- Born in Los Angeles in 1957 to immigrants, Hwang is a successful playwright. He graduated from Stanford University in 1979 and attended Yale in 1980. He is most famous for M. Butterfly (1993), which was adapted for the screen in 1993, directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone.
- IMDb mini biography by: anomynous
- SpousesKathryn Layng(December 17, 1993 - present) (1 child)Ophelia Chong(September 21, 1985 - October 1989) (divorced)
- Gender / Gender identityMale
- Pronounshe/him
- Race / EthnicityAsian
- Won Broadway's 1988 Tony Award as author of Best Play winner "M. Butterfly." He was also nominated two other times: in 1998 as author of Best Play nominee "Golden Child," and in 2003 as Best Book (Musical) for a revival and revision of "Flower Drum Song."
- Nominated for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play "M. Butterfly" and for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play "Yellow Face".
- His play, "Chinglish", at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was awarded the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work of a Play.
- His play, "Chinglish", at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Production of a Play (Large).
- According to the AFI's "Private Screenings," "Apocalypse Now" is his favorite film.
- [on his screen play for 'Chinglish'] There are just so many fundamental misunderstandings about our two cultures. About ideas that Americans tend to think of as intrinsic, like the role of love in long-term marriages. We don't have a term in English for 'qingyi' [a notably long marital partnership]. 'Love' is a clumsy word the way we use it. It can mean anything from altruistic love to brotherly love to lust.
- The film world is very different now than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Big studios rarely invest nowadays in "artistic" pictures, which are likely to be made from plays. So a play will probably become an indie movie, which is more like doing an Off-Broadway show -- less money, but more artistic control. I'll see how my process with "Chinglish" works out before offering any advice.
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