56 Incredibly Talented Asian Actors Who Always Deserve to Be Leading Men

Updated on Oct 18, 2023 at 4:45 PM

It's not often that you see an APIA actor cast as the lead in a movie or TV show, but things are slowly beginning to change. Historically, if an Asian actor was asked to be part of a project, the role was usually a supporting one or fell under an offensive trope. Asian men are still often asked to play the stereotypical nerd, the doctor, or the best friend, but almost never are they cast as the leading man or enviable love interest. But guess what, Hollywood? They can do both, and some of the best Asian actors in Hollywood are doing just that in movies and TV shows, like the critically acclaimed (and Oscar-nominated) films "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and "Minari," as well as hit TV series like "Pachinko," "Squid Game," and "XO, Kitty."

Hollywood still has a long way to go when it comes to casting Asian men in a variety of roles. Thankfully, there's no shortage of incredible Asian actors who are more than up to the task of playing superheroes, romantic leads, or complex leading men in dramas, comedies, and everything in between.

Ahead, check out some of the best Asian actors out there right now — including a few actors whose stars are on the rise.

Charles Melton

Birthday: Jan. 4, 1991
Where you've seen him before: Melton has appeared on "Glee" and "American Horror Story," but he's most recognized as Reggie Mantle from "Riverdale." In 2023, he appeared in Hulu's "History of the World, Part II" miniseries. On the movie side of things, Melton has starred in "Bad Boys For Life" and "The Sun Is Also a Star" and will star in "May December" this winter.

Dev Patel

Birthday: April 23, 1990
Where you've seen him before: Patel starred in 2007's "Skins," 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire," 2010's "The Last Airbender," 2018's "Hotel Mumbai," 2019's "Modern Love," and 2021's "The Green Knight." In 2023, he starred in two of Wes Anderson's short films adapting Roald Dahl stories. He made his directorial debut with "Monkey Man," which is set to be released on Netflix.

Rahul Kohli

Birthday: Nov. 13, 1985
Where you've seen him before: Kohli starred in "iZombie" and "Supergirl," as well as the Mike Flanagan Netflix series "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "Midnight Mass," and 2023's "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Ross Butler

Birthday: May 17, 1990
Where you've seen him before: Butler has made a name for himself with roles on "Teen Wolf," "Riverdale," "K.C. Undercover," "13 Reasons Why," and 2021's "To All the Boys: Always and Forever." In 2023, the actor reprised his role of Eugene in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and starred in Paramount+'s "Loveboat, Taipei."

Andrew Koji

Birthday: Nov. 10, 1987
Where you've seen him before: The actor is most recognized for his roles in 2013's "Fast & Furious 6," 2016's "Hall of Mirrors," and 2022's "Bullet Train." He's also the star of the Max series "Warrior."

Harry Shum Jr.

Birthday: April 28, 1982
Where you've seen him before: Shum Jr. has had roles on "Glee," "Step Up 2: The Streets," "Shadowhunters," and "Crazy Rich Asians." In 2022, he starred in the Oscar-nominated movie "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and joined the cast of ABC's long-running series "Grey's Anatomy."

Ludi Lin

Birthday: Nov. 11, 1987
Where you've seen him before: Lin was Zack in 2017's "Power Rangers," Captain Murk in 2018's "Aquaman," Lance in 2019's "Black Mirror," and Liu Kang in 2021's "Mortal Kombat." He also played Michael Hong in 2021's "The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu" and Kerwin Tan in the CW series "Kung Fu."

John Cho

Birthday: June 16, 1972
Where you've seen him before: From 2004's "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" to 2009's "Star Trek" to 2018's "The Searching," Cho has starred in a variety of projects throughout the years. In 2021, he starred in Netflix's short-lived live-action take on "Cowboy Bebop" before rebounding in 2023 with season two of Apple TV+'s "The Afterparty."

Simu Liu

Birthday: April 19, 1989
Where you've seen him before: Liu is best known for his role as the Marvel superhero Shang-Chi in 2021's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," but he has an ever-growing list of credits that include "Taken," "Blood and Water," "Kim's Convenience," and 2023's "Barbie," directed by Greta Gerwig.

Chris Pang

Birthday: Dec. 29, 1984
Where you've seen him before: Pang's most notable role to date has been as Colin Khoo in 2018's "Crazy Rich Asians," but he's also appeared in 2019's "Charlie's Angels" and 2020's "Palm Springs." In 2023, he starred in "Joy Ride."

