AAPI Celebrities' Careers Before Hollywood

Buzz Feed

23-05-2025

Thanks to Hollywood pioneers over the decades, AAPI faces have thankfully become a more familiar presence on our screens.
But the road to Hollywood can be a winding one, and before these celebrities found their footing in the industry, there was once a time they had to pay bills, soothe parental concerns, or grapple first with the internal strife of what to do with the rest of their lives. Thus, odd jobs, degrees they hoped to never use, and the potential to veer off into a whole other career path loomed — until they decided to follow the stars!
Ken Jeong, as a student at Duke University, had to decide between continuing his medical school studies or pursuing drama. He was accepted into the school's prestigious drama program, but ultimately, due to "lack of Asian American representation in film at the time," he decided to go forth with his medical studies. Upon graduating, he continued performing stand-up while working part-time as an actual doctor, until he booked a part playing a doctor on Knocked Up and decided to follow his ambition to pursue acting full-time.
As she was going viral for a satirical rap titled, "My Vag," Awkwafina held down a corporate job as a publicity assistant. That is, until she was fired for mentioning her side gig to her boss. She told CAAM, "The publishing office was my last real job." After, she took on a series of odd jobs, including working at a vegan bodega until she realized, "Awkwafina was bigger than I thought." Then, she made becoming Awkwafina a full-time career.
While it was widely reported that Jason Momoa was a model before he booked his first-ever acting gig on Baywatch: Hawaii, that turned out to be a little white lie to make it look like he had credentials on his blank resume, he told Square Mile. He booked the gig, but after his two-year run with the show, he struggled to find roles and faced what he recalled as his "rock bottom." He took a job working as security for a club, which he described as "humbling," borrowing money and couch surfing until he booked his next gig, North Shore, which snowballed into his next set of roles until that iconic break as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones.
Hong Chau, who wooed critics and audiences in Downsizing and The Whale, told Financial Times she once worked in the accounting department at PBS. Hong, who graduated with a film production degree from Boston University, said, 'I naively thought, at the age of 17, that you could easily get a job with a film degree. I was very wrong.' Public speaking and improv classes helped her overcome her shyness and eventually led the way to acting. She moved to Los Angeles and plugged away, trying to find the right parts and fighting "to get in the room."
Keanu Reeves, who we all know as that man we must protect at all costs, has built a long and storied career in Hollywood, leading blockbusters like the Matrix series and the John Wick franchise. He knew he wanted to be an actor at an early age, and while performing on stage, he nabbed an agent, only his early roles weren't like the ones he stars in now. One of his first on-screen gigs included time as a correspondent for Going Great, a children's show interviewing athletes and performers. But role by role, he built up his credits until his big break in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, where he beat out 200 to 300 actors for the role.
Before Young Mazino's major roles in Beef and The Last of Us, he was a senior business intelligence analyst at global beauty brand Fresh Beauty while he pursued his acting ambitions on the side. "I was terrified that I would lose my job if they found out I was running to auditions during lunch, or leaving a little early, or using my vacation days at random to shoot short films," he told GOAT. 'What I would do is print out my lines and have them on my lap," he told NBC News. While pretending to type, he would make sure no one was looking and study his lines. The final leap to pursue acting full-time came from his boss at Fresh, who encouraged him to go all in.
Before her Golden Globe-winning turn as Toda Mariko in Shōgun, Anna Sawai was the leader of FAKY, a five-person J-pop girl group, for five years before she left to pursue acting. "I'm glad that I had that experience, but I left for a reason," Anna told Entertainment Tonight. After achieving her childhood dreams of becoming a singer, she still harbored a passion for acting. As her agency at the time was more music-focused, she decided to leave behind her life as a J-pop star. She eventually booked roles in critically-lauded shows Giri/Haji and Pachinko and the Fast and Furious franchise.
Rich Brian came onto the scene with an unexpected satirical hip-hop track, 'Dat $tick," in 2016. But this was after building up a social media presence on Vine and what was then called Twitter (now X) as a young teen. His lore includes teaching himself English through hip-hop and YouTube as a homeschooled kid in Jakarta, Indonesia. Backed by a baritone, gravelly voice, he transitioned his one-hit wonder (which was covered by Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan) to more boppy hits like "Edamame," which went on to be featured in Super Bowl ads.
Before her breakout role in Teen Wolf, Arden Cho was a pageant winner of Miss Korea Chicago and almost pursued a law degree. While on the pre-law track, facing pressure to choose between a stable career in "law, medicine, or engineering," she took theater courses as an elective because she thought it would be "easy." She told CAAM it actually ended up being "very, very difficult," and she fell in love with the medium. However, years later, she did end up playing an attorney for her starring role in Partner Track. She told Bustle of her role at the time, 'There was a point where I thought I would take my LSATs, and now ironically, I play a lawyer on TV.'
Manny Jacinto, who captivated audiences in The Good Place and The Acolyte, has a surprising background in what could have been. Manny graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in civil engineering. He planned to follow in his father's footsteps and become an engineer until an epiphany in his sophomore year: he saw his life flash by, one that failed to excite him and served as a wake-up call. Today, he uses his analytical background to break down characters and scenes. But that degree? "It's in the cupboard right now," he told CBC. "I'll bring it out when I need to, when I need to build a bridge."
