# Any Detectives of Asian ancestry PLAYED by actors of Asian ancestry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348 "2015-06-24T12:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/281 "2015-11-18T01:24:03Z")
I mentioned a while ago how Lucy Liu was top-billed as an investigative journalist tracking down criminals in RISE, but didn’t mention how Natsuko Ohama played her mom, because why would I? But before that, Ohama did dozens of FOREVER KNIGHT episodes as the police captain forever bossing around Detective Nicholas Knight. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/282 "2015-11-19T00:48:00Z")
Michael Sun Lee has tons of cop credits in general, and as a Detective in particular, which I mentioned back in August; I didn’t, and _couldn’t,_ mention then that he’s about to earn yet another IMDB credit as a Detective tonight, on TRUE NIGHTMARES. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/283 "2015-11-20T01:15:57Z")
Kelvin Han Yee was Detective Scott Chen on _Hawaii_ before he was the Chief of Police on _Hawaii Five-O_ – stopping to play a Detective on _Criminal Minds_ in between. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/284 "2015-11-21T01:14:14Z")
In ONE MISSED CALL, the movie where folks get mysterious voicemails with the date and time of their upcoming demise, Margaret Cho played Detective Mickey Lee. (And it scored a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, which you’ve _really_ got to work at.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/285 "2015-11-22T01:07:17Z")
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was top-billed as Chang Apana in _The Legend of Chang Apana_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/286 "2015-11-23T03:27:54Z")
Tom Yi has been everywhere – he was Señor Chang’s brother (i.e., _Rabbi_ Chang) on COMMUNITY; and was Doctor Kenneth Lo on RAY DONOVAN; and was Bruce Morimoto, a chemist accused of an inside-job pharmaceutical-company heist on LIE TO ME; and was the Medical Examiner in that made-for-TV movie about Drew Peterson – and, as usual, I’m reluctant to count ‘Medical Examiner’; and, as usual, I don’t especially need to _bother,_ since he got a recurring role as a Detective on THE SHIELD before he got a recurring role as, well, a Detective on GENERAL HOSPITAL. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/287 "2015-11-24T00:33:29Z")
Annie Chang’s been cast for 11 episodes on _Shades of Blue_ as FBI Agent Molly Chen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/288 "2015-11-25T01:02:55Z")
In the Donald Strachey mysteries, Nelson Wong plays Kenny Kwon, the office manager at Strachey Investigations – which wouldn’t count, except Kwon is working toward a private-detective license, and so gets tasked with stuff like tailing the target du jour in the third one before going the full PI-In-Training route in the fourth one. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/289 "2015-11-26T01:51:50Z")
Current “it” show THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE has the sizable role of Inspector Kido being ably fielded by Filipino-American actor Joel de la Fuente. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/290 "2015-11-27T01:42:33Z")
I mentioned Tzi Ma back in July, since he’d run the gamut from Detective Eddie Pak to Detective Harold Ng before solving crimes as Cheng Zhi on 24 – but nobody’s yet mentioned his _wife,_ Christina Ma, who played Detective Leslie Yee on NIGHTMAN. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/291 "2015-11-28T03:50:55Z")
At that, Kipp Shiotani – who, back in 2004 and 2005 and 2006 was Dr. Kevin Namura on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL – presumably doesn’t count for playing Agent Ito on JAG. But his wife, Jennifer Aquino – who was _also_ on JAG, as Jun Higashimori – was in ONLY THE BRAVE alongside Shiotani (with her as Grace Nakajo, and him as Corporal Johnny Nomura) after she was Detective Laura Hannigan on HAWAII. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/292 "2015-11-29T01:00:37Z")
Roy Vongtama was Detective Lee in DEATH CLIQUE just last year. ---
**Author:** ![bytheway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bytheway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bytheway)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/293 "2015-11-29T06:04:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And so I’ll instead mention Peter Tuiasosopo: an actor of Asian ancestry (first clue: his name is _Peter Tuiasosopo_) who held down the recurring role of Detective Al Hamoki (second clue: that’s _Detective Al Hamoki_) on DANGER THEATRE. Sorry to nix this, since you’ve put in an awful lot to this thread, but Tuiasosopo is a Samoan name. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/294 "2015-11-29T09:05:04Z")
Does the T-1000 in Terminator: Genisys count as a detective or as Asian? He’s a machine from the future that kills people and he’s only imitating a cop but he’s played by Lee Byung-hun. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/295 "2015-11-30T03:01:18Z")
> [@bytheway](#): > > Sorry to nix this, since you’ve put in an awful lot to this thread, but Tuiasosopo is a Samoan name. And to think: I only put Tuiasosopo in that post because I wanted to make _sure_ I was bumping the thread with something relevant, instead of putting all my eggs in one basket with Chong! It gives a bloke pause… (As it happens, I was about to mention how Amara Karan’s been cast in LUCKY MAN as Detective Sergeant Suri Chohan – and now you have me triple-checking every detail of her Sri Lankan ancestry! I should’ve been so careful to _begin_ with!) Which brings me to this: [QUOTE=DWMarch] Does the T-1000 in Terminator: Genisys count as a detective or as Asian? He’s a machine from the future that kills people and he’s only imitating a cop but he’s played by Lee Byung-hun. [/QUOTE] Huh. From a quick look at IMDB, he’s the new Detective Lee in RUSH HOUR 4 – only that’s a _joke,_ it was a spoof, it never really happened, this is me being careful. Only it turns out they really _are_ going back to the RUSH HOUR well, with Jon Foo as the new Detective Lee (and Justin Hires as the new Detective Carter, at that)! Which just leaves me _gobsmacked_; if they’re at the point now where they’re recycling stuff that came up on the first page, I’m honestly having a hard time working up the enthusiasm to keep bothering: there’s effectively an unlimited number of detectives of Asian ancestry played by actors of Asian ancestry – even allowing for the fact that I namechecked a guy of Pacific Islander extraction in the process – but what’s the _point_ of continuing the list if the classic example that came up then is now on the brink of spawning a second franchise out of the first franchise? 😕:dubious:😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348.md?page=14)