Asians In Romcoms: Is It Too Much To Ask For?

2018 was a big year for Asian American representation. We seemed to be experiencing an Asian Hollywood renaissance, with the release of movies and shows such as Crazy Rich Asians (2018), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018) on Netflix, and Killing Eve (2018) on BBC. Not only were these well-received projects, but they also caused waves among viewers across the world. Crazy Rich Asians showed us a fun, gorgeous blockbuster, finally putting Asians on the big screen in an undeniably positive light. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before showed us an Asian female lead in a romcom, with Lara Jean Covey becoming one of the first instances of representation for many young Asian girls and women. Killing Eve showed audiences not only Asian female representation, but queer Asian representation, which is even more rare to come by in mainstream media.

However, all that was eight years ago. Asian representation in Hollywood seemed to be on a steady incline for a few years after, with the release of movies such as Minari (2020), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), and Past Lives (2023). Despite all of these films being huge successes at the box office and becoming beloved films for Asian communities everywhere, we see a dip in the number of mainstream movies featuring Asian actors in a prominent role. The Hollywood Reporter confirms this, saying in a 2025 article:

While the overall percentage of Asian characters on screen has increased from 2007 to 2024, those gains were wiped out between 2023 and 2024, according to USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s diversity report of movies, which was released in August 2025. The percentage of speaking characters of Asian descent decreased from 18.4 percent in 2023 to 13.5 percent in 2024. However, the report found that there were significantly more white characters on screen in 2024 (63.6 percent) than in 2023 (55.7 percent).

These statistics align with those published by the Asian American Foundation, which reports that only 6% of Asian characters are in leading roles in the top 100 works.

The lack of Asian leads in mainstream movies and shows is just as prevalent, if not even more so, in romcoms. Take Manny Jacinto, for example. The Filipino-Canadian actor is most known for playing Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016-2020). Jacinto's impeccable performance as the lovable, chaotic Floridian captured viewers' hearts, and shocked fans when they discovered that Jason's character is nothing like the actor, who is often soft-spoken and subdued. Jacinto's total embodiment of Jason shows just how talented and dedicated an actor he is, and he is far from being a typecast actor, portraying various types of characters across a variety of projects, including The Stranger in The Acolyte (2024) and Yao in Season 1 of Nine Perfect Strangers (2021-). He has gained a dedicated following of fans over the years, and many call for Jacinto to be the male lead in a romcom, for his model-good looks and show-stopping performances in every role.

From his most recent blockbuster role as Eric Reyes, the love interest to Lindsay Lohan's character in Freakier Friday (2025), we see him as a swoonworthy, doting father and husband. You would think that his perfect portrayal of this character would make his inbox flood with offers for romcom roles, but "it seems many creatives in Hollywood had other ideas." Manny Jacinto said to ScreenRant:

"This industry is always a little weird," the actor laughed. "Now I think I'm getting dad roles, or dad auditions. I'm like, 'Guys, I don't think that's me yet. I'm sorry. Let's pull it back.' Put me back in the box, actually."

Although he was the perfect actor for this role, father figure roles are far from what fans want from him, which is a leading man in a blockbuster romantic comedy. From TikTok edits to heavily curated Pinterest boards, social media makes it clear that audiences, especially women, want to see him in the cheesy romantic comedies that many of us grew up watching. User @selfieignite says on Threads, "Hollywood, put more Asian men in romantic lead roles," with images of Manny Jacinto, John Cho, and Daniel Dae Kim in the same post. On the final slide, a quote from the producer of Worth the Wait (2025), stating that "investors held the belief that, except for genres such as martial arts, Asian male characters are not bankable, with little appeal for Western audiences." Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu had more to say on the matter, responding to the post by saying:

"put some asians in literally anything right now. the amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f**king appalling. studios think we’re “risky”. minari farewell past lives everything everywhere crazy rich shang chi. every single one a financial success. no asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead. We’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system. and most days it SUCKS.

However, there is more hope for Jacinto and other Asian actors. He plays Warren, one of the love interests in a love triangle, in the upcoming movie Love Language (2026), which premiered at SXSW this past March. The Wedding Banquet (2025), starring SNL comedian Bowen Yang, received acclaim from audiences and critics alike.

Despite pushback from investors and industry officials, the best way for us to combat this is to keep being vocal and keep calling for Asian-led romcom movies. Change is inevitable, and actors like Jacinto can be the ones to pave the way for other Asian actors to come.