From film debuts to first lead roles, this year offers a crop of heretofore unknown contenders
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BY GREGORY ELLWOOD
and actress stole the show in both “Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians” over the summer. The latter was not only a box office smash, but also cultural phenomenon that resonated greatly with the Asian-american community.
Initially Awkwafina witnessed audience members crying tears of joy following screenings of the movie and, after it came out, she experienced a lot of love on social media. It was a visit to the Grove in Los Angeles, however, that truly made her understand the film’s impact.
“People just coming up to me, which had never happened before,” Awkwafina says. “It’s funny, because I really did think that I was ‘known’ before this, but after ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ it was like, ‘Man, I was really not known before that,’ you know? Just from the love.”
Awkwafina is not only a scene stealer in a movie that was nominated for a Globe comedy, but also SAG Awards nominee as member of the ensemble. She takes the recognition in stride saying, “I never thought Awkwafina could work. I never thought that she would last longer than the normal viral scan. I thought that I would have to go back to [work at] a bodega, that is, back in 2013.”
That being said, “But these two movies? I can’t attribute it to anything but fate. Something magical, something came out of nowhere and they did change the scope of how I’m now seen. They’ve changed the scope of the scripts I’m getting, and that’s really cool, and I’m looking forward to a very positive 2019.”
A new year that could find her with some shiny new hardware.