Wednesday, January 22, 2003

WILMINGTON, NC – Actor B.D. Wong, best known for his portrayal of Father Ray Makuda, the compassionate and tireless Catholic priest in the controversial HBO series Oz, and a recurring forensic psychiatrist on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit, will speak at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 10, in Kenan Auditorium at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

This lecture, presented in partnership with the UNCW Office of Campus Diversity during the university’s annual Intercultural Week, will provide a glimpse into Wong’s development as an actor. He will discuss his adolescent confusion of racial self-hatred to his eventual self-acceptance.

According to Wong, living day-to-day in the trenches of a vocation fraught with rejection and racism causes him to be even more articulate about issues of racial self-image, race-based rejection and Asian-American parental pressure. His talk is the third of UNCW’s five-part leadership lecture series.

In addition to Oz and Law & Order, Wong made guest appearances on X-Files, Sesame Street and Chicago Hope, and he appeared in the star-studded HBO film And The Band Played On. Wong made his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly, a play by David Henry Hwang. His performance earned him the Outer Critic’s Circle Award, Theater World Award, Drama Desk Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and the Tony Award. No other Broadway actor has won all five of these awards for a single role in a play. In addition to his numerous television and theatrical credits, Wong has appeared in more than 20 films including Father of the Bride (parts I and II), Seven Years in Tibet, Disney’s Mulan, Jurassic Park, The Freshman, The Ref and Executive Decision.

Tickets, which are $6 for the public and free for UNCW students, faculty and staff, are available through the Kenan Auditorium Box Office. Call 910/962-3500, or 800/732-3643. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

UNCW’s 10th annual Intercultural Week, of which Wong’s talk is a part, will be held Monday through Saturday, Feb. 10-15. This observance features lectures, films, dancing, music, performances and food. For more information about Intercultural Week, call 910/962.7009. For more information on Wong’s lecture, contact Shannon Hooker, Campus Activities and Involvement Center, at 910/962-7600.