James Hong Attended the Oscars for First Time Wearing a Googly-Eyed Bowtie

It was a big night for the Everything Everywhere All at Once team at the Academy Awards on Sunday, and among those present to represent the film was acting icon James Hong. At 94 years old, Hong has spent seven decades in show business, but strangely, he had never previously attended the Oscars. In honor of the film, Hong arrived at his first Oscars wearing a bowtie outfitted with googly eyes. He also spoke about how honored he was to represent Everything Everywhere All at Once on the red carpet.

“It’s a great pleasure to be here, the first time to be at the Academy Awards,” Hong said, via Entertainment Tonight. “Here I am, after 70 years, I’m here. Actually, I’m 94… It shows if you wait long enough, you’ll make it… This movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, gave me the chance to be here today.”

During the Oscars, host Jimmy Kimmel also took a moment to personally offer some praise to Hong. He pointed out just how far the actor has come since his days as a civil engineer before getting into acting.

“James is a legend,” Kimmel said on the broadcast. “James has been in 650 movies and TV shows, and he didn’t even start acting professionally until he was 25 years old. Before that, he was a civil engineer who helped design the road system here in Los Angeles.”

Kimmel then quipped, “James, allow me to say you are one of our great living actors, and one of our worst civil engineers. The roads are unconscionable. We salute you, James!”

Related: James Hong Shares His Most Important Rule for Accepting New Roles

James Hong Stars in a Best Picture Oscar Winning Film

A24

In Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hong plays Gong Gong, the grandfather of Michelle Yeoh’s Evelyn Wang. The ensemble cast also includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Harry Shum Jr., and Jenny Slate. The whole cast recently won as an ensemble at the SAG Awards, among taking other awards, and it was Hong who accepted the award on the stage at the ceremony.

The film also had a pretty sweeping night at the Oscars on Sunday. It picked up the big win for Best Picture as one of seven total wins for the night. The film also won awards for Best Director for the Daniels, Best Actress for Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Curtis, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.