No matter how you look at it, Keanu Reeves is the most enigmatic actor ever to rake in seven figures per picture. His acting is as fluid as a woodcut but multitudes of female fans consider him the sexiest and most charismatic of Hollywood stars. He broods like a poet/intellectual but stumbles over common English words and phrases. He's the deep pocket behind the pretty decent rock band Dogstar but is happy to hang back and groove to his bass.

Of course, the issue of his ethnicity is no exception.

When a Keanu Reeves flick comes out, do you see it because of his part-Asian ancestry and looks? Are you gratified to see him commands so much fan worship?

Keanu Reeves an Asian American actor? Shouldn't that question be answered by him and not other people?

Keanu Reeves...he is HOT....
Asian or not...he is on the right track...

The only other actor that matches his appeal is Takashi Kashiwabara(not really my type...but deserves recognition...)

Check out:

http://yokohama.cool.ne.jp/yuoto/boan14.jpg

http://www.990.net/2000/entertainment/star...ncong/photo.htm

As an AA male, it would be great to have him considered as such, given that it is extremely rare for AA males to be deemed in mainstream US media/society as "desirable" either as an individual or AA actor. However, as CKCL states, that is really up to him to decide.

Is Keanu Reeves really Asian? I thought he's part Samoan or Hawaiian. That's more like polynesia....or what we group as Pacific Islanders.

So Keanu's...what?...something like 1/4 Chinese ancestry? If he's Asian, then so is Rae Dawn Chong (who is also 1/4 Chinese but usually takes "Black" roles, even though she is also only 1/4 Black). Keanu takes "White" or race-neutral roles because that's what he (mostly) looks like, and Rae Dawn takes mostly "Black" or race-neutral roles because she looks like a (typically mixed-race) American Black person.

A Eurasian person like Russell Wong can take Chinese roles because his European ancestry doesn't show up all that much. (When I first saw him, in "Eat a Bowl of Tea", I figured that he was 1/4 White. I was suprised to learn that he's 1/2 White. But I digress...)

In short, I think that if someone looks ethnic enough to take ethnic roles, then it's not unreasonable to identify him/her with that ethnicity. But if it's simply a matter of having the ancestry without having the looks, then it's kind of a stretch. At that point, it becomes more about wanting to make a "political statement" or trying to prove a point than it is about reality. In other words, Asian people want to see more big stars who are of Asian ancestry, so they might feel a motivation to take the stretch and include someone like Keanu Reeves as an Asian actor. --At least that's how I see it.

Do I like Keanu Reeves? Of course, he stars in cool movies like the upcoming Matrix movies.

Do I consider him an asian american (actor)? No, not in the truest sense. While Keanu and others like him may have asian blood somewhere in the genes, that doesn't automatically make him an asian american.

I think it's ludicrous for people to label him an asian american actor or to claim him as "one of their own." Think about it, why does Keanu Reeves get all these leading men roles and Russell Wong doesn't? Hmmm, couild it have anything to do with the fact that Keanu looks "less asian" than Russell? Is the AA community that desperate for role models that they're analyzing every single celebrity to see if they had some asian blood in their past family lines?

When I think of an asian american actor, I hold people like Lucy Liu, Pat Morita, BD Wong, and others of their company in high regard, people not ashamed of their heritage and hold their heads up high no matter the haters. I don't blindly "claim" actors like Kristin Kreuk or Keanu as "one of my own" just because of the blood running through their veins.

That's right Truthbearer.....I really don't see Keanu Reeves as an Asian-American. In fact I didn't know he was part Asian until I came to this website!

Yeah, I know about that "lack-of-Asian" phenomenon in movies or any film making. In fact I heard a radio ad last year asking for girls who can act female actors in some kind of movie (this is in LA). They asked for a Caucasian girl, black girl, hispanic girl, and Asia OR Caucasian girl. Yeah...that OR really bothered me. Why should a caucasian girl take the place of an asian female model....my goodness!

There is the movie "Transporter" that came out last year....starring some Chinese girl (forgot her name) and a British actor. If you know their names...please clear up my misconception.
Anyhow, that movie wasn't a big hit....because it starred a Chinese actress......not somebody like Lucy Liu who can speak English very well. But at the same time,....Crouching Tiger was a big hit.

By the way, do any of you know if Rick Yun (a Korean-American actor) is part Caucasian? His facial features look sort of white to me.

I wonder what it would be like if Keanu were proud of his Asian bloodline and desired to be identified as such. I doubt very much that Keanu cares or does identify himself as such, but for argument sake, I wonder if some AA individuals would toss aside what he aspired to be identified as and shun him simply because he doesn't look Asian. I guess that would be like why Russell Wong doesn't get the lead roles like Keanu - shunned simply because of the way he looks. I have my doubts about actors who look Asian such as Lucy Liu but plays t.v. roles of a stereotypical asian dragon lady with the hots for everyone but an Asian man; or Pat Morita who is best known for his hackneyed stereotypical role of a karate master. Basically, I"m just saying that I would rather root for someone with the heart and pride to be Asian and not just by the way they look.

