The search is on to find the actor to play the lead in a movie based on the old TV series, Kung Fu.
As you may know, Bruce Lee got the shaft when David Carradine, a white actor, was cast to portray Kwai Chang Caine, the ex-Shaolin monk who roamed the Old West, in the original series.
Lee was in line to play Caine and it would have been tremendous, but the role went to Carradine, probably because the producers or network couldn’t fathom having an Asian in the lead of a TV show. It’s one of the worst yellowface jobs ever. Lee went back to Hong Kong and started making movies. The rest is history. With that in mind, Grasshopper, here’s some actors who could play Caine:
David Anders: He’s got experience playing an Asian guy, as Takezo Kensei (aka Adam Monroe) on Heroes.
Jonathan Pryce: OK, maybe he’s too old, but he’s done the yellowface thing in Miss Saigon.
Or how about
Jason Scott Lee: Producers realize the original series blew it, so if Bruce Lee couldn’t star in Kung Fu, at least the guy who played Bruce Lee in a movie can star in the movie remake of the show he should have the star of in the first place. Ehh? That make sense?
But seriously, in this post-Yul Kwon, post-Masi Oka world, there are some great Asian American actors out there who could get the role of Caine. Who would you like to see play him?
This post can also be found on Hyphen magazine’s blog.