Ronny Chieng

Birthday: Nov. 21, 1985
Where you've seen him before: The actor has appeared in 2018's "Crazy Rich Asians," 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," and in 2023, he appeared in the horror-movie hit "M3GAN" and the comedies "Joy Ride" and "Vacation Friends 2." He's also a prolific TV actor with roles on Dwayne Johnson's TV series "Young Rock" and the Disney+ series "Doogie Kamealoha, M.D." and "American Born Chinese."

Ki Hong Lee

Birthday: Sept. 30, 1986
Where you've seen him before: Lee is best known for his role as Minho in "Maze Runner," but he's also appeared on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and Apple TV+'s "Little America."

Avan Jogia

Birthday: Feb. 9, 1992
Where you've seen him before: You may know Jogia from his early role as Beck on "Victorious," but he's been acting steadily for more than a decade now. He's also appeared in "Twisted," "Tut," "Zombieland: Double Tap," and "The Stranger." In 2023, he appeared in Netflix's rom-com "Choose Love."

Ke Huy Quan

Birthday: Aug. 20, 1971
Where you've seen him before: Before his Oscar–winning turn in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," Quan was perhaps best known for playing Short Round in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and Data in "The Goonies." He also stars in "Loki" season two.

Sauriyan Sapkota

Where you've seen him before: Sapkota plays leading roles in Netflix's "The Midnight Society" and "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Ben Wang

Where you've seen him before: Wang previously appeared in 2022's "Sex Appeal," but he's best known for his leading role in the Disney+ series "American Born Chinese."

William Gao

Birthday: Feb. 20, 2003
Where you've seen him before: Gao is one of the young stars of Netflix's hit series "Heartstopper."

Mackenyu

Birthday: Nov. 16, 1996
Where you've seen him before: Mackenyu is already a star in Japan, and thanks to his role in Netflix's live-action "One Piece," he's becoming a household name in the rest of the world as well. In addition to "One Piece," you may also have seen the young actor in 2018's "Pacific Rim: Uprising."

Ken Leung

Birthday: Jan. 21, 1970
Where you've seen him before: Leung's career spans multiple decades and includes unforgettable roles in shows like "Lost," "Industry," and "The Night Shift." He also has a prolific film career that includes roles in 1998's "Rush Hour," 2000's "The Family Man," 2002's "Red Dragon," 2004's "Saw," 2015's "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens," 2021's "Old," and 2023's "Missing."

Jimmy O. Yang

Birthday: June 11, 1987
Where you've seen him before: In addition to his comedy specials, Yang has also appeared in a number of popular movies and TV shows, including "Crazy Rich Asians," "Love Hard," "Fantasy Island," "80 For Brady," "Space Force," and "Silicon Valley."

Troy Iwata

Birthday: Feb. 11, 1991
Where you've seen him before: Iwata starred in Netflix's "Dash & Lily" and Apple TV+'s "WeCrashed."

James Phoon

Where you've seen him before: Phoon stars in the British comedy "Wreck" and will play Harry Dankworth in "Bridgerton" season three.

Max Huang

Birthday: Sept. 22, 1988
Where you've seen him before: Huang starred as Kung Lao in 2021's "Mortal Kombat," and he also appeared in 2016's "Time Raiders," as well as the 2019 short "No Way Out."

Vincent Rodriguez III

Birthday: Aug. 10, 1982
Where you've seen him before: The actor played Josh Chan on series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and lent his voice to 2021's "Raya and the Last Dragon" and Netflix's "Arlo the Alligator Boy."

Lewis Tan

Birthday: Feb. 4, 1987
Where you've seen him before: In 2021, Tan played Cole Young in "Mortal Kombat," but he's also been in "About Fate," Netflix's "Shadow and Bone" series, "Babylon," "Deadpool 2," "Wu Assassins," and "Into the Badlands."

Sendhil Ramamurthy

Birthday: May 17, 1974
Where you've seen him before: The actor has appeared on plenty of TV shows, including "Beauty and the Beast," "Heroes," "New Amsterdam," "The Flash," "Doom Patrol," and "Never Have I Ever."

Kunal Nayyar

Birthday: April 30, 1981
Where you've seen him before: Nayyar's biggest role to date has been as Raj Koothrappali in the beloved sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," but he also worked on "Ice Age: Continental Drift" and "Trolls." Additionally, Nayyar starred in the Apple TV+ series "Suspicion" and the 2022 movie "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry."

