Long before she landed the lead role in "Crazy Rich Asians," Constance Wu felt a major connection to the book. And when it was eventually adapted for the silver screen, she almost couldn't believe it. Wu recalled to People, "I had never seen an Asian-American woman be the leading role in a movie." Yet Wu almost didn't get to do the film because of a scheduling conflict with her show, "Fresh Off the Boat." While she was initially upset about it, she realized she was just happy the movie was being made. Per Us Weekly, she recounted at Vulture Festival, "I was like, 'Cool, another actress will get that ... I want there to be more Asian actors out there.”"
However, Wu had a change of heart and reached out to director Jon Chu. She, of course, got a shot at trying out for the role after all, but that process came with its own challenges. "I was threatened. Asian Americans don't often get the opportunity to audition for a lead role," she said to Us Weekly.
Wu, of course, nailed the audition, and the rest is history. She explained to E!'s Ryan Seacrest, "For someone like me who's Asian American, I had grown up never seeing ... a major studio tell a story that centered my experience. ... To be something like that for young women today ... that has been so meaningful to me."
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