# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/61 "2015-06-25T15:58:49Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > …the asian guy from Walking Dead is voice acting the lead in a movie based on the comic Chew, which is about an asian FDA inspector who solves crimes. Chew. Food inspector. Dear ghod. (You mean he doesn’t just make eyes?) ---
**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:** [June 25, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/62 "2015-06-25T16:00:38Z")
I’d maybe count Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in _Tomorrow Never Dies_, who [“first encounters Bond when she is sent (under the disguise as a Xinhua News Agency reporter) to investigate the disappearance of stealth material from a People’s Liberation Army base”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wai_Lin). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/63 "2015-06-25T19:10:03Z")
I stumbled across this one by accident while answering another question. > **[When Were You Born (1938) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030968/?ref_=kw_li_tt)** > > When Were You Born: Directed by William C. McGann. With Margaret Lindsay, Anna May Wong, Lola Lane, Anthony Averill. Mei Lee Ling, an astrology expert, tells one of her fellow passengers on a ship, that he will die within two days and the next day he... When Were You Born Mei Lee Ling, an astrology expert, tells one of her fellow passengers on a ship, that he will die within two days and the next day he is dead. The police suspects that Mei does know something, but she doesn’t. But to clear herself she offers her help to solve the murder. Soon she and the police find themselves in a web of crime and false identities. Mei Lei Ming played by [Anna May Wong](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938923/?ref_=tt_cl_t2) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/64 "2015-06-25T19:16:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I stumbled across this one by accident while answering another question. > > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030968/?ref\_=kw\_li\_tt](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030968/?ref_=kw_li_tt) > > When Were You Born > > Mei Lee Ling, an astrology expert, tells one of her fellow passengers on a ship, that he will die within two days and the next day he is dead. The police suspects that Mei does know something, but she doesn’t. But to clear herself she offers her help to solve the murder. Soon she and the police find themselves in a web of crime and false identities. > > Mei Lei Ming played by [Anna May Wong](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0938923/?ref_=tt_cl_t2) Unfamiliar with that one. I have an extensive quote about Ms. Wong above. I haven’t seen many of her movies, unfortunately. And in the ones I have (like the original _Thief of Baghdad_) she’s playing a stereotype – something she reportedly hated. The movie you cite, though, would be just the kind of thing she would have liked. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/65 "2015-06-25T19:26:31Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’d maybe count Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in _Tomorrow Never Dies_, who [“first encounters Bond when she is sent (under the disguise as a Xinhua News Agency reporter) to investigate the disappearance of stealth material from a People’s Liberation Army base”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wai_Lin). She’s a Chinese spy, not a “detective,” as such. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/66 "2015-06-25T19:26:55Z")
> [@Damfino](#): > > Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah played the part of Inspector Ghote in the film adaptation of HRF Keating’s \* ThePerfect Murder \* And Indian-English actor Sir Ben Kingsley played Hercule Poirot. But I don’t think that’s what the OP had in mind. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/67 "2015-06-25T19:39:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > And Indian-English actor Sir Ben Kingsley played Hercule Poirot. But I don’t think that’s what the OP had in mind. Certainly not in that case – Poirot wasn’t of Asian ancestry. When did Kingsley play him? I’ve never heard of that. (I saw him playing John Watson, though [Without a Clue (1988) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/) ) Are you sure you’re not confusing him with David Suchet? I never heard of Ghote before, but he appears to be an Indian character, played by an Indian actor. I was shooting for people from further East, but Ghote and Shah both sound “Asian” by the usual definitions. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/68 "2015-06-25T20:03:59Z")
My error. Suchet looked a lot like Kingsley. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/69 "2015-06-25T21:35:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > She’s a Chinese spy, not a “detective,” as such. She’s sent in to investigate a crime, gathering evidence until she knows whodunit. Seemed close enough to deserve mention. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/70 "2015-06-26T10:02:41Z")
