From Li Jun Li to Lewis Tan and Stephanie Hsu, 8 breakout Hollywood stars with Hong Kong or China connections who will make their mark in 2023

After success for films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Hollywood is opening its doors to Chinese actors

These are the actors and actresses we think will enjoy a stellar 2023, from Jessie Mei Li to Everything Everywhere’s Stephanie Hsu to Li Jun Li and Lewis Tan

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Li Jun Li in a still from Babylon. With the recent success of films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hollywood is opening its door wider to Chinese talent. Photo: Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures via AP

Published: 7:15am, 29 Dec 2022

Barring the occasional breakout, Hollywood was for decades closed to actors from Hong Kong and mainland China. Even Chinese-American actors were marginalised.

That has changed in the past few years. After the success of films like The Farewell and 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, as well as Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the entertainment industry is starting to open its doors to them.

For example, March will see the release of John Wick 4, in which Hong Kong action superstar Donnie Yen Ji-dan makes a rare foray in American cinema playing an adversary of Keanu Reeves’ hitman.

But what about those who are just bubbling under the surface of? We take a look at who we think will be enjoying a breakout 2023.

Jessie Mei Li

When Jessie Mei Li was young, she and her brother were diehard fantasy fans. “We used to watch Lord of the Rings and act [it] out with our cousins,” she says.