Watch: Priyanka Chopra Jonas reflects on sacrifice at BRIDGE Summit 2025
Other actors discuss cultural roots shaping tomorrow’s global blockbusters
ABU DHABI – Indian actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas placed personal sacrifice at the heart of her address on Tuesday at the BRIDGE Summit 2025, sharing a candid reflection on the long journey that led to her global success.
Speaking to attendees, she quoted American singer Beyoncé while describing the demanding years that shaped her early career, noting how relentless work often pulled her away from pivotal family moments.
“I feel like I’m on the other side of my sacrifice. I worked really hard. I missed birthdays. I missed when my father was in the hospital. I should have maybe spent every day with him, but he would chase me back to set,” she said.
Priyanka described how the pressures on young talent are often romanticised, adding that her twenties required choices that built the foundation for the life she leads today. “That 20-year-old me needed to make those sacrifices for this woman to have the life that I have now. If I hadn’t done that then, I wouldn’t be at a place where I have the privilege to be selective,” she said, urging artists to “thank your younger self”.
Her remarks set the tone for a session dedicated to diversity, identity and the changing power centres of global storytelling.
Changing centres
The BRIDGE Summit’s packed panel ‘Global Blockbusters, Local Roots’ gathered prominent actors and producers of Asian heritage, including Chris Pang, Osric Chau and Ross Butler. The event, billed as the world’s largest debut media gathering, explored how local stories can achieve global reach while safeguarding cultural authenticity.
Australian actor Pang, best known for the 2018 hit Crazy Rich Asians and his earlier role as Lee Takkam in Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010), described the film’s unexpected influence on Hollywood’s perception of Asian-led productions.
“Before that, the excuse not to greenlight diverse projects was always that they wouldn’t perform at the box office. After that year, that argument didn’t hold,” he said. Pang noted that, despite gains, the change has not fully materialised in Hollywood. Instead, he pointed to the success of Korea’s entertainment wave as proof that an ‘outside-in’ approach is now reshaping global consumption.
Cultural power
American actor Ross Butler emphasised the responsibility that accompanies increased on-screen diversity. The Singapore-born performer, known for 13 Reasons Why, K.C. Undercover and his role as Eugene Choi in Shazam!, urged the industry to prioritise artistic education as the world’s entertainment boundaries dissolve.
“As entertainment becomes more global, our screens are only going to get more diverse. But with that diversity comes a responsibility: we need to preserve artistic education,” he said. Without it, Butler argued, creative output risks flattening into purely algorithm-driven content. He called for stories that challenge audiences and represent cultures with nuance.
Butler also highlighted the global reach of Korean cinema, referencing Parasite and the cultural influence of K-pop acts, describing film and television as “the best forms of advertisement” for nations seeking global visibility.
New formats
Canadian actor Osric Chau added perspective on how emerging digital platforms are reshaping narrative formats. Chau, recognised for roles in Supernatural and the Arrowverse, said streaming had rewritten “the rules of storytelling” while widening opportunities for non-traditional creators.
“As new platforms shape the creator economy, formats keep evolving – from home videos to documentaries to the rise of vertical series,” he said.
Chau predicted that the next major format remains undefined, likely driven by technological acceleration and shifting audience behaviour. “With AI accelerating how we create and consume, audiences will experience stories in ways we never imagined – maybe on screens, maybe on stage, maybe somewhere entirely new.”
BRIDGE Summit
The discussion was moderated by Shaina Zafar and formed part of a programme featuring more than 300 sessions. The inaugural BRIDGE Summit runs from 8 to 10 December 2025 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, positioning the UAE as a rising global hub for content innovation, production and cross-cultural collaboration.
The event’s focus on diversity, creativity and the evolution of global storytelling underscored a message shared across the panel – that the future of entertainment is defined by voices grounded in lived experience and supported by a global audience increasingly open to narratives beyond traditional power centres.