Asian-American actor Michael Tow on racism in the US, the ‘fantasy world’ of acting and how to avoid stereotypical roles

Asian-American actor Michael Tow recalls the pressure he felt to fit in as a child, and how he would throw away the Chinese lunches his family packed for school

He reflects on becoming an actor, how to avoid Asian characters being stereotyped and a sad event he has in common with his character in Apple’s City on Fire

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Michael Tow attends a screening of Apple TV+‘s “City On Fire” in Brooklyn, New York. The actor talks about denying his cultural identity as a child, surviving Hollywood and the sense of personal loss he and his character in the series share. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 4:15am, 22 May 2023

Growing up as an Asian American and an aspiring actor was not easy for Michael Tow.

Boston, plagued by a cocaine epidemic and gang violence, was a rough place to be an adolescent in the 1980s and ’90s – especially a Chinese one. Although his family had been in the United States for generations – his paternal grandfather had been born in San Francisco in 1892 – this was no different for Tow.

“The racism was obvious, subtle and everything in between. I got into fights,” says Tow, of the stress he and many other non-Caucasian children feel when growing up in Western countries.

The pressure he felt to fit in and to avoid being bullied meant he ended up denying his own cultural identity.

When many of the top characters are Asian, audiences don’t see ethnicity any more, they start seeing the characters’ personalities

Michael Tow

“I remember throwing away the lunches my family packed for me, some were my favourite dishes like salted fish and chicken fried rice.