Korean born Cathy Shim played a Homeland Security officer in an [episode](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685205/)of Reno 911 that examined terrorism. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/71 "2015-06-26T10:31:09Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Korean born Cathy Shim played a Homeland Security officer in an [episode](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0685205/)of Reno 911 that examined terrorism. If we’re going single-episode, the first thing I saw Mako in wasn’t his Oscar-nominated work on the big screen (or his stuff opposite Schwarzenegger’s Conan, at that), but his [one-time](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1357912/) appearance as a Japanese inspector on assignment in America. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/72 "2015-06-26T15:40:46Z")
For shame on all of us, forgetting that Vietnamese-American actor Dustin Nguyen was quick-kicking undercover cop Harry Ioki for all those years on _21 Jump Street_. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/73 "2015-06-26T23:52:05Z")
Kelly Hu was Inspector Michelle Chan in all those episodes of NASH BRIDGES. And then she played undercover cop Grace Chen for years on MARTIAL LAW – followed by her recurring role as Detective Kaile Maka on CSI:NY. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/74 "2015-06-27T03:54:13Z")
John Cho’s been said to have “lazy magnetism of which he is charmingly aware”, a description I can neither dispute nor improve on – and he’s equally at home playing action hero or doing light comedy, but also did a messed-up version of the buddy-cop thing alongside fellow FBI Special Agent Joseph Fiennes in **FlashForward**. (I mean, it’s hard enough to run around investigating crimes with a ready gun when all that’s between you and possible death is a bulletproof vest – but doing it when your partner got to see himself still alive six months in the future, and you got a glimpse of _bleak nonexistence?_ Yeah, that prompts differing approaches to the job.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/75 "2015-06-27T13:48:19Z")
[Khan!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072528/?ref_=fn_tv_tt_6), 1975 TV show, starred Korean-American Evan C. Kim in the title role. it didn’t last long and that’s about as much informaton as I have on it. It was apparently intended to be a culturally sensitive update of the Charlie Chan formula (His kids, college students, helped him solve crimes, which is weird because Kim was only 22 at the time himself, and the woman playing his daughter was about nine years older than him) and Vic Tayback was his caucasian sidekick. There’s also Lt. Tao on **The Closer/Major Crimes** , played by Michael Paul Chan. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/76 "2015-06-27T13:59:56Z")
Speaking of Michael Paul Chan, like almost everyone else on **The Closer** , he was also on a prior cop show. In his case, he was on **Robbery Homicide Division** where he played Detective Ron Lu. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/77 "2015-06-27T17:36:01Z")
Before he went from fighting James Bond to fighting Wolverine, Will Yun Lee spent years on the small screen as Detective Danny Woo on WITCHBLADE. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/78 "2015-06-28T12:40:20Z")
Michaela Conlin is probably best known for solving crimes as a facial-reconstruction specialist on BONES – and if that doesn’t count, she was Detective Heidi Sobel up on the big screen when Matthew McConaughey was THE LINCOLN LAWYER. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/79 "2015-06-28T13:23:24Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Michaela Conlin is probably best known for solving crimes as a facial-reconstruction specialist on BONES Oh that reminds me: Tia Carrere in Rising Sun, as a police computer specialist. Not exactly a detective, but… ---
**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:** [June 28, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348/80 "2015-06-28T13:51:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Your observation that most of the examples people have added are minor roles and sidekicks is significant in this regard. Jackie Chan, in the _Rush Hour_ films sounds like the closest we come to having such an actor plying the lead role in such a drama. Chow Yun-Fat, in _The Corruptor_, was top-billed as NYPD Lieutenant Nick Chen: busting crooks and keeping the peace in Chinatown as head of the Asian Gang Unit while showing a rookie cop the ropes and dealing with the always-suspicious crew at Internal Affairs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-detectives-of-asian-ancestry-played-by-actors-of-asian-ancestry/723348.md?page=5)