Keanu asian well not very. He got more white features he's 6 1 200 white skin, white nose, and just asian eyes. Also look he doesn't even fit any of the typical asian male stereotype being smart, good in school, doing martial arts flicks. I read the guys bio he's a high school dropout. Why would he embrace his asian hertiage, his asian dad was arrested for drugs since keanu was 7. He seems more white to me playing bass guitar in a band, surfing, plays hockey. Look at his movies their all normal roles.Matrix, Speed, Chain Reaction. He hasn't done a role were he was an actual asian character or was given a asian name in a movie. the same goes for Dean Cain.

QUOTE (HotKimchee @ Jan 28 2003, 11:33 PM)

There is the movie "Transporter" that came out last year....starring some Chinese girl (forgot her name) and a British actor. If you know their names...please clear up my misconception. Anyhow, that movie wasn't a big hit....because it starred a Chinese actress......not somebody like Lucy Liu who can speak English very well. But at the same time,....Crouching Tiger was a big hit.

Jason Statham and Shu Qi/Hsu Chi

Thanks Dase.

ANyhow, the movie Transporter shows the white male dominating Asian female phenomenon.

Shows Shu Qi wanting to make love with Statham. My friend and I had a discussion after the movie....discussion regarding Asian roles in movie.

He was quite annoyed that Transporter portrays Asian men (Shu Qi's father) as evil people who love to sell people for money. That's all bull s--t.

Also in the movie there was a scene whereby hsu chi was in the boot and Jason opened the boot and found her. What happened next was unbelievable! : he got a knife and made a slit in the sellatape where she could drink and then proceeded to get a drink and told her to drink from the straw!. Well, I don't know about you but that scene unintentionally made me laugh - the way she was sucking from the straw; does it not imply something?

He's a half-Azn who looks more stereotypically "white" than "Azn."
Brandon Lee was half-Azn but looked more stereotypically "white" than even many white people.

This website says his father is half-Hawaiian, half-Chinese and his mother is White (English).

http://www.mixedfolks.com/hapaasian.htm

Meg and Jennifer Tilley kept their ethnicity (their father is Chinese) hidden until they became famous because they knew that they would be typecast. Unfortunately that's how things seem to work in Hollywood still.

That's interesting manwhowalks. The way I see it though is how "asian" you look. I don't think actors like Meg Tilly would have necessarily been 'herded' into stereotypical asian roles even if their background was known. After all, the Tillie's don't particularly look 'asian' and could pass for mediterranean and whatnot.

Just the same, even if Keanu's background was known early in his career, I don't think it would have affected his career because he doesn't particularly look 'asian.'

Admitting your ethnicity I think can hinder your career in Hollywood even if you don't look as Asian as Russell Wong. Look at Lindsay Price. She has both obvious Asian and Caucasian features. Depending on how you make her up, she could look either...or at least Hispanic or Mediterrean. HOwever she is typecast, probably because no one can go past the fact that she's half Korean.

I loved Jennifer Tilly when I was little. I thought she was part eskimo(since she's Canadian). Eskimos look Asian. So yes, I think Jennifer Tilly could have been typecast if she didn't keep quite. Meg Tilly looks more white though. I think she would have been fine.

YOu know one type an Asian guy accused her of being an Asian girl who got plastic surgery to look more White. It's not easy being Asian/Caucasian. I get this from people too. Mixed people are mixed. That's why sometimes we have faces that don't fit into need stereotypes.
I can't even afford plastic surgery. I'd rather travel.

"Admitting your ethnicity I think can hinder your career in Hollywood even if you don't look as Asian as Russell Wong. "

i dont think that's exactly true because look at Kristen Kreuk (did i spell that right?). She admits to being half Chinese - half Dutch and I think she's doing just fine with her role in Smalleville. She's gotten great reviews on Rolling Stone, etc.

I don't consider Keanu an AA actor because he looks more white and I don't think a lot of people know he's part. I wouldn't bother to "claim him" as our own.
Look at Halle Berry. Even though she is half-white and raised by her white mother (her parents divorced), black people try to claim her as their own. Saying things like "She's the first black person to win Best Actress", which I just find dumb.

Excuse me, TJL
But Halle Berry always refers to HERSELF as 'Black'. Blacks are not 'trying' to claim anything.
If you didn't hear the Ocsar speech, she dedicated the award to a long list of BLACK actresses, and not necessarily White or mixed ones!

Yea, Dase, but she only proclaimed pride in her heritage when it benefitted her by grandstanding at the Oscars. What about her white heritage? Isn't she also white AND black? FYI, it was her WHITE mother who raised her AFTER her biological father bolted on both of them. Where's the respect for her mother who is NOT black?

