Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#361
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
James Hong represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 71 years in, and James is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
James Hong appears in 40 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without James. Blade Runner is the clearest case: a film rated 8.1 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for western, action, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Mike Mitchell, Trevor Kirschner, Zack Ward and others, James Hong helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Blade Runner (1982) as Chew · Mulan (1998) as Chi Fu (voice) · Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) as Gong Gong
Career snapshot
Ranked #361 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
40
1955–2026
Career length
71 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
Blade Runner
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.9
Blade Runner
Most frequent director
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Most common genre
Comedy
22 titles
Average runtime
1h 35m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.9
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1970s
7.8 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. Chinatown — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
7.8
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
7.9
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1950s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Blood Alley.
Most productive era
2010s
12 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.21 film | 6.91 film | — | 8.11 film | — | 5.71 film | — | — |
| Action | 6.21 film | — | — | 6.54 films | 5.51 film | 7.51 film | 5.86 films | 7.25 films |
| Thriller | — | — | 7.81 film | 6.93 films | — | 5.71 film | 5.82 films | — |
| Comedy | — | — | — | 6.84 films | 5.82 films | 6.73 films | 6.49 films | 7.04 films |
| Crime | — | — | 7.81 film | 6.61 film | — | 5.31 film | 6.51 film | 6.71 film |
| Horror | 6.51 film | — | — | — | — | — | 4.41 film | 6.61 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1955Blood Alley
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Communist Soldier.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1982Blade Runner
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026You Can't Win
The current state of the argument, as Old Chinese Man.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
40 of 40 films
as Gong Gong
Directed by Daniel Kwan
as Chi Fu (voice)
Directed by Tony Bancroft
as Chew
Directed by Ridley Scott
as Evelyn's Butler
Directed by Roman Polanski
as Zong Shi (voice)
Directed by Francisco Ruiz Velasco
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Gong Gong
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Performance score7.8
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Gong Gong gives James Hong a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Chi Fu (voice)
Mulan (1998)
Performance score7.8
Mulan asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Chi Fu (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Chew
Blade Runner (1982)
Performance score7.8
Blade Runner asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Chew is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Evelyn's Butler
Chinatown (1974)
Performance score7.6
Chinatown asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Evelyn's Butler is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Gong Gong
Start here. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the clearest statement of what James Hong does — accessible, 140 minutes, and rated 7.8 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet James at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Chinatown (1974)
A deliberate change of key after Everything Everywhere All at Once — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Blade Runner (1982)
Keeps the thriller register of Chinatown but asks for a colder reading of it.
Mulan (1998)
A deliberate change of key after Blade Runner — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021)
Keeps the adventure register of Mulan but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Director
2 films together
Notably Kung Fu Panda 2
William A. Wellman
Director
1 film together
Notably Blood Alley
Ishirō Honda
Director
1 film together
Notably Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Robert Wise
Director
1 film together
Notably The Sand Pebbles
Roman Polanski
Director
1 film together
Notably Chinatown
Jim Abrahams
Director
1 film together
Notably Airplane!
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Blade Runner
Joseph Zito
Director
1 film together
Notably Missing in Action
Michael Ritchie
Director
1 film together
Notably The Golden Child
John Carpenter
Director
1 film together
Notably Big Trouble in Little China
Andrei Konchalovsky
Director
1 film together
Notably Tango & Cash
Stephen Surjik
Director
1 film together
Notably Wayne's World 2
Rachel Talalay
Director
1 film together
Notably Tank Girl
Tony Bancroft
Director
1 film together
Notably Mulan
Robert Ben Garant
Director
1 film together
Notably Balls of Fury
Joe Sichta
Director
1 film together
Notably Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!
Scott Derrickson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Day the Earth Stood Still
Mark Osborne
Director
1 film together
Notably Kung Fu Panda
Tim Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Boaz Yakin
Director
1 film together
Notably Safe
Robert Schwentke
Director
1 film together
Notably R.I.P.D.
John Stevenson
Director
1 film together
Notably Sherlock Gnomes
Ron Oliver
Director
1 film together
Notably Grand-Daddy Day Care
Denise Chan
Director
1 film together
Notably Searching for Anna May Wong
Sam Liu
Director
1 film together
Notably Batman: Soul of the Dragon
Francisco Ruiz Velasco
Director
1 film together
Notably Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Henry Selick
Director
1 film together
Notably Wendell & Wild
Domee Shi
Director
1 film together
Notably Turning Red
Daniel Kwan
Director
1 film together
Notably Everything Everywhere All at Once
Zack Ward
Director
1 film together
Notably The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms
Trevor Kirschner
Director
1 film together
Notably The Thundermans Return
Mike Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably Kung Fu Panda 4
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Director
2 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Kung Fu Panda 2Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blade RunnerTony Bancroft
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MulanDaniel Kwan
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Everything Everywhere All at OnceRoman Polanski
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ChinatownFrancisco Ruiz Velasco
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Trollhunters: Rise of the TitansMark Osborne
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kung Fu PandaDomee Shi
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Turning RedJoe Sichta
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!Jim Abrahams
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Airplane!John Carpenter
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Big Trouble in Little ChinaMike Mitchell
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kung Fu Panda 4Trevor Kirschner
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Thundermans ReturnTim Johnson
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kung Fu Panda HolidayRobert Wise
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Sand PebblesSam Liu
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Batman: Soul of the DragonHenry Selick
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wendell & WildAndrei Konchalovsky
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tango & CashBoaz Yakin
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SafeIshirō Honda
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!Stephen Surjik
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wayne's World 2William A. Wellman
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blood AlleyJoseph Zito
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Missing in ActionRobert Schwentke
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
R.I.P.D.Michael Ritchie
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Golden ChildRon Oliver
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Grand-Daddy Day CareZack Ward
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Keepers of the 5 KingdomsJohn Stevenson
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sherlock GnomesScott Derrickson
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Day the Earth Stood StillRachel Talalay
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tank GirlRobert Ben Garant
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Balls of FuryDenise Chan
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Searching for Anna May WongSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Blade Runner
as Chew
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Mulan
as Chi Fu (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Blade Runner
as Chew
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Airplane!
as Japanese General
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Everything Everywhere All at Once
as Gong Gong
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. James Hong has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
71 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
22 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Chinatown
as Evelyn's Butler
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Chinatown
as Evelyn's Butler
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Mulan
as Chi Fu (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Chinatown
as Evelyn's Butler
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Everything Everywhere All at Once
as Gong Gong
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Kung Fu Panda 4
as Mr. Ping (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Kung Fu Panda 4
as Mr. Ping (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Blood Alley
as Communist Soldier
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Have your say
Community
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Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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