The Young and Upcoming Asian Stars in Hollywood

The New Hollywood movement is coming and Asian stars are a part of it! Young Asian stars can be seen on film, the cable networks like the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, and on the internet.

They are the bright future of the entertainment industry.

Here are the upcoming Asian stars in Hollywood:

Hailee Steinfield, 15, burst upon the Hollywood scene with an impressive performance of the Western remake, "True Grit" (2010) with Jeff Bridges. "True Grit" was Steinfield's first feature film but she played the role of "Mattie Ross" like a true veteran which brought critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for "Best Actress in a supporting role" and a British Academy Awards nomination for "Best Actress in a Leading Role." Her performance brought a slew of awards from the Toronto Film critics, the Chicago film critics, Vancouver Film Critics Award, Online Critics Society, Broadcast Film Critics Association, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award and many, many more.

Steinfield, who is Jewish-Filipino, has a bright future in Hollywood and has upcoming movies in "The Forgotten" and the highly-anticipated remake of "Rome and Juliet" in which stars along with Douglas Booth, Paul Giamatti, and Ed Westwick.

Vanessa Hudgens, who is Irish/Chinese-Filipino-Spanish, has been in show business since 2003 when she made her debut on "Thirteen" as "Noel." Her first starring role would come a year later in "Thunderbirds" playing the role of "Tin Tin."

Since then, Hudgens, 23, has been largely seen on cable television in "Drake and Josh" on Nickleodeon and "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" on the Disney Channel. Her big break would come in 2005 when she was cast as "Gabrielle Montez" opposite Zach Efron on "High School Musical" (HSM) on the Disney Channel. HSM would spawn a sequel and eventually the 3rd film would land on the big screen.

Since then, the actress has been trying to find her niche in the entertainment industry. She released two record albums which were mildly successful and two feature films "Bandslam" (2009) and "Sucker Punch" (2011). "Sucker Punch" which was much-hyped and had an impressive cast of young Hollywood actresses like Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, and Jamie Chung was supposed to be Hudgen's breakout role but the film fizzled at the box-office.

Hudgens will be featured on the sequel of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with "The Rock" and Josh Hutcherson and the independent film "Gimme Shelter" which stars Rosario Dawson and Brendan Fraser.

Jamie Chung, who is Korean-American, was part of an ensemble in the MTV series "Real World: San Diego" (2004) and since then has been featured in many films. Sports blog Bleacher Report named her the "most successful among the Real World alumna."

Chung, 28, has had a successful career mainly in supporting roles. Her career includes an impressive resume of Daytime Television, Reality-television, prime-time television, and feature films. Her Daytime TV was on "Days of Our Lives" in which she was featured on 10 episodes. In prime-time, she made guest appearances on "ER," "Veronica Mars," "CSI: NY," and "Castle." Her feature film resume is lengthy with appearances on "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," "Sorority Row," "Burning Palms," "Grown Ups," and the "Hangover 2." She did have two starring roles in "Dragonball Evolution" (2009) and "Sucker Punch" (2011).

With 2012 coming, Chung is expected to have a breakout year with upcoming films, "Premium Rush" in which she stars with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the remake of "Man with the Iron Fists" along with Dave Batista and Lucy Liu.

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Ushokowitz are currently on the popular television show "Glee." The two play "the Asian couple" on the show.

Shum, 29, is a Chinese actor who is a regular cast member on the Fox hit show playing the role of "Mike Chang." The extremely talented dancer and choreographer who was the "silhouette dancer" on the iPod commercials before making it on Glee. He has appeared on "You Got Served" (2004), "Stomp the Yard" (2007) and the "Step Up" series 2 and 3 (2008 and 2010 respectively).

Ushkowitz, 25, is a Korean actress who was adopted by an American couple. She is a singer and Broadway musical actress ("The King and I" and "Spring Awakening") who plays the role of "Tina Cohen-Chang" on Glee.

So far, no film or other television commitments have been made from both of them since their schedule is busy enough already with "Glee."

Indian actress Freida Pinto and British Indian actor Dev Patel are a real-life couple in Hollywood but their start in the film business was extremely successful with the award-winning movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008).

The career of Pinto, 27, has taken off with roles in Woody Allen's "You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger" (2010) and the surprise blockbuster "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011) with James Franco.

The same success has followed Patel, 21, with "The Last Airbender" that bombed with critics but did well at the box-office. He did a successful stint on the British teen drama "Skins" and won 2 British Academy Awards.

Pinto recently appeared in "The Immortals" as priestess Phaedra and will be in the film "Black Gold."

Patel has featured roles on "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "The Newsroom," and "Cherry."

Chinese actor Parry Shen, 39, was in the film "Better Luck Tomorrow" and has been getting guest roles on various television shows.

Shen will be seen this year in two films "Yes, We're Open" and "Starting from Scratch."

John Lee Brody, 28, is German-Swedish and of Korean descent. He lists himself as an actor but has credits as a producer, director, and writer.

As an actor, Brody appeared on TV shows such as "CSI: NY," "Leverage," and "Modern Family."

He is currently in pre-production on two projects for the big screen, "Legacy" and "The Pastime," slated for release in 2013.

Stephanie Jacobsen, 31, is a Chinese, Norwegian-English-Portuguese actress who is a TV veteran with featured roles in "Battlestar Galactica: Razor" (TV movie), "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," CW's "Melrose Place," and a recent guest appearance on "Two and a Half-Men."

She has a supporting role in the much-anticipated film, "I, Alex Cross," that stars Tyler Perry.

Kristin Kreuk, 30, who is Dutch-Chinese, is well known from the hit TV show "Smallville" (2001-2009) and the role of "Hannah" on the NBC series, "Chuck." In 2009, she had starring role in "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li." In 2011 she was featured in two films, "Vampire" and "Irving Welsh's Ecstasy."

She is currently filming, "Space Milkshake."

Scottish-Irish/Filipino actress Shay Mitchell, is part of an ensemble on the hit show, "Pretty Little Liars" on ABC Family. The show won "Best Cable TV Drama" at the Golden Globe Awards on January 15.

She is also a spokesperson for Pantene Nature Infusion Hair Shampoo line.

The future of young Asian stars in Hollywood is certainly bright. The entertainment industry is slowly becoming diverse and progressive, paving the way for Asian stars to get leading roles in Television/Film that were not possible 5-10 years ago.

The Asian community can only hope that Hollywood continues to provide more opportunities for Asian actors and that they (Asian actors) would be placed in positive roles that reflect the diverse society as it is today.