Before the dominance of Hollywood, most Asian-American actors roles were limited to the background and in offensive roles. Two APA actors, Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa, nonetheless became superstars. They and a few other pioneers attempted to produce a genuinely Asian-American Cinema in the silent era. By the dawn of the studio era, Hollywood was the dominant voice in American film and Asian-American actors were once again limited to stereotypical roles, often in supporting roles for white actors in yellowface. Largely due to the influence of Asian-American theater and the efforts of those APA players involved, an authentic Asian-American Cinema was reborn in the '70s and '80s, ultimately expanding and diversifying in the 1990s and 2000s.

In the 1950s, an overwhelming majority of Hollywood films with Asians focused on interracial romance, mostly with women as war trophies. On the stage, musicals about the Far East like The King and I, South Pacific and Flower Drum Song were in vogue. Those, along with TV series like Hawaiian Eye, encouraged many Asians to pursue acting as a career. Anna May Wong's The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong became the first TV show to star an Asian American.

ASIAN-AMERICANS WHO BEGAN FILM CAREERS IN THE 1950s


  
                          Aki Aleong                                                Beulah Quo                              Chang Tseng  

   
           Dale Ishimoto                             France Nuyen                                         George Takei 

                                Ginny Tiu                                               James Hong                            James Shigeta  

  
              Jaqui Chan                                 Jerry Fujikawa                                             Judy Dan

   
                        Kam Fong                                                        Lisa Lu                                    Lucille Soong