Share and Follow
Diverse representation in media and Hollywood is a pretty new thing. And while there’s still a long way to go, every positive shift is a big win! Especially since these new conversations around casting people who don’t just look like a straight white man or woman is resonating so strongly with the masses and bringing communities together.
But even as fans celebrate this diversity – whether through Black Panther‘s “Wakanda forever” or Everything Everywhere All at Once and its Oscar victory – one can’t help but remember the actors from ‘back in the days’ who brought diversity to the screen before ‘it was a thing.’ Like Brenda Song from Disney Channel‘s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Brenda Song Says Disney Was “Ahead Of The Curve” With Their Casting Choices
For eight years, between 2005 and 2011, Brenda Song entertained kids and teenagers as London Tipton in Disney Channel‘s hit series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck.
But she had originally auditioned to play Maddie, the candy counter girl. It fit with her modest upbringing as the daughter of low-income immigrant parents. But Disney made her switch roles with Ashley Tisdale who had originally auditioned for London Tipton. They didn’t want to parody Paris Hilton anymore and wanted to create their own comic-relief character.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Brenda Song said that Disney was “ahead of the curve” with respect to its casting decisions, decades before the societal shift towards diversity happened.
“I don’t think people realize how ahead of the curve Disney Channel was,” Song said. “They were colorblind casting way before anybody else. They were giving me TV movies since I was 15 that people would never even think about. They were just telling stories and wanting kids to be able to see themselves on TV at a young age.”
Disney had even cast her as Wendy Wu in the titular Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. And given her big roles in other Disney Channel movies like The Ultimate Christmas Present.
But once her time with Disney was over, Brenda Song found it increasingly difficult to land good roles.
Crazy, Rich Asians Didn’t Allow Brenda Song To Audition For A Surprising Reason
Disney might have been ahead of the curve when it came to diverse casting, but others in Hollywood were not so. And Brenda Song found it difficult to land good roles after her time with Disney was over.
She did land a few sideline roles in some major productions, like The Social Network where she played Andrew Garfield’s on-screen girlfriend Christy (though Disney wasn’t thrilled about that one bathroom scene). But her acting credits had dried up severely after The Suite Life.
Interestingly, when she found out about Crazy, Rich Asians and asked her manager to get her an audition, she was told they felt she was not “Asian enough” to be in the movie.
Song is of South-East Asian descent with half-Thai and half-Hmong ancestry.
“I never got to read for Crazy Rich Asians,” Song told Teen Vogue. “Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words. It broke my heart.”
Read Related Also: Ariana Madix’s revenge dress is sold at Melissa Gorga’s Envy
She didn’t specifically say which role she auditioned for, but she mentioned that it was an ‘Asian-American character in their late to mid-20s’. That could have been Rachel Chu, the main female character in the movie.
“I’ve auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you’re not going to let me do it? You’re going to fault me for having worked my whole life? I was like, ‘Where do I fit?’” Song said.
In the past, she had also missed out on being in Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino even though the movie featured Hmong Americans.
Apparently, the character she had auditioned for had a scene that implied assault. Disney did not want something like that staining the squeaky-clean image of their franchise actors. So Song was forced to let go of that role.
Song regretted that decision since the role would have allowed her to speak Hmong on screen.
Things Are Looking Good For Brenda Song Once Again
It might have taken 15 years, but the diversity movement has opened up opportunities for Brenda Song once again.
She was cast in the lead role in the Amazon Original movie Love Accidentally. And also played Madison Maxwell – one of the lead characters – in Hulu‘s Dollface.
In a conversation with Pitt Program Council, Brenda Song said that she doesn’t try to represent the entire Asian community.
“You just can’t,” she said.
Even in the past, she focused more on being someone young people could connect with and see themselves in. She represented herself.
“I tried to represent myself as best as I could and hopefully be able to be a figure for young girls to watch.”