Halle Berry refers to herself as black in her speeches because that's the label African-Americans have forced on her. Obviously she's not going to say in her speech on TV "Don't call me black, I'm half-white". That would hurt her image, cause dislike from fans, and hurt her career.
If you read in depth articles and interviews about Halle Berry, she says she attributes all her success to her mother (who is white). She also says she considers herself mixed.
I have several friends in real life who are mixed. They all consider themselves mixed or "multi-racial". Not one of them claims to be one race over the other. Doing so would be an insult to one of their parents.

He was born in Canada, so, he's not American. Either way, who really gives a [expletive] what he is?
He's simply a human who happens to act for a living... barely that is.

Regardless of how asian he looks or doesn't look, the fact of the matter is, he has asian blood running through his veins. No matter how you want to break his ethnicity down, his father is Chinese from Hawaii,and his mother is English. Which makes him in the most Accurate sense, "Asian", or Eurasian Mix. If any ethnicity is accepting to his uniqueness it would be us asians, more than likely knowing how white people are they wouldn't accept this. Yet alone imagine what white supremecists would do to him or label him? In any event, It's not about claiming whether he is asian or not, it's about the facts. Ask yourself this...How many white people do you know have keanu's features?? Black /brownish hair, eyes, tone of skin, and body structure... He might not look like your typical asian..but I can certainly say he resembles more of an asian person rather than a caucasion person in any sense..

it's misleading because some Central Asians and even Turks in Turkey might have similar features.

This does mean that they too are mixed of course.

ok. keanu, he looks really american.. me too, i never knew he has an asian blood til i got in here, anyways, if he doesn't claim his asian ethnicity, i don't care. i'm an asian and i'm proud of being so. we are not thirsty of recognition! we're just hurt when these people don't admit their ethnicity because they feel ashamed!! and to that movie that a chinese starred, did u say something about crouching tiger, hidden dragon?? well, then, it';s not about who the heck stars! it's about the story, direction and plot of the movie... don't be narrow-minded.. and you who are judgmental and mean, especially most of americans, you don't even own your complexion, language blah blah... your ethnic people look very differently than what you look like... yours are just borrowed from the brits, and as far as i know, well, correct me if i'm wrong, your native people actually came from asia... may God really bless america... (they're fate makes them arrogant)

matrix reloaded.. 2 thumbs up.. but short. Then again, sequel's coming out soon.

Keanu? H-O-T.. Worst Actor.. "knock knock..hello? u there airhead?" He has delayed reactions (i come to this conclusion after watching some interviews he did)

asian? i don't consider him to be although biologically, he is (1/4) i hear.
Until he starts taking asian roles (which he most likely won't even be offered since he looks 100% caucasian) and claiming that he is asian or just simply making it known in any way shape or form to the public, SORRY, but until then, i won't be proud to say he is (partially) asian.

lisa ling, on the other hand, totally totally i disrespect and am very embarrased of. She has this ever so obvious way of 'denying' or 'changing the subject' whenever she comes face to face with her being asian. What is she all about? Striving to be in denial of her identity? She is ASHAME.

She does not DESERVE to be called someone who "represents" Asians..simply because she doesn't. (I think I would be the perfect cohost for The View )

I think Keanu accepts who he is just fine. I read somewhere that when he first got started, his agent wanted him to use the name "K.C. Reeves" because the name "Keanu" was too exotic sounding. But Keanu wouldn't do it.
Keanu does not to represent anyone but himself.

well.. honestly.. i'm pretty sure he's just a normal guy who has accepted that he's part asian at this age.. it's not like he 's going through an identity crisis.. he's what, like, in his early 30's I think he knows by now who and what he is.. it's just that no one in hollywood asks about it on interviews.. i'm sure everyone is aware of it though.. otherwise, why would he hold the reputation as being "hot" or "exotic"? I'm pretty sure it has a lot to with the fact that people know he is partially asian. well, whatever..at this point in hollywood, asians are not the spotlight.. Blacks have made it now.. and the media is sensitive towards them.. always having to include black .. on the news, movies, sitcom series.. yaddah yaddah.. but asians still have a long way to go... we're getting there though!

Speaking of Matrix Reloaded, I was just reading a commentary by some white guy whining about how ALL and EVERY SINGLE villain in this movie was a white guy (I haven't seen it yet, but that's the impression I get too). Very amusing. And he also commented on Keanu being half-asian, and didn't appear to know what the hell to make of it. At least the half-asian man gets to kill all the bad guys, save the world, gets the chick at the end of the movie. But I'd say Tommy Chong should get that award for being far ahead of his time.

And another thing... I read that Eddie Van Halen is Indonesian/Dutch. It's cool to know there are Asian backgrounds in some of the most popular figures in mainstream culture. I wonder how much a mixed-raced background plays a role in their success, eccentricities, and their path in life (successful or not). If anything, it will never be the 'normal' experience that pure Asians or pure whites will have growing up in this country. And I seriously doubt any of them can completely let go of their asianness, it's impossible.

Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon not Canada. He moved to Canada after his mother remarried. He is American of Asian/European descent no matter where he was born because his father is an American citizen. He does acknowledge his Asian ancestry because he tells people that his father is Chinese-Hawaiian from Hawaii. He even refused to change his name from Keanu to K.C. when his agent suggested it to make it less sound less exotic. He looks a lot like his father, except a more Caucasian version. If you've ever seen pictures of him as a baby & child, he looks more Asian then. Some Eurasian people will look more Asian & some more Caucasian depending on how dominant the parent's Asian or Caucasian features are. I know a guy who has 3 Eurasian children & the eldest son looks completely Caucasian that people don't believe him when he tells them that he is half Chinese. His other siblings look Eurasian.
Many people that we perceive as Caucasian/European in America are actually mixed blood. Blond Farrah Fawcett is 1/4 Native American, actress Ellen Barkin is part Mongolian & somebody I know who read Faye Dunaway's autobiography said she is part Korean (she won the Oscar for best actress in 1977 for the movie Network). Many European-Americans have Native American blood in them. Halle Berry is considered African-American because the laws in the U.S. traditionally say that if you have a small percentage of African blood (1/32 in some States) then you are considered African-American. Sally Hemmings the mistress of Thomas Jefferson was 3/4 White & 1/4 Black but was still considered Black. The majority of American society also perceives her as African American.

Hotkimchee:
Rick Yune is not part Caucasian. He is just a tall Korean guy who has chiseled features which I notice that other Korean people have as well.

Anybody,

I have a comment on the mixed people issue. I do think
that society will accept you on what you look like more than
just your ancestry.

I have a friend, a blond beauty who is part Native American, but
I can't tell because she looks 100% white.

Also, I have noticed that certain Caucasian people have stronger
traits than other Caucasians.

I have noticed that Germanic people from Scandinavia and Germany
have very strong distinctive looks, thus mostly when a
Germanic woman have kids with an Asian man or a Germanic
man have kids with an Asian woman, their kids will look more
Caucasian. Also, when a Russian woman and an Asian
man have kids, their kids will look more like Turkish whom
by all means are considered White Europeans.

Just look at Kristin Kreuk: She is Half Dutch(Scandinavian or
Germanic. Whatever you like to call them) and half Asian.
As you can see, she looks really Caucasian.

I'm not saying that there aren't any exceptions, but in most
cases Germanic people have really strong distinctive features.

I have a gorgeous German-American friend who is engaged
to a Vietnamese-American. She is fearful that her husband-to-be
will not accept that their future children will look more Caucasian
than Asian, but her fiance has said that he doesn't care.

Irish people have less strong distinctive traits, thus when
the child is Eurasian, there is a lot more possibility the
child will look more Asian.

But on the other hand, Keanu Reeves is half Irish and half
Asian, but he looks more Caucasian.

There are exceptions too.

You can argue, of course, but, in my wicked observations
in my lifetime, I have come to this conclusion.

I do think though that Asian traits are not at all that dominant
because when a Eurasian person who marry's a Caucasian
person. Their kids will most likely not show much of their Asian
Traits by the next generation.

Blacks have the most dominant traits I believe; even a
second/ third generation Black/(White, Asian) person with
mostly white or Asian ancestry will still show some traits
of their African ancestry.

But despite our trait differences, we all know that we all came from
the same bloodline through evolution, so in a way, there is only
one race: the HUMAN RACE.

Sometimes it's not even as simple a what you look like. Tiger Woods is:
1/4 black, 1/4 Chinese, 1/4 Thai, 1/8 Native American and 1/8 Caucasian
but everyone likes to call him black. But if you look at Tiger's eyes, he doesn't look like any black people I have ever seen.

Movies,

I think that the real reason why we don't always recognize Eurasian people as being not-entirely-Caucasian is because so many (nominally) Caucasian people have some Asiatic traits, probably courtesy of the invasions from Mongolia centuries ago.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but perhaps it bears repeating here: My father once remarked that his mother-in-law (that is, my maternal grandmother) "looked Chinese". Well, to my eyes, she looked pretty typical of people who came from a region known at that time as "White Russia" (which was a former state of the U.S.S.R.). She had strawberrry-blonde hair (when she was younger), blue eyes, and pale skin with freckles. But, upon looking at her more closely, I noticed that she also had epicanthic folds, hooded eyelids, and cheekbones that would be typical on an Asian face. But she never looked "non-White" to me at all UNTIL my father pointed it out. I think that there are LOTS of Europeans who have mildly Asiatic features, and that's why so many Eurasians get "read as" "Caucasian".