Jimmy O. Yang, of Silicon Valley and Interior Chinatown, graduated with an economics degree from the University of San Diego, but he can't say he was exactly passionate about his course of study. "That's the easiest major that still pleases your Asian parents," Jimmy told NPR, adding, "I'll say I've done it and I'll figure my life out." After a financial internship at Smith Barney, where he ended up with "panic attacks" from thinking this would be his life for the next 40 years, he decided to get up on stage and dive into the world of stand-up. "Like I said in my book, to me, it was better to disappoint my parents for a couple years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life, so I had to take a risk," Jimmy shared with Wired.
During his come-up, there were also plenty of odd jobs that included selling used cars and DJing at strip clubs.
John Cho has long been a fan favorite actor with historic roles in the Harold & Kumar series, the first Asian-American thriller, Searching, and the live-action anime adaptation, Cowboy Bebop. But before all that, before he was that MILF guy in American Pie, he was a UC Berkeley graduate who studied English literature, and a teacher in West Hollywood. "It was easier to get a job teaching than it was to get a job waiting tables," he told Glamour. With acting, he wasn't exactly sure how it would work out. It was the "mid-to-late 90s," and it "just didn't seem like enough jobs out there," he reflected with CAAM. "I didn't foresee myself giving up my second job for a very, very long time."
KJ Apa, before his big break with Riverdale, was a passionately talented musician, busking in the streets of downtown Auckland. After a stint on a soap opera, Shortland Street, at 18, KJ packed up his bags for Los Angeles and booked the hit CW show. His character Archie even had a storyline where he grappled with playing football versus becoming a musician, in which KJ was able to showcase his talents. However, KJ is a more talented musician than his character, Teen Vogue reported. "I don't know how to say it, but we're not at the same level, you know what I mean?" KJ said. "Somehow I have to say that in not a cocky way, but he's a beginner."
To be fair, it's probably not cocky if he has talents to match. Catch KJ busking here.
Charles Melton, another Riverdale alum, was an excellent dog walker before his big break with the show. "I was 26 at the time. For some reason, I couldn't get a job as a waiter," he told Cosmopolitan. "I was working as a take-out guy for a Chinese restaurant in Brentwood. I was walking dogs in the meantime, too." He shared that he was the #1 dog walker on the Wag app and that he walked "over 300 dogs," writing "super-detailed reviews." He said, "I loved getting to know their personalities. Walking dogs, in a way, saved me back then." In fact, he was so popular, even after his break with Riverdale, he would still receive notification requests for walks.
Ke Huy Quan, while finding success as a child actor in legendary films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, faced a drought in roles and opportunities in the years after. He went on to graduate from the University of Southern California's film school and worked behind the camera as an assistant stunt choreo­grapher and director. He told NPR, "I spent a long time lying to myself that acting isn't fun anymore." As time passed, he noticed more roles opening up for Asian actors. Everything Everywhere All at Once was the first script he read, and of course, it led to his second breakout role, cinching him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Jamie Chung was once an MTV reality star on The Real World before her Hollywood break. Jamie told People, "I have no shame in my humble beginnings. They kick-started my career." Her passion for acting was discovered through performing skits at Korean Catholic church camp, and after wrapping up a reality TV run and degree at UC Riverside, she followed her passion to Los Angeles. '[I was] so ashamed of failure that I didn't tell anyone what I was doing, not even my parents,' Jamie recalled to Mochi Mag. Fast forward to today, her real world now consists of roles in The Hangover franchise, Once Upon a Time, and Lovecraft Country.
Kumail Nanjiani, who famously played a computer whiz on Silicon Valley, actually holds a computer science (and philosophy) degree in real life. He had even spent time working in the field, though he admits it didn't help much with the role. "I was really bad at computer science," he said on Forward. His love for stand-up comedy led him to pursue the craft, but the road wasn't easy. He described the medium as "painful," but "slightly less painful than not doing it.' Then, it was all "tiny steps" that led him to Hollywood.
Saweetie, who we all know from reaching the Billboard charts with singles like "Tap In" and "Best Friend," graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in communication with an emphasis in business. She spoke with the Shade Room about her unexpected college job working as a server at a strip club before she made it in her rap career. 'I think people have a misconception of strippers, and the reason why I say that is 'cause I used to work at the strip club myself," she said. "You learn a lot working in those type of environments.' She spoke out against the biases strippers face and made a point about considering the nuances of the role. "It's an interesting job that requires a lot of talents. You have to be smart."
She also worked as a coder, a secretary, and even ran her own clothing brand called Money Makin' Mamis while doing background vocals for Kendrick Lamar.
And finally, Li Jun Li, who recently appeared in Sinners, started her creative path with dance. A graduate of LaGuardia High's dance program, she fell in love with acting when she auditioned for the school's musicals. Afterwards, on the grind, she took acting classes, attended open calls, bartended, and even worked as a real estate agent. Her trajectory has led to an impressive resume, but she told Schön! the path to getting to where she is now was steep. "I'm very lucky that I live in the years when Hollywood is making this kind of progression at this stage," she said, as over ten years ago, "there were barely any roles for us."
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