Best known for his role as George Huang on Law and Order: SVU, actor B.D. Wong now rejects roles stereotypically given to Asian-American actors after years of conforming to a "caucasian box."
As part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, Wong spoke candidly about his identity as both an Asian-American and a homosexual.
After struggling with his race and sexual orientation during most of his life, Wong has gradually come have confidence in himself.
"Ironically, the two things that I loathed about myself were the things that were rich about myself," he said.
Wong conveyed the confusion of his childhood in San Francisco when he interrupted an anecdote about his struggles as a young Asian-American with, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that I was a homo," eliciting peals of laughter from the audience.
Encouraged by a "colorblind" drama teacher, Wong discovered a passion for the performing arts as a child.
Later, Wong encountered Asian stereotypes in the acting world for the first time when he was cast as a Chinese stowaway in a play outside of school.
"It was the most shocking thing that I have ever experienced in my life," Wong said.
Though Wong changed to a different role after speaking with the director, this experience was the beginning of his "racial anorexia."
Wong highlighted the intensity of this internal conflict when he said, "At least when you're anorexic, you can starve yourself. What can you do when you have this face?"
Having moved to New York City and then Los Angeles, Wong took stereotypically Asian-American roles as the "troubled Chinatown teenage gang member" and the "generic Asian waiter."
Eventually, Wong began to accept his heritage when he played Song Liling, a male, Asian spy disguising himself as a woman, in M. Butterfly.
Though M. Butterfly released Wong from "the shackles of loathing" in which he had trapped himself because of his race, he still could not come out to the world as a homosexual.
However, after experiencing the loss of one of his premature twin sons and months of waiting to see if the other baby would survive, Wong wrote a book about his journey to create a family with his partner.
Wong and his partner's sister had the child through a surrogate mother.
"I was no longer blinking an eyelash about [my sexual orientation] because I had a human experience -- parenthood -- that transcended the fear of being judged," Wong said.
Pan-Asian American Community House Director June Chu was impressed with the diverse group of people that Wong brought together.
"He was a great speaker to highlight that Asians come in all shapes and forms," she said.
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