Chinese-language industry’s biggest stars. Childhood idol Chan has become a frequent screen partner, most recently in the Tokyo-set drama “Shinjuku Incident.” With a summer blockbuster due out on Thursday and clothing, watch and skin care endorsements, it’s hard to miss Wu’s picture in this wealthy shopping-crazed city of 7 million people.
Now Wu is hoping to leverage his reputation in the land of his ancestors to correct the cinematic prejudices of his home country. He recently signed with the Hollywood talent broker Creative Artists Agency.
“It’s amazing that 30 years later, there still aren’t (positive Asian-American role models). And I would like to help change that,” he said.
The University of Oregon architecture graduate says part of the challenge is choosing the right roles. He said he has already turned down parts that he feels portrays Asians in a negative light.
“I find that Americans still have a very big stereotype toward what Asians are, and I don’t feel a need to perpetuate that stereotype. So when a good character comes along, I’m all for it. I’m ready. I’d be very open to it,” Wu said.
Wu said he would also enjoy a break from Chinese cinema’s historical epics and action fare and the opportunity to work with Hollywood talent. He recently got a taste of American star power after shooting with Kevin Spacey in “Inseparable,” a drama about an American expatriate living in China.
“That was an amazing experience working with someone who’s won two Oscars,” Wu said.
In the meantime, Wu is still churning away in the prolific Chinese film industry. The Chinese-American actor also hopes to delve into directing again, after making his debut as a director in 2006 with “The Heavenly Kings,” a parody of the Chinese pop industry, saying he enjoys executing his own artistic vision like an architect.
“As a designer, you’re the one in control,” he said.

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SYDNEY: Hollywood’s remake of the 1984 hit film “The Karate Kid” came under fire on Monday, with an Australian children’s group saying it was too violent for a young audience.
The Australian Council on Children and the Media wants the latest movie, which stars martial arts legend Jackie Chan in the role of the older mentor, given a higher classification because of the brutality of some scenes.
The fact that some of the violence is perpetrated by children doesn’t lessen the impact, said the council’s vice-president Elizabeth Handsley.
“Strong violence by a sympathetic character with little or no consequences is shown,” she said of the film which stars Jaden Smith, the son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
The remake should have been given an “M” rating in Australia, indicating it was not recommended for those under the age of 15, rather than the lower “PG” of parental guidance, Handsley said.
Australia’s Classification Review Board originally found the movie should be rated M, but after distributor Sony Pictures appealed, changed this to PG with the advice that it contained “action violence, bullying violence and themes”.
The board said the rating was justified because the violence was episodic and infrequent and mainly stylised in nature.
But Glenn Cupit, a child psychologist and also a board member with the council, described the movie’s violence as “quite brutal and of an adult type”.
“The violence inflicted does not show real life outcomes of serious kicking and punching,” he said. “A young audience may not appreciate what will surely result if they copy that violence.”
Handsley said the film was a stronger version than the 1983 original which starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.
“No-one’s saying that it’s a bad movie,” she said of the remake, “but that doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate for little kids”.