Three years ago, I caught an episode of the syndicated action series Mortal Kombat: Conquest. To this day, I don't remember a thing. It was that bad. What I did remember, was a gorgeous Asian woman named Sung-Hi Lee.
Sung-Hi wasn't a great actress by far, but she seemed well-suited to the roles given to her. Her character Kiri in Mortal Kombat: Conquest was so popular that she went on to appear three more times in the doomed series.
Naturally, she was a hit with me, then a hormonally-charged young geek. She represented the epitome of a certain kind of exotic beauty, but this time, she expounded on her role. No longer did she portray the demure female Asian stereotype, but her kick-ass roles in Conquest, and later, in Queen of Swords and Birds of Prey (in which she portrayed the villianous Lady Shiva) set her up for a slew of roles in today's Hollywood "InvAsian".
Unfortunately, with her rather controversial background (among other things, her softporn exploits) and her mediocre acting ability, she's been passed on in favour of more talented actresses like Lucy Liu and Kelly Hu. Nonetheless, it still remains the dream of her many fans worldwide (myself included) that she gets the break she truly deserves, to hone her acting skills as well as make it big on the silver screen.
It's about time people stopped referring to her as an "Asian porn star". She's more than that.
RoguePoet wonders why I mention "the break she truly deserves" when I've already said she's a "mediocre" actress. I personally believe she's got better talent than some thespian-wannabes out there in the market and would like to see more of her. There's a lot of potential in the woman which is wasted on B-grade television.