BTW, Russel Wong would be an exception to your rule-of-thumb, as he is half-Dutch, yet he looks (to my eye) to be 3/4 Chinese, even though he's only 1/2 Chinese. (Off-topic note: My Japanese-American ceramics instructor has a son with a Mexican-American woman, and I can't tell (by looks) that the kid is anything other than Mexican. But then, I've never seen the kid's mom, so it's possible that he does take after his father in some ways.)

Cyn

Movies7778

Hmmm, having looked at a web page dedicated to hapas (half-koreans in particular) and browsing over the gallery of faces, I'm not sure if your observations of asian-recessiveness is entirely correct. Of course, the sampling will probably consist of WM/AF combinations, which I suspect tends to lean towards more Asian appearing offspring. It looks pretty much like anything goes, appearance-wise.

Is it just me or do first-generation Eurasians seem more 'patchy' than Eurasians in central Asia who've mixed for quite a while. I wouldn't expect the recessive features to show up at all in first-gens. So all we're really seeing is the dominant and neither-dominant-nor-recessive phenotypes from both races. And by 'patchy' I mean, less integrated and fluid, like for example having an Asian head 'pasted' on a Caucasian body.

Anyways here's the link. The good, the bad, and the ugly ...And no hollywood filters to skew the results either...

Hapa Faces

The more I think about it, Keanu really does seem to look Asian. But then again who are we comparing him to? The 'typical' white American, MANY of whom have some Native American blood. Compare Keanu to a typical German guy from Europe and he looks hella different, worlds apart. It's confusing to me why so many who've voted on the poll didn't consider him 'Asian'. I think it has more to do with the 'roles' he plays than how he looks. Or maybe we're all conditioned that way... kinda like how Japanese and Koreans can "tell each other apart from a mile away."

And regarding whites and blacks, one must consider that blacks in America actually have quite healthy dose of Caucasian genes (15-20%? I haven't checked lately) and the exact same goes for 'whites' in South Africa w/r to black ancestry. Which is ironic, considering race relations there.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... we're all imagining things. or are we?

I do think that Koreans have one of the strongest traits
among Asian groups.

For example: I could tell the difference between Japanese,
Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, etc. by looking at their
picture.

However, I think that Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos
have really less more dominant traits. I'm Filipino and
I have seen enough Half Filipino/Half Caucasian children
to know that it is true, especially in the cases when the
mother is white.

But sometimes, I do get a couple of mix-ups between
Filipinos and Vietnamese people. I must admit. This
is understanding however since I know for a fact that
some of the early settlers in the Island of the Philippines
were the Southern Chinese.

I have a Half Korean/ Half Caucasian friend named Johnny
and his Korean side shows up more, thus he considers
himself more Asian than Caucasian. But he does hate it
when a Korean and a Spanish team go against each other
in a sport competition. I remember how bad he felt when the
Spanish team played against the Korean team in the
World Cup Soccer competition. And he felt equally despaired
when both got eliminated.

I do think that first generation Half Asian/Half Caucasian must
have something to identify themselves with, thus if they look more
of the other, they will tend to lean toward that.

There are exceptions though like Tiger Woods who proudly
acknowledges his Asian Heritage, but it is rare.

I am not putting the Media and Movies in the mix between our
perceptions of Eurasians, but rather acknowledging that
Hapas are indeed special in their own way.

Speaking of Central Europeans, does anyone know about
Hedo Turkolu of the Sacramento NBA team and Marco
Jaric of the Clippers? Don't they look Asian at times?
They have brown hair and peach skin, but they sometimes
look Asian in certain times.

Look at Boxer Kostya Zsyu. He is Half Mongolian and Half
Russian, but he considers himself Russian more than
Asian because he looks more Siberian White than he
does look Siberian Asian. Alot of Russians are mixed
anyway just like alot of American whites have Native
American in them of whom are Asians by way of genetics,
but they hardly go about bragging their Asian bloodline. They
don't say," You know my Asian grandfather could catch a fly with
his chopsticks." White Russians don't do that.

Even some White Americans don't even know they have Native
American blood in them since no one really keeps track
of who their great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather
was just like in the case of many White Russians.

But have you noticed that Siberian white Russians have identical
body builds to Siberian Asians? Both are heavy and are relatively
tall. It could be all those years of Mixing of Asian men with Russian
women since Russia, throughout their history were invaded
by Mongolian tribes. They even made the Russians pay taxes
for living there. A Mongolian Man finds an attractive young
Russian lady and you know the rest. Then the Mongolian man
leaves and invades another country and never sees the woman
again.

However, this could be argued by their similar diets since both
Siberian whites and Siberian Asians eat alot more wheat and
meat than their counterparts.

Just another view. "In this world, you are what you look like. It
doesn't matter how Half Asian/White you are."

