Actor James Hong has broken a lot of barriers in his lifetime, and Tuesday, he jumped yet one more.

Hong, 93, became the oldest actor to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and one of only 19 people of Asian descent to have received the honor. (2700 people total have thus far been honored with a star.)

Hong is currently wowing audiences in the acclaimed sci-fi comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once, playing Gong Gong, the father of star Michelle Yeoh’s character, but over his seventy-some years in the business he has racked up over 650 credits, including Chinatown, Blade Runner, the original Mulan, and Big Trouble in Little China.

Hong has also made many memorable television appearances on shows like Dragnet, Dynasty, Seinfeld, and Charmed, and will shortly reunite with Yeoh in the Apple TV+ series American Born Chinese.

Hong was born the son of Chinese immigrants in Minneapolis, then moved with his family back to Hong Kong when he was 5. He found his way to Los Angeles and made an appearance on the Groucho Marx game show You Bet Your Life, which led to fan mail, nightclub offers and landing his first agent.

The actor, frustrated at a dearth of good roles for Asian Americans in film and television, took it upon himself to change that, starting a class for Asian American actors and organizing protests against the poor representation of Asians on screen.

Walk of Fame stars aren’t just awarded to anyone; in Hong’s case it took a little help from friends like actor-producer Daniel Dae Kim, who started a crowdfunding campaign in 2020 to raise the $55,000 necessary for the star. The goal was met in just four days.

Kim, who nominated Hong for a star, attended the ceremony honoring Hong and spoke about the difficult environment the venerated actor had to navigate in order to to establish such a long career. 

“I’m looking at all of you right here, many of you who deserve to be here, as well. In time, I’m confident that it will happen,” Kim said, addressing many of Hong’s Asian American co-stars attending the ceremony. “But I’m equally confident in saying that no one will have blazed the trail the way that James Hong has. … Today, during the heart of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it’s only fitting that we honor someone who personifies the term ‘trailblazer.’”

Jamie Lee Curtis, who co-starred with Hong in Everything Everywhere All At Once, also praised Hong and declared it was “about f*cking time” he received a star.

“The center of the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once and the center of James Hong the human is kindness and love,” Curtis said. “And those two qualities in him, and from him, continue their concentric circle of influence and transformative change in people who watch him and who know him — me very much included.”

At the celebration, Hong joined the traditional Chinese lion dance, put on by Shaolin Entertainment Group. He told the attendees, “I’m here! I’m alive! As you can see, I don’t have any speeches because I’m not that kind of person. I just come here. I want to feel the moment.”

“I might live until 100 if this keeps up!” he said.