Brenda Song is opening up about the challenges she faced transitioning from child star to serious actress, revealing that Disney once prevented her from pursuing key film roles.
Speaking at the 2025 Bentonville Film Festival, where she received Variety’s Virtuoso Award, Song reflected on her career and the lasting legacy of her Disney Channel role as London Tipton on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Despite her comedic success, Song said she wasn’t allowed to audition for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino due to a sexual assault scene involving her character. Later, when she was offered a role in David Fincher’s The Social Network, Disney again hesitated. Song took her case directly to then-president of Disney Branded TV, Gary Marsh.
“I told him, ‘I am an actor. This is the opportunity of a lifetime,’” she recalled. Ultimately, Disney approved the role—a turning point that changed her career.
Song also shared stories from her early years in Hollywood, including stealing wardrobe items from the Suite Life set and taking home a massive portrait of her character, which now resides in the home she shares with partner Macaulay Culkin.
Reflecting on representation, Song noted that she lacked Asian-American female role models growing up but credited Ming-Na Wen and Michelle Yeoh as inspirations.
Now a mother and veteran actor, Song is proud of how far she’s come. “It was hard being an Asian-American actress in Hollywood. But I was lucky to have support,” she said.
The Bentonville event also featured Song performing with Geena Davis and Culkin in gender-swapped scenes from The Producers and Stranger Things.
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