Don't call Ben Wang a kid. At 25 years old, the Shanghai-born, Minnesota-bred actor and martial artist is a legal adult according to the laws of every nation in the world. But with boyish charms and youthful energy, it's easy to forget that Wang isn't a kung fu wunderkind like he appears in Karate Kid: Legends .

"I feel a privilege," Wang told me over Zoom last week, just before Legends debuted nationwide this past Friday. "I feel privileged to be in this position, where I'm part of this wave opening up media representation for people that look like us."

After graduating from New York University with a degree in musical theater, Wang got his agent, leading to his breakout role in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese . Two years later, he's inherited the headband in the le

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