Randall Park

Birthday: March 23, 1974
Where you've seen him before: Park has practically been in everything, from "Fresh Off the Boat" and "Young Rock" to the Netflix rom-com "Always Be My Maybe" and Disney+'s "WandaVision." In 2022, he starred in the short-lived Netflix series "Blockbuster" before appearing in "The People We Hate at the Wedding" and 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Totally Killer."

Raymond Ablack

Birthday: Nov. 15, 1989
Where you've seen him before: Ablack is best known for playing the swoon-worthy coffee-shop owner Joe in Netflix's "Ginny & Georgia." He has also appeared on "Nurses," "Orphan Black," "Narcos," "Maid," "Shadowhunters," and "Workin' Moms." On the movie side, he starred in 2022's "Love in the Villa."

Joe Taslim

Birthday: June 23, 1981
Where you've seen him before: Taslim has made appearances in 2013's "Fast & Furious 6," 2016's "Star Trek Beyond," and 2021's "Mortal Kombat."

Manny Jacinto

Birthday: Aug. 19, 1987
Where you've seen him before: Jacinto has appeared on shows like "The Good Doctor," "The Good Place," and "Nine Perfect Strangers." He also starred in the movies "Top Gun: Maverick" and "I Want You Back." He'll also appear in the upcoming films "Cora Bora," "The Knife," and "Balestra," as well as the Star Wars prequel series "The Acolyte."

Riz Ahmed

Birthday: Dec. 1, 1982
Where you've seen him before: You may know Ahmed as Bodhi Rook in 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," Elias Rahim on series "The OA," or Ruben in 2019's "Sound of Metal." In 2023, he voiced Ballister Boldheart in "Nimona" and will star in the movie "Fingernails."

Steven Yeun

Birthday: Dec. 21, 1983
Where you've seen him before: In 2021, Yeun starred as Jacob in "Minari," but you may also know him as Glenn Rhee from "The Walking Dead." Additionally, he's done voice work for animated series like "Invincible" and "Tuca & Bertie" and starred in the 2022 movie "Nope," directed by Jordan Peele. He made big waves in 2023 as one of the stars of Netflix's "Beef," and in 2024, the actor will make his MCU debut in "Thunderbolts."

Daniel Dae Kim

Birthday: Aug. 4, 1968
Where you've seen him before: The actor has made a name for himself in Hollywood with roles on "Lost," "Hawaii Five-O," "Angel," "New Amsterdam," and "The Good Doctor." He also appeared in 2023's "Joy Ride."

Remy Hii

Age: July 24, 1986
Where you've seen him before: Hii has had roles in 2018's "Crazy Rich Asians," 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home," and the "Marco Polo" TV series. He also starred in Netflix's "Princess Switch 3" alongside Vanessa Hudgens and the 2023 series "Wellmania."

Daniel Henney

Birthday: Nov. 28, 1979
Where you've seen him before: Henney is one of the stars of the Prime Video series "Wheel of Time," but his career extends far beyond the fantasy series. He also appeared in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," voiced Tadashi in "Big Hero 6," and starred in "Criminal Minds" and "Revolution." In 2023, he played a key role in the movie "Missing" alongside Ken Leung and Nia Long.

Bowen Yang

Birthday: Nov. 6, 1990
Where you've seen him before: In addition to making viewers laugh on "Saturday Night Live," Yang also appeared in 2019's "Isn't It Romantic" and the 2022 movies "Fire Island," "The Lost City," and "Bros." On the TV side, you may have spotted him on "Broad City," "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens," and "Girls5Eva." In 2024, he'll appear in the big-screen adaptation of "Wicked" and a new take on "Garfield."

Lee Min-ho

Birthday: June 22, 1987
Where you've seen him before: Lee is one of the stars of Apple TV+'s critically acclaimed series "Pachinko," but fans of Korean dramas will also recognize the prolific actor from shows like "Boys Over Flowers" and "Summer Love." In 2023, he starred in the drama "Ask the Stars."

Darren Barnet

Birthday: April 27, 1991
Where you've seen him before: Barnet is one of the main stars of the Netflix teen series "Never Have I Ever." He also starred in 2021's "Love Hard" and lent his voice to the 2021 film "The Summit of the Gods." In 2023, he appeared in "Gran Turismo" and is part of the cast of "Anyone but You."

Henry Golding

Birthday: Feb. 5, 1987
Where you've seen him before: Golding's most notable role to date has been Nick Young in 2018's "Crazy Rich Asians." Since then, he's starred in 2018's "A Simple Favor," 2019's "Last Christmas," 2019's "The Gentlemen," and 2022's "Persuasion." His future projects include "The Old Guard 2."

