Brenda Song has claimed Disney blocked her from starring in Gran Torino because of a sexual assault scene

However, despite her success, Brenda revealed her transition wasn't made easy and she faced difficulties such as missing out on a role she wanted in Clint Eastwood's 2008 drama Gran Torino.

Accepting Variety's Virtuoso Award at the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas, she recalled: "The character had an intended sexual assault scene, so Disney nixed it. And I was very upset but I was like, 'Okay, I guess it didn't work out.'"

Brenda also had to fight for her role as Christy in The Social Network, which also featured a sexually-explicit scene, going to then-COO of Disney Branded Television Gary Marsh to plead her case.

She recalled: "I was just like, 'I am an actor. When you hired me, I was not a hotel heiress. If I have ever done anything in my personal life to ever draw bad attention to your company, I understand. But this is the last season of the show, and this is the opportunity of a lifetime.'

"And I was so fortunate, they were so supportive. They allowed me to do this film that truly changed my life."

Brenda - who has sons Dakota, four, and Carson, two, with fiance Macaulay Culkin - was grateful to break into acting at a young age because it was "really hard" for Asian-American women to find success.

She said: "That was the tricky thing growing up, being an Asian-American actress in Hollywood.

"Like if you weren't Jackie Chan or Jet Li - I'm not an Asian man - it was really hard. But I was fortunate to have actors like Ming-Na Wen, Michelle Yeoh and Lucy Liu, who really inspired me."

Of working with Ming-Na when she was eight years old, she added: "I'm so grateful because she was so encouraging, so kind and just so supportive."