'Law & Order' actor B.D. Wong on mission to raise respect for one another's differences

by Simon Thalmann
Kalamazoo Gazette As much fame as Tony Award-winning actor B.D. Wong's work has brought him, it may seem paradoxical to say that his fame is just a means to another end. Yet that is exactly how he views it.

"Fame is a really weird thing," he said in a phone interview Thursday. "I don't get it. I don't understand why people simply want to be famous just for the sake of being famous. ... Unless that fame is going to do something or help you to achieve something other than fame itself, you shouldn't want to be famous.

"Wong will bring that "something other than fame" to Kalamazoo this week as the featured speaker at the 11th annual "Respecting Differences" diversity event themed "From Exclusion to Inclusion." 

An accomplished actor both onstage and off, Wong won a Tony Award in 1988 for his Broadway debut as Song Liling in "M. Butterfly," but is probably more known these days as forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang in NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

He has appeared in numerous other plays, television shows and movies, though, even scoring roles in popular films such as "Jurassic Park," "Seven Years in Tibet," Disney's "Mulan" and both "Father of the Bride" films. His many television credits include guest appearances on "The X-Files," "Sesame Street" and "Chicago Hope," as well as feature roles on the HBO series "Oz."

Wong also is an experienced speaker on diversity issues, and he will give talks to that effect at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., as part of the "Respecting Differences" event.

The purpose of the event -- which is sponsored by seven Kalamazoo area organizations, mostly employers, and is free and open to the public -- is to heighten awareness about diversity in the workplace, a topic Wong has a unique perspective on as an Asian-American gay man working as an actor in the U.S. In 2003, he came out publicly about his sexuality.

Not black and white

But before then, most especially during the early and middle phases of Wong's career, he grappled with being offered stereotypical Asian roles, an occurrence which he said, thankfully, has decreased as his success has increased.

"Am I just not being asked to do as many of these things because they really are slowing down or because they just really know that I won't do them? I'm not really quite sure about that," he said.

Although he is "grateful and happy" for the improvement in roles for himself, he wants better roles for other Asian-American actors.

"I think we're way past the time when we should be able to explore having our own series and having our own families and things back on television."

During his regular speaking appearances, Wong often addresses challenges like these that are of special interest to the Asian-American community, including Asian stereotypes in Hollywood, Asian-American parental pressure and the myth of the "model minority," which he said falsely assumes Asian-Americans are so successful that they don't experience the same discrimination faced by other racial groups.

"It is an issue for me that (racism) is often still a black or white issue, that people will use the expression black or white as an all-inclusive term, which is infuriating to anybody who's not black or white," Wong said.

He said he empathizes with Attorney General Eric Holder's infamous statement in a speech last month calling Americans "a nation of cowards" in failing to openly discuss the issue of race.

"I think that's a brilliant comment," Wong said. "I think that it would take a comment like that to get people to see it a certain way. We're very complacent about it in some ways. This is why it's very interesting to have a person of color in the White House. ... People just simply never saw anything like it before, and couldn't even fathom it. And now they're forced to fathom it, and so then what else are they forced to fathom as a result of that chain reaction of acceptance?"

More than an issue of race

Wong sees diversity as more than just an issue of race, however. He said that the issue of his homosexuality has complicated his life, but in a positive way.

"It has made the discussion more complex, and I think in a very welcome way," he said. "I've actually been able to draw parallels between my experiences as an ethnic minority and experiences as a gay person and as an American, and that actually enriches my remarks.

"I spoke for many years about (being) Asian-American only, and I would say that it's a less rich discussion because not only was I able to draw comparisons I think are really valid, but I was able to do it and be myself at the same time, which is huge -- a really big, big deal -- to be able to do."

And while he may be better known for becoming someone else onstage or screen, it is Wong's career as a speaker -- being himself -- that makes it all worthwhile.

"I always wanted to kind of be an actor, to tell stories, to learn my craft and all that corny stuff," he said. "But I didn't really like this other kind of stuff that came with it -- mainly the fame part of it -- until I started going on to the colleges and out around the country talking about what I care about talking about and saw that the combination of those two things was a sweet combination."