Xuenou > Celebrity > James Hong Roasted The Cast Of “Everything Everywhere” During His Acceptance Speech, And Michelle Yeoh Couldn’t Keep A Straight Face
James Hong Roasted The Cast Of “Everything Everywhere” During His Acceptance Speech, And Michelle Yeoh Couldn’t Keep A Straight Face
James Hong Roasted The Cast Of "Everything Everywhere" During His Acceptance Speech, And Michelle Yeoh Couldn't Keep A Straight Face,"I'll quote what Michelle said: 'Shut up. I can beat you up!'"

James Hong Roasted The Cast Of “Everything Everywhere” During His Acceptance Speech, And Michelle Yeoh Couldn’t Keep A Straight Face

Last night, Everything Everywhere All at Once won *FOUR* SAG awards, one of them being the coveted Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award — aka, the best film ensemble.

Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images

Ke Huy Quan — who also made history at the SAG Awards as the first Asian man to win the outstanding supporting actor award in film — then shared that though they were inpidually performing, the cast was “connected and supporting each other as a family at the same time.”

Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images

Next, Michelle Yeoh — who made history at the SAG Awards as the first Asian woman to win best actress in a leading role — acknowledged that there was one member of the cast who’s been supporting ensembles for longer than any of them had been alive: James Hong.

Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images

“He’s been acting since there were only 49 states, and he just turned 94 years young,” Michelle said, tightly holding James’ hand, as the crowd erupted into applause. James then gave a little dance as Michelle urged the crowd to wait so she could finish, “It’s been 69 years in the making to get him to this stage. Our patriarch, our friend, our gong gong, James Hong!”

Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty ImagesJamie Lee tried to give James the award to hold, but he asked her to hold it instead as he tried to raise the mic. Michelle then added, “We told him he has 49 seconds, okay?”

Born in 1929 in Minneapolis, James began acting in 1954, gaining popularity in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957–1958). 

He’s been in more than 650 films and TV shows, including Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life (1954), Bonanza (1960), Perry Mason (1962–1963), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965–1966), Hawaii Five-O (1969–1974), Chinatown (1974) , Kung Fu (1972–1975), Blade Runner (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and Wayne’s World 2 (1993). He also voiced Chi-Fu in Mulan (1998) and, more recently, Mr. Gao in Turning Red (2022).

James began his speech in Cantonese, which Michelle quickly translated: “Friends, relatives, so happy that you’re all here tonight.” Switching to English, James commented, “Actually, I said that because we might be broadcasted in Hong Kong. Who knows, right?”

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Well, Michelle knew, because she quickly confirmed, “We are!”

Continuing, James shared that he got his first SAG card 70 years ago and that his first movie was with Clark Gable. In case you’re wondering, that movie was Soldier of Fortune. Released in 1955, it followed a woman who goes to Hong Kong in search of her photojournalist husband. James played a Chinese policeman.

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If you’ve never heard of Clark Gable (am I old?), he was often called “The King of Hollywood.” Born in 1901, his film career spanned 37 years. You might recognize him from his role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939), among numerous other films. 

“But back in those days — I have to tell you this — [in] The Good Earth, the leading role was played with their eyes taped up like this and they talk like this,” James said, pulling his eyes back with his fingers and speaking in a stereotypical, exaggerated Asian accent. “The producers said the Asians were not good enough and they are not box office. But look at us now!”

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The Good Earth (1937) was a film about Chinese farmers struggling to survive in northern China after World War I. Paul Muni (who played Tony in the original Scarface) starred as Wang Lung. Luise Rainer, who played Wang Lung’s wife, O-Lan, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. 

Then, the roasting began.

“Actually, we are not all Chinese. But Jamie Lee — Lee is a good Chinese name,” James said, revealing that his own mother’s name was Lee Shui Fa. “So, you know, I feel very akin to her. I’ve never had such a good time as being with these jerks in this movie.”

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Here’s Jamie Lee reacting:

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James next targeted the Daniels — Everything Everywhere All at Once directors and screenwriters Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively called “the Daniels.” “I don’t know what they were thinking when they wrote that script. Right? Did you understand all of it?” he asked the crowd.

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At this point, Michelle Yeoh began covering her face as she cracked up while James continued, “I’m not sure. Well, go see it a second and third time and maybe you’ll understand.”

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“They do crazy things…that’s those two Daniel boys. Of course, he’s not Asian,” James said, referencing Daniel Scheinert, “but we excuse that.”

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You’ve got to love how red the Daniels’ faces got.

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“So, I hope I will come back when I’m 100 years old,” James said. “SAG is a wonderful organization. I have to tell you this: When I was a board of director member, Charlton Heston was the president and Leon James was one of the members. And he said to me and some other people that it was not long ago when he and a room of about 30 people said, ‘What are we going to do?’ And that was the starting of SAG.”

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For reference, the Screen Actors Guild was founded in 1933 as a labor union for film and television actors worldwide to combat Hollywood’s exploitation of actors who’d been forced into oppressive, multi-year contracts with major movie studios. In 2012, SAG merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA, which formed in 1937). 

“And look at you guys now, all of you and all over America, and some people are even in Europe, who knows?” James said before wrapping it up.

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“That’s all I’m going to say, because otherwise, we’ll be kicked off the stage,” James closed. “But if they try, I’ll quote what Michelle said: ‘Shut up. I can beat you up!'”

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Needless to say, the crowd shared the cast’s excitement for their win and stood, smiling and cheering, through James’ speech. And the camera panned to the audience from time to time to show their support:

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You can watch James’ entire roast — er, the cast’s acceptance speech — here:


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