7 reasons why Lee Byung-hun is making it in Hollywood (when Jay Chou couldn't)
The Magnificent Seven, opening in cinemas Sept 22.
“An Asian walks into a Western” is not the opening line of a joke — it’s what Korean actor Lee Byung-hun actually did. The 46-year-old stars alongside Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt in The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the 1970 Western that in turn was based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
With Byung-hun as one of the Seven, the Asian guy in the movie isn’t just a token sidekick; he’s a leading man.
But for every Michelle Yeoh who makes it big in Hollywood, there’s a Fann Wong who gets her toes wet but ultimately falls by the wayside (sorry, Fann).
Take Jay Chou, for example. Both Byung-hun and Jay were already massive names in Asia before they ventured into Hollywood. And both made their Hollywood debuts in action flicks — Byung-hun as Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, and Jay as Kato in The Green Hornet.
“An Asian walks into a Western” is not the opening line of a joke — it’s what Korean actor Lee Byung-hun actually did. The 46-year-old stars alongside Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt in The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the 1970 Western that in turn was based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
With Byung-hun as one of the Seven, the Asian guy in the movie isn’t just a token sidekick; he’s a leading man.
But for every Michelle Yeoh who makes it big in Hollywood, there’s a Fann Wong who gets her toes wet but ultimately falls by the wayside (sorry, Fann).
Take Jay Chou, for example. Both Byung-hun and Jay were already massive names in Asia before they ventured into Hollywood. And both made their Hollywood debuts in action flicks — Byung-hun as Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, and Jay as Kato in The Green Hornet.
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