Movies 7778,

I think it has more to do with past mixing between native Filipinos and Caucasians, resulting in Filipinos having some recessive genes associated with Caucasians. So when a Filipino and Caucasian, ehem, get together, some of the traits that normally would never show, in fact do show up. This was what I was getting at, first-generation hapas will never show recessive-traits that are characteristic of, or unique to either Asians or Caucasians... Black/brown hair, black/brown eyes, etc. are almost always the norm, whereas when mixing with second-generation hapas this usually isn't the case. So this appearance of "recessiveness" in Filipinos probably has more to do with some Filipinos actually being more Caucasian than they appear to be. If Koreans had a similar history of mixing with Caucasians, instead of being racially isolated, you'd also observe a similar phenomena of, as you put it, "less dominant traits," which may in fact just be recessive Caucasian traits that have surfaced. Why do you think some black-white pairings (here in the states) have resulted in, ehem, un-expected results that seem unusually caucasian. Same reason, I think.

The Russians? LOL. Those jolly Russians have enough culture to immerse themselves in. I doubt if a single one of them did any soul-searching to care whether they're white or asian or passed out drunk. Not true for recent hapas, my guess is that quite a few have at least tried to figure out what the hell is going on and who they are. Anyways, the successful hapas in show biz, like Keanu, don't seem like the self-hating types who hate their asian-ness, They just know they need to keep it to themselves to get ahead, else be left behind and forgotten like countless other souls swept under society's rug. And another thing, I wonder if Keanu is considered Caucasian by some simply because he didn't fit an existing category or ethnicity of Asians.

Central Asians looking like Asians at times? Of course, I read somewhere that Turkish wives were prized by the Mongols during their partying days, so that would explain a lot. I guess according to today's logic, that meant Turkish men were nerdy wimps with little tiny wieners.

Kimchi Devil,

Yes, Koreans are the most homogenic people in this
world. Yes, that's true, according to many anthropologists,
historians, geneticists, and geographers.

Even more homogenic than Scandinavians.
That is why Koreans have the most distinctive
looks among Asian groups and why Scandinavians
have the most distinctive looks among Caucasians.
This partly has to do with isolation with Scandinavians
and culture and isolation with Koreans.

Homogenic meaning marrying and having Korean
kids only through generations.

It is good that you agree with me when I wrote
that traits also depend on a group's homogenic
roots.

It seems to be very more of a parent affair since
many Koreans have the belief of the purity of
their ethnicity.

What really bothers me is the reason why many
Korean parents, especially single mothers give up
their kids for international adaption because of their
belief that pregancy before marriage is an
absolute crime, thus they mostly result to adaption
agency as a solution to please their future husband.

I know that this mostly has to do with culture rather
than self choice, but I think it is very unfortunate that
many Korean children are isolated from their
birth parents.

There is an R&B singer named Amerie. Ii sure that most of you (who are cool) know of her or have atleast seen her. Let me ask you all this... Do you all consider her Asian (because her mother's Korean)? Do you consider her Black (because she is brown skinned & sings R&B)? If she were a part of your family would you accept her?

this is getting interesting.. koreans? dominant genes? i never reallly thought about, i jsut got *annoyed* more so than anything else, from everyone saying that all asians look the same. Well, the only thing I thought was uniquely dominant in koreans were there eyes. I believe the majority of us have smalll eyes, long upper torso, short legs, short arms, and for guys, sorry, but a big head. Haha. Very simple but you know they are true stereotypes.. for those of you who are korean, or have hung out with koreans a lot... I know I know.. it's not true for everyone.. but automatically it's assumed, if you have these features... you are korean. ALthough i am an acception, i have a shorter upper torso, long legs and long arms, big eyes, and a small head. Gosh, this is just sounding all too funny.. i sound so pathetic talking about all this, but it's the truth. ANyways, i'm really enjoying reading all of your responses.. movies7778 and kimchi devil.. One more thing, i used to think that koreans were the most stuck-up, proud, 'we-are-the-best' crowd, but i learned that the chinese, vietnamese, japanese, all have this 'i-look-down-on-all-other-asians' attitude.. i don't know about filipinos though (at least through my experience, they don't seem to have any *asian* in them, also they seem to click more with latinos and blacks ??) In general, asians are just a proud people.. we just have too much pride.. guess it's a good thing.

galactica, i'm cool, but i don't know who amerie is. american r&b singer? or korean?

Korean Girl,

I have never in my lifetime heard that Filipinos
click more with Blacks and Latinos.

The Filipinos I know get along more with Vietnamese
and Malaysians and Chinese. Because in true
essence alot of us Filipinos are Chinese by blood
because our ancestors immigrated from Southern
China to the Philippine Islands.

I'm Filipino and sometimes I have trouble distinguishing
the difference between Filipinos and Vietnamese.
But I'm not the typical Filipino. I look alot more
Chinese than any other.

Koreangirl,

She's American.

I thought this thread was about whether we consider Keanu Reeves an AA actor?

Anyway, I would like to comment on that. I think a big part of why Keanu is considered "white" while say, actors like the late Brandon Lee and Russell Wong are squarely in the "Asian" camp is due to their surnames.

Think about it - if Keanu was Keanu Chang instead of Reeves, would he have commanded the crossover appeal he enjoys? How would the careers of Wong and Lee been different if they had last names as English-sounding as their first names?

I think this goes over into more areas than just Hollywood, too. When you see mixed-race athletes who have an English surname, most people are none the wiser of the Asian-ness in their ancestry. The Morton brothers in the NFL are one such example. If, however, their ancestry were flip-flopped, i.e. a Japanese father and a Black mother, with the attendant obviously Japanese surname, I think they would more readiily be recognized as Asian athletes.

Basin Bictory,

Alot of your comments make sense, but by looking
at Keanu Reeves, he looks more Caucasian
than anything. Certainly, if Keanu Reeve's last name is
Chang or anything, it would raise some eyebrows,
but I doubt that would make him appeal more to
Asians.

I doubt that the Morton brothers would be considered
Asians even if they had an Asian name; because
they certainly look black more than anything.

As Original Cyn stated, there are certainly some
Caucasians who have some Asian features like
the Turkish, some Russians, and Yugoslavians, thus
at times, it is difficult to tell whether some people
are Eurasians.

Just look at Marco Jaric, Hedo Turkolu, Peja Stojacovic,
and Vlade Divac. They are famous European athletes
with some Asian features on them. But of all things, they
are white.

Honestly, I thought that Keanu Reeves was Yugoslavian,
Turkish, or Romanian. But I have never once had
a speculation that he is half Chinese and half Irish until
my brother read some article and told me.

If he had an Asian last name, I would say, "What?", with my
eyebrows popping out...

But then again, there are some Blacks who have some Asian
features like some Northern Blacks. My friend from Eritrea, Dan,
sometimes gets speculated of being Indian, but he is in fact
black. He looks like the typical half Black/ half Asian person, but
he is pure black.

He has the same look as Tiger Woods: small eyes and dark
skinned.

Disregard the NAME factor for a minute. When looking at
a stranger walking on the street, do you ask them their last
name? I think not.

"Hey! What's your name there?"

We don't do that to strangers. But we do look at the complexion
of their skin and their facial features.

Just look at Miss Trinidad and Tabago. She looks like she has
some Asian in her, but she is in fact considered black
by most people. But then again, Blasians are very common
in Trinidad and Tabago with both Asian fathers and Asian
mothers.

Movies7778

Now that i think about it.. filipinos and vietnamese.. i also can't really tell the difference at all. But the filipinos (and cambodians) that i knew were either *white* preps (only 1 who is one of my closest friends) or like i said, mingled with the blacks and latinos.. Funny thing is, although they used ebonics and weren't shy of showing their hip-hop-ness , they always talked about their *asian* culture.. like some of their cambodian or vietnamese dresses they would wear to certain events and wedding talks. I htought that was ironic. But then again, to be honest, I was born in and grew up in an "all-white" neighborhood and school.. I never even met a Japanese person until college. And in highschool is where I first sought out my own kind - Koreans, and learned the language and started to hang out with them.. and only them. And then I snapped out of all that mumbo jumbo in college.. although i have friends of every race and culture, as a korean, for some odd reason, majority of guys i chose to date happened to be koreans. So yeah, that's just my story. But back to KEANU.. damnit. I would've NEVER thought he was half asian! i forget who mentioned this, maybe you movies7778, but really, if his last name was asian like russel wong or rick yune, i think hollywood and the rest of us would've seen him in a totally differnt light.. don't you all think??

movies7778

ok why do so many most filipinos have spanish last names ? i thought that filipinos actually had some spanish in them .. many are mixed caucasian, or latino/spanish..and that is why phenotypically they don't look quite asian..

Koreangirl,

Filipinos were once ruled by the Spaniards.
They found their Spanish names easier
to pronounce than the Natives' names so
they made most people change names.

They made the people learn Spanish just like
the French made the Vietnamese people
learn French. Same thing, but unlike the
Filipinos, the Vietnamese decided to trash
French names out.

And when the Spaniards left the Philippines,
the Names sort of got stuck in our lives.

For example: Sanchez is easier to pronouce
than Manduloyu or Arimisiangilado. It takes
alot out of you.

And have you ever tried to read an entire Filipino
book? I hate it! 'Cause every word has like
8-20 letters with multi-syllables in them. I tell you,
it makes your eyes tired unlike English where every word
makes you kind of relieved.

People tend to stick with the easier things not
the more difficult things.

And to say that by huge numbers, mixed
Caucasian/Asian people are common
over there, is a misconception.

They don't even make up 2% of the entire
85,000,000 people.

Most are of American white and Filipino mixes
like those in Hawaii.

Those Filipinos that you're refering to are probably
those from Hawaii.

I traveled to the Central Parts of the Philippines, and I
never once saw a half breed person over there, except
those White/Asian tourist couples traveling with their kids.
If you traveled over there, you would know what I'm talking
about.

Alot of Asians do not know that in the Northern,
Central, and Southern parts of the Philippines,
Filipinos look different and speak different
languages. There is a subdivision within the
division. Some Ilocanos do not like Cebuanos
and some Ilogs do not like Luzonians. You catch
my grip, right? These are totally different people
who are only united by the government and the
main language, Tagalog. Within the subdivision
of the area seperation, Religion also subdivides
Filipinos.

The Majority 85% are Christians. The other 15% are Muslims
who are concentrated in the Island of Mindanao. If you don't
know where Mindanao is, look at a map of the Philippines and
look at the biggest lower Island. That is Mindanao where
many battles are fought over who owns that Island:
The Christians or the Muslims.

I could speak Visayan at birth, but I learned
Tagalog, the main language later in life.

In the Northern parts, alot of Filipinos look
Vietnamese. In the Central Parts, alot
of Filipinos look Chinese. And in the Southern
parts, alot of Filipinos look totally Malaysian.

Ok im like keanu reeves, im half asian My Dad is Native Malaysian and my mom is white. I dont look like either of them but i do look like a white guy with black hair, i have been mistaken for different nationalities from europe, but not many people would guess im half asian. I live in Malaysia and i speak malay and i consider myself asian. My point is im surprised that 31% of other asians in this forum chose the reason a person is not asian is because he dosent even look asian. am i not asian even though my father is, just because i dont look asian? I know one girl whos father is chinese and her mother is hafl white half filipino. Her older sister looks like a pure chinese but this girl i know looks like a pure white. Her english is not that good and her malay isnt the best either. Her everyday language is chinese. Are you going to tell this girl that she is white not asian? even though she only has 1/4 of white blood in her.


and about the filipinos, i live in Malaysia where the filipino population is very high, i have friends who are tagalog, bisaya, bajau and even sulug. The state i live in has the highest malaysian-filipino population in the whole country (approx. 1million filipinos, including legals and illegals). and i am yet to meet any filipino mixed with white blood. Filipinos here are not like the ones that i know when i lived in the states. Filipinos in the US always claiming that they have spanish blood and saying all filipinos speak spanish. But here in South East Asia you only get the odd occasion where a filipino will mention something about spanish. Most of the filipinos i know only speak a little bit of their native language and only speak malay and english. Ive never met one that can speak spanish, but i have met many who can speak chinese but have no chinese blood in them. And i have met many filipino women who are married to chinese here. Its very hard to tell the difference between a local and a filipino here in malaysia, only by their malay accent can people tell.

malayasian sensation

that's what i thought! only in the states .. only in the states.. do filipinos claim that their basically..yes..*spanish*. Some of the girls i rememebr loved to date latinos. I didn't say all.. the only little group i knew. I also think maybe because in the states they have the most similar skin tone to latinos..plus having spanish last names.. they are even more likely to mingle with latinos. But yeah, in malaysia or phillipines, i'm sure everyone for the most part is *purely* natives. I actually had the opportunity to vsite the phillipines.. manila. We stayed at a really nice hotel.. there was green grass and horses.. beautiful. The people there were extremely nice.. but being that this was a missionary trip, we did have to stay a couple nights at the very poor neighborhood, even sleeping over their houses. Some neighborhoods were very poorly developed... OK.. i want to get off this subject.. enough. THanks to MOvies7778.. i've learned a lot about filipinos.. and malaysians.

Back to Keaunu. I don't feel as strongly about everything anymore. I guess he would've been recognized and refererd to as *asian* if his last name were diffterent. ANd he is only a *quarter* chinese. and I've never heard of any interview where he *denied* in any way his asian.. so keanu.. you're ok with me. HOWEVER, "~wake up~" He seems v-e-r-y S-L-O-W....or maybe he's just shy?

koreangirl,

It's totally obvious Keanu is or was a stoner! LOL.
Tommy Chong, another stoner... Hmmm, Is there a pattern here?

Anyways, regarding him being asian or white. I'd have to say that if he's not asian, then why the should that make him white? or vice versa. Besides, most hapas tend to have an unusually high affinity for other hapas anyways, and will likely check that box if their numbers allow it. It's difficult to tell just how accepted half-asians are, it's kinda relative when you think about it... In the absence of full-blooded asians, they'll typically be the 'token' asian, and along with that comes all the 'goodies' people have in store for all things from that part of the world, if ya know what I mean.

And I would agree that the last name does make a BIG difference, especially in business, as opposed to casual encounters. So unless you have watchful eyes from the old world looking after your best interest here, I don't think you're gonna get very far in hollywood.

It's been awhile since I've been to the philipines, but wouldn't the city-folks have more caucasian blood in them for obvious reasons? Is it noticeable?