Alexander Hodge

Where you've seen him before: Hodge has most notably made us swoon as Andrew on HBO's "Insecure," but you might also recognize him from his appearances on "Modern Family," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "High Maintenance," and "Black Lightning." He also starred in the 2021 Netflix original "Resort to Love" and 2023's "Wellmania."

Archie Renaux

Birthday: Nov. 22, 1997
Where you've seen him before: Renaux is best known for playing Mal in Netflix's fantasy series "Shadow and Bone," but he also appeared in the 2022 movies "Morbius," "Catherine Called Birdy," and "The Greatest Beer Run Ever." In 2023, he starred in "The Other Zoey," and he's set to appear in 2024's "Alien: Romulus."

Justin H. Min

Birthday: March 20, 1990
Where you've seen him before: You most likely know Min from his starring role as Ben on "The Umbrella Academy." He also appears in the 2023 Netflix series "Beef" and the movie "Shortcomings."

Nikesh Patel

Birthday: Oct. 17, 1985
Where you've seen him before: Patel is a British actor known for his work on the TV series "Starstruck," "Indian Summers," "Four Weddings and a Funeral," and "The Devil's Hour." He also appeared in 2016's "London Has Fallen" and 2020's "Artemis Fowl."

Noh Sang-hyun

Birthday: July 19, 1990
Where you've seen him before: Noh is very much a star on the rise thanks to his role as Isak on "Pachinko." He also starred in "Behind Every Star" and "Love My Scent."

Raymond Lee

Birthday: Feb. 5, 1987
Where you've seen him before: Lee quickly became a breakout star thanks to his leading-man role in NBC's reboot of the classic sci-fi series "Quantum Leap" and his performance in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick." Previously, he also starred in "Kevin Can F**k Himself," "Here and Now," and "Made For Love."

Peter Thurnwald

Where you've seen him before: Thurnwald is one of the young stars of Netflix's "XO, Kitty." You can also see him in "Bump," "Players," and one episode of "Young Rock."

Brayden Maniago

Where you've seen him before: Maniago's breakout role came in the 2022 Netflix miniseries "Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" as Somsack Sinthasomphone.

Utkarsh Ambudkar

Birthday: Dec. 8, 1983
Where you've seen him before: Ambudkar is one of the stars of the CBS comedy "Ghosts." He's also starred in "Never Have I Ever," "The Dropout," and "The Mindy Project." Additionally, he appeared in 2019's "Brittany Runs a Marathon," 2020's "Mulan," 2021's "Free Guy," and 2022's "Marry Me." He'll also appear in Netflix's upcoming "Avatar: The Last Airbender" adaptation.

Suraj Sharma

Birthday: March 23, 1993
Where you've seen him before: Sharma's breakout role came way back in 2012 when he was cast as the star of "Life of Pi." Since then, he's been steadily appearing in 2019's "Happy Death Day 2U," 2022's "Wedding Season," and TV shows "God Friended Me" and "How I Met Your Father."

Sean Kaufman

Birthday: June 22, 2000
Where you've seen him before: The young actor is quickly becoming a star thanks to his roles in "The Summer I Turned Pretty" and "Manifest."

Jin Xuan Mao

Where you've seen him before: Mao is one of the breakout stars of "Emily in Paris." He also appeared in 2019's "Lost and Found" and the 2020 film "The Salt of Tears."

Karan Brar

Birthday: Jan. 18, 1999
Where you've seen him before: Brar has been acting since he appeared in the 2010 film "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid." Since then, he's starred in "Jessie," "Bunk'd," and the Disney original movie "Invisible Sister." You may also have seen him in 2018's "Pacific Rim: Uprising" and 2020's "Stargirl."

Nico Santos

Birthday: April 7, 1979
Where you've seen him before: Santos starred in all six seasons of NBC's "Superstore." He's also known for his roles in "Crazy Rich Asians," "Wish Dragon," and "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3."

Alex Landi

Birthday: Sept. 28, 1992
Where you've seen him before: Landi made a splash on "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Nico Kim, but you may have also seen him on "Walker" and "Insatiable."

Ryan Potter

Birthday: Sept. 25, 1995
Where you've seen him before: Potter began his career on the children's show "Supah Ninjas" before going on to star in "Big Hero 6," "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous," and the Max series "Titans" as Beast Boy.