It was only a matter of time before actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, a Hawai'i resident who splits his time with stints in Los Angeles, and actress Kelly Hu, an Angelino who grew up in Hawai'i, crossed paths in Honolulu.

The inevitable happened last week at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, where Tagawa met with filmmaker Vincent Keala Lucero, and Hu spoke about tackling the Honolulu Marathon.

It didn't take long to find out they had experiences in common. For starters, both are dipping their toes into the uncharted waters of comic acting.

'VEGAS' IN HAWAI'I

Hu plays Dara Lee, a Korean-American valedictorian turned prostitute in "In Case of Emergency," with Jonathan Silverman and David Arquette. The ABC series was picked up as a mid-season replacement. "It'll be a challenge because it's comedy, and I've never been cast in a comedy," said Hu, whose resume includes "Growing Pains" and "X-Men 2."

"(Dara Lee) is jaded and I have more of that type of humor," she said. "When I looked at the script for the first time, I thought, 'Who else are they going to get to play her?' "

Hu is in Hawai'i to shoot an episode of "Vegas," in which she plays a bikini-clad real estate agent. No comedy intended.

She's already scratched "Get scuba certification" and "Follow Inca trail to Machu Picchu" off her list of life to-dos. But she has a new goal in sight: "Run the Honolulu Marathon." If all goes well, Hu will take to the starting line on Dec. 10 for her first-ever 26.2-mile race.

"I'm a typical Hawaiian girl," she said. "I can't say no to food. I figured this was a great way to keep in shape and still eat whatever."

Hu's appearance at the marathon benefits Reef Check Hawaii, the new local arm of an international nonprofit. Runners who collect $3,000 in sponsorships (all proceeds go to Reef Check) can run along with Hu. She's already helped recruit celebrity friends to participate , including Olympian Carl Lewis, surfer Kelly Slater, and actors Rob Schneider, The Rock, Jason Scott Lee and Maggie Q.

'MYSTERIOUS ASIAN MAN'

Tagawa has wrapped filming on a new feature, "Balls of Fury," a farcical take on the martial arts/underworld crime genre in which an former ping-pong champ is recruited to infiltrate a high-stakes tournament run by a shadowy crime boss.

Tagawa plays Mysterious Asian Man, a name that elicits a stifled giggle from the actor. The character is the henchman of quirky crime boss Feng, played by Christopher Walken.

As an actor who built a career playing the kick-butt baddie without irony, Tagawa says tweaking the stereotype is refreshing — and a little scary. "I'm nervous for probably the first time in my career," he said. "Comedic timing is different from dramatic timing."

His favorite line: "My name is both unimportant and unpronouncable in the English language."

"Balls of Fury" also features local actors Jason Scott Lee, Jeff Lam and Maggie Q.

BIG ON SMALLER FILMS

Tagawa and Hu, both open about discussing limitations facing Asian-American actors, have focused on lower-profile projects that expand cinematic representation of Asians or provide for more collaboration between director and actor.

Hu has been particularly active in smaller productions over the last two years. Along with several other projects, including two horror films and a part in the upcoming "Wolverine," she plays Brenda Nishitani in Hawai'i-connected hapa director Eric Byler's acclaimed "Americanese," currently wending through the film-festival circuit.

Tagawa, too, has been his usual busy self. In addition to "Balls of Fury," he recently completed the low-budget action film "Duel of Legends," in which he played — what else — the bad guy. The film gave Tagawa his first shot at producing. "The good news is that there's no auditioning, and you get paid right away," he said.

Tagawa worked hands-on to tighten the script and strengthen the storytelling. He and his partners will shop the film at the American Film Market in Santa Monica in November before starting preproduction on the first of two sequels.

Tagawa said he hopes to bring the sequels to Hawai'i for filming.

"Martial arts got its start in the U.S. in Hawai'i," he said. "It's definitely time for a local product that features martial artists from Hawai'i."

Tagawa will be back in Los Angeles next week for a series of discussions with Chinese television representatives.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.