John Cho meets the guy who started #StarringJohnCho

"Turns out it was not my mom." Meet William Yu.



The totally awesome, widely celebrated #StarringJohnCho campaign challenges the dismal lack of diversity in Hollywood, imagining what it would look like if today's blockbusters cast an Asian American actor -- specifically John Cho -- as their leading man. Started by William Yu, the viral web project got the attention of a lot of folks, jamming social media timelines and getting mainstream news shoutouts from outlets across the board.

But what does the actual John Cho think of #StarringJohnCho?

"I thought the idea was fantastic," the Star Trek and Harold and Kumar star told Yahoo7. "I loved that it was sparking this discussion that otherwise we wouldn't be having and it did it in a postive way. It [the campaign] was kind of silly, but then people really did have that discussion, and it did get people thinking about it. I felt like it was me on the poster but it wasn't really about me. I really dig it."

Cho recently got to tell the creator of #StarringJohnCho how much he dug it -- in person. On Monday, he posted a photo he took with Yu, confirming once and for all that it wasn't his own mom behind the campaign.

Imagine all the Hollywood movies. Starring John Cho.

What would it look like if today's Hollywood blockbusters starred an Asian American leading man?



The ongoing dialogue around the whitewashing of Asian roles in movies like Ghost in the Shell and Dr. Strange has prompted some pretty interesting conversations about the dismal lack of opportunities for Asian American performers in Hollywood. One thing is for sure: Asian American leading men and women in feature films are few and far between. That's why #StarringJohnCho is so awesome.

The #StarringJohnCho campaign challenges Hollywood's resistance to casting Asian leads. "Today, only 1% of lead roles go to Asians. But if studies show that films with diverse casts result in higher box office numbers and higher returns on investments for film companies, why doesn't Hollywood cast lead actors to reflect this fact?"

Look, Asian Americans have the chops to be lead actors. Even if Hollywood continually refuses to see it. #StarringJohnCho is a social movement that literally shows you what it would look like if today's Hollywood blockbusters cast an Asian American actor -- specifically John Cho -- as their leading man.

And it looks pretty good. Check it out: