· Image Search

It probably seemed like a good career move at the time. After all, here was a chance for an unknown actor to play a lead role in a big teen comedy. Okay, so the 'character' was an exchange student named Long Duk Dong, who was little more than a Chinese Stepin Fetchit, really, and whose big moments consisted of drunkenly falling out of a tree, kamikaze-style (those crazy Asians!) and dancing with a large-bosomed woman with his head planted deep in her cleavage (those really short Asians!).

But imagine the possibilities. A fine young Asian actor, getting extended screen time in a major American comedy. How often does that happen? Yes, this was the foot in the door. This would lead to bigger things. This would in no way portend a resume jam-packed with such roles as 'Takeo,' 'Katsuji,' 'Tran,' 'Kazihiro,' and 'Detective Onoda' in such films as Gung Ho, Down Home, Miss America: Behind the Crown, Perfect Alibi, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

But, alas, this is the tale of Gedde Watanabe, a fine, funny actor who most everyone, to this day, rememembers as Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles -- a film which, trust us, isn't nearly as funny as you remember it being from when you saw it in ninth grade. And Mr. Watanabe's resume is, indeed, crammed with the aforementioned roles, and many others like them, and very few where he played characters with names like 'Matty,' 'Tom,' or 'Dennis.' Because, whereas other HITG!s generally have a niche based on some particular skill or characteristic, such as the Slightly Greasy Shyster, the Prissy Impotent Middle-Management WASP, or the Kindly-eyed Doctor, Mr. Watanabe's 'niche' is the Asian Guy. And, more often than not, the Asian Guy who no speak English too good!

The good news, however, is that Mr. Watanabe's two most recent roles, in EdTV and Guinevere, were as characters named 'Greg' and 'Ed,' respectively. The bad news is that Mr. Watanabe's two most recent roles were in EdTV and Guinevere.