'Glee' alum Harry Shum, Jr. will be in the 'Crazy Rich Asians' movie.

HARRY SHUM, JR., one of Hollywood's up and coming young Asian/American actors, got cast in Crazy Rich Asians, the movie, in a role that could be the breakout role for him despite an already impressive resume.

On the hit television show Glee, Shum's character, Mike Chang, could usually be found in the back row of the choir risers, uttering a few words now and then to show agreement with the main characters up front. He was not given a chance to upstage the show's stars.

I guess that's where the producers felt Asian men belonged - obscure and in the back row. Who would have thought that hiding behind the quiet, almost invisible character Mike Chang, was a sexy, six-pack hunk type of guy?

Shum reportedly will play tech billionaire Charlie Wu, the ex-boyfriend of the beautiful Astrid Leong, played by British actress Gemma Chan. Charlie's money is new wealth, which just didn't cut it with Astrid's old-wealth family. In the first book of the trilogy on which the movie is based, Charlie Wu had a small role but in the second and third books, the character takes on a much more central role.

It wasn't until Shum appeared in 2016’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny  that he displayed his leading man potential. 

Shum, who was born in Costa Rica and speaks Spanish, was supposed to report for filming in Singapore last weekend.

The Ensemble

Director Jon Chu and author Kevin Dwan had a big hand in ensuring that the casting would follow the novel's storyline. That meant going far and wide to find the all-Asian cast, a rarity in a Hollywood production.

Leading the all-Asian cast is Fresh Off the Boat's Constance Wu in the central role of Rachel Chu, an American professor, the girlfriend of Nick Young, played by newcomer Henry Golding. Rachel meets Nick's family for the first time, not knowing that his family is insanely rich. Internationally known actress Michelle Yeoh -- who is from Singapore and will be starring in the new Star Trek Discovery series this fall -- has been cast as Nick's meddling mother, Eleanor Young.

American audiences will  also recognize two other actors who have been newly cast: Jimmy O. Yang from Silicon Valley and Nico Santos of Superstore, have supporting roles.

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