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KEN JEONG
Cast Bio
Known in some circles as the "scene stealer," Jeong is quickly establishing himself as the go-to character actor for many of today's hit comedies. In May 2009, Jeong appeared as the Asian mobster Mr. Chow in the sleeper-hit comedy film "The Hangover," which also starred Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. The film is the highest-grossing R-rated comedy to date, and has tallied $277 million at the domestic box office.
Later that same summer, Jeong was seen in two more comedies. The first was the Will Ferrell-produced film "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," opposite Jeremy Piven. He was next reunited with Cooper in the film "All About Steve," which also starred Sandra Bullock.
Since his feature-film debut as the doctor in "Knocked Up" in 2007, Jeong has gone on to a number of memorable roles in a series of successful comedies. The year 2008 saw Jeong with his first major role as the villain in "Role Models." Taking on the role of King Argotron, Jeong acted opposite Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. In the same year, he had bit parts in two other major comedies with "Pineapple Express" and "Step Brothers."
Jeong's career path started off on a different course. He earned his undergraduate degree at Duke University and went on to attain his medical degree at the University of North Carolina. He completed his internal medicine residence in New Orleans while developing his comedy. In 1995, Jeong won the Big Easy Laff Off. The competition, which was judged by former NBC President Brandon Tartikoff and Improv founder Budd Friedman, turned out to be his big break as Tartikoff and Friedman urged Jeong to head to Los Angeles.
Once in Los Angeles, Jeong began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory, and appeared on a number of television series, including NBC's "The Office," "Entourage" and "MADtv." It wasn't until his pivotal role as Dr. Kuni in "Knocked Up" though that Jeong solidified himself as a feature-film comedian. In 2006, Jeong and fellow comedian Mike O'Connell also left a mark on YouTube in "Million Dollar Strong," a spoof of a rap duo. Since the video's posting in 2006, it has garnered over one million views, and Jeong and O'Connell have been tapped by MTV Films to write and star in the film version.
Most recently, Jeong added his voice to the cast of the hit film "Despicable Me" with Steve Carell and Jason Segel.
Jeong's additional starring roles include the comedy films "Vampires Suck," "The Zookeeper" and "Transformers 3."
Jeong currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and twin daughters.