{"id":52477,"date":"2026-05-15T08:13:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52477"},"modified":"2026-05-15T08:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:13:40","slug":"why-chinese-canadian-derek-kwan-is-so-much-more-than-a-token-asian-actor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52477","title":{"rendered":"Why Chinese-Canadian Derek Kwan is so much more than a \u2018token Asian\u2019 actor"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
When Hallmark\u2019s All\u2019s Fair in Love & Mahjong<\/em> premiered on May 9, the backlash was swift and scathing. Pitched as a frothy romance in which a teacher discovers mahjong<\/span>, the film has drawn fierce criticism for packaging an Asian cultural pillar as a white-led curiosity during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.<\/div>\n
Critics have pointed out that aside from Crystal Lowe and Derek Kwan, the primary cast is overwhelmingly white. Hallmark\u2019s decision to promote a US$350 \u201cMiss Heirloom\u201d tile set \u2013 all lavender, green and non-traditional symbols \u2013 has been slammed as cultural appropriation, repackaging mahjong as an \u201caesthetic\u201d lifestyle accessory that leans on American mahjong rules without acknowledging the traditional Chinese game<\/span>.<\/div>\n

For Vancouver-based Kwan, who plays supporting character Gary in the movie, that dynamic reflects an uncomfortable truth about an industry that all too often sidelines Asian voices \u2013 where Asians are allowed to exist but only in the background. Kwan has not watched the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Vancouver, the roles that are always available and that they\u2019re always auditioning for are these supporting roles,\u201d says Kwan, 36. \u201cThe industry is so tough, and it\u2019s very much like, take what you can get. You either don\u2019t do it and not work, or kind of just have tougher skin, let it blow over you, and just suck it up and do the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"The<\/div>
The poster for the Hallmark movie All\u2019s Fair in Love & Mahjong, which has an overwhelmingly white primary cast. Photo: Instagram\/hallmarkchannel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is not the first time Kwan has done the \u201ctoken Asian\u201d type of gig. For the better part of a decade, Kwan has been an industry go-to for these supporting roles \u2013 detectives, paramedics, boutique hotel clerks, policemen, the waiter who glides through a scene with a line or two and then vanishes. If you have watched other Hallmark films, chances are you might recognise him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Hallmark\u2019s All\u2019s Fair in Love & Mahjong premiered on May 9, the backlash was swift and scathing. Pitched as a frothy romance in which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3622,2027,22715,22716,6339,7381],"class_list":["post-52477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-actor","tag-asian","tag-chinesecanadian","tag-derek","tag-kwan","tag-token","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}