Asian Americans have been increasingly targeted in verbal and physical attacks during the coronavirus pandemic. A spate of recent assaults against seniors, including one that resulted in the death of an 84-year-old Thai man, has renewed national attention around the issue. On Wednesday, March 3 at 2:00pm ET, national reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee speaks with actors and producers Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu, about the growing fears in the community, calls for action and their own advocacy.

Highlights

Actor Daniel Wu says seeing the attack on a 91-year-old Asian man in Oakland, California, reminded him of his own 91-year-old father. “My father escaped war, civil war, all these things to come to America to have a better life, to live the American dream and that’s what he wanted for his kids…But to see that man being pushed down to the ground and think about his story and think about the struggles that he went through…it’s just terrible for me.” (Washington Post Live)
Actor Daniel Wu says the Asian American community is not a monolith, but is treated as such despite the diversity within the community. “Because the Asian-American diaspora is so complex, and there’s so many layers, and so many generations have come to America, we’re constantly looked at as foreigners, as others, and then, thus, invisible…All of us come from different cultures, speak different languages, but we’re all being treated as the same. And I think that is leading up to part of the problem. (Washington Post Live)
Actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu on the concerns that the reward they offered to help find the assailant of an attack against an elderly Asian man had worked against efforts to address over-policing in some communities. “Neither Daniel or I believe this is a Black against Asian issue or an Asian against Black issue. This is an everyone against racism issue," Kim said. (Washington Post Live)

Daniel Dae Kim

DANIEL DAE KIM has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Currently, he can be seen in NBC’s “New Amsterdam” playing trauma surgeon, Cassian Shin. This summer, he stars in the highly anticipated Netflix film “Stowaway,” opposite Toni Collette and Anna Kendrick, as well as in the Sundance favorite “Blast Beat.” Most recently, Kim was announced as one of the leads in National Geographic’s scientific thriller anthology series, “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” and can also be heard in Disney’s animated feature, “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

In addition to his work in film and tv, Daniel has been an outspoken advocate for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry and culture at large. In 2015, Kim forged a new path in his career by creating his own production company, 3AD. With the goal of featuring those traditionally underrepresented in front of, and behind the camera, 3AD is currently developing a number of projects, as well producing ABC’s current hit, “The Good Doctor, ” where he serves as Executive Producer.

Daniel Wu

Daniel Wu is a Hong Kong American actor, director and producer. He is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese language film industry. Since his film debut in 1998, he has been featured in over 60 films.

Daniel Wu debuted in acting in 1998 in Chinese film, Yonfan’s Bishonen. Soon after the completion of his first movie shotting, he landed a lead role in the Mabel Cheung’s City of Glass. Then he appeared in a number of Chinese films including, Gen-X Cops, Love Undercover, Night Corridor, One Nite in Mongkok, New Police Story, Naked Weapon, Hidden Track, and others. Wu made his writing and directorial debut with The Heavenly Kings in 2006. He won 26th Hong Kong Film Awards in the category of best debut director. Wu made his English film debut in 2011 in Inseparable. He also modeled for a variety of products such as Seiko and L’Oréal. As of 2018, he starred in AMC’s Into the Badlands and he is executive producer of the show as well.