But the Disney alumna didn't make it to the silver screen.
"A lot of people don't know this, but I never got to read for Crazy Rich Asians, ever," she revealed. "Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words. It broke my heart."
"I said, 'This character is in her late to mid-20s, an Asian American, and I can't even audition for it?" the actress continued.
"I've auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you're not going to let me do it? You're going to fault me for having worked my whole life?' I was like, 'Where do I fit?'"
Song went on to add that Disney is rarely credited for its progressive casting: "I don't think people realise how ahead of the curve Disney Channel was."
"They were colourblind casting way before anybody else," Song continued. "They were giving me TV movies since I was 15 that people would never even think about. They were just telling stories and wanting kids to be able to see themselves on TV at a young age."
The film's director Jon Chu responded to the news story on Twitter, saying he feels “horrible” that she would think that.
“🤷🏻♂️would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense,” John tweeted. “I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason. The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn’t need her to audition because I already knew who she was!”
After being dismissed from Crazy Rich Asians, the actress decided to take time out from the industry to travel.
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"I got myself together and said, 'Brenda, there is only one you, and you can't change who you are. You can't change your past'. I am so grateful for every job that I've done," she said. "All I can do is continue to put good auditions out there, do the best that I can - that's all I can ask for."
Within a week of returning to Los Angeles, she was offered the lead role in 2019 thriller Secret Obsession on Netflix. The actress has since gone on to star in Hulu's Dollface.
"It's taken me almost 10 years from Disney to really feel like I found a niche for myself," she continued. "At 31, I finally feel like I know what my strengths are, and I'm trying to steer into that."
