Steven Yeun

Born in Seoul on December 21, 1983, Yeun Sang Yeop –his real name– is the son of an architect of Christian beliefs, who uprooted his family when he was five years old to move to North America. The clan ended up in Troy, Michigan, where he survived by running a beauty supply store. His parents had fond memories of a doctor named Steven, so they westernized his son’s name by calling him that. When he graduated in Psychology from Kalamazoo College, a prestigious educational institution in this state, his parents wanted to convince him to also study Law or Medicine, but he opposed it, because he wanted to succeed in the theater. After tense negotiations, he was given two years to earn a living as an actor, or else he would look for another occupation “with a better future”.

At first, it seemed that things were not going to go well for Steven Yeun , as he became a member of Stir Friday Night, a group of Asian-American comedians, until he realized that he was not particularly gifted at making people laugh. . “He wasn’t the funniest person in the room, so I abandoned him,” he recalls. He moved to Los Angeles, where he managed to make his film debut with a small role in My Name Is Jerry , a dramatic comedy that passed without regret or glory. Shortly after he appeared as the old roommate of brainiac Sheldon Cooper, in The Big Bang Theory , and in other series.

When he was about to admit his defeat to his parents, Steven Yeun’s career began to take off when he was recruited –in 2010– for a fixed character in The Walking Dead series . He became very popular as Glenn Rhee, a pizza delivery man who, after the apocalypse, helps the protagonist, Rick Grames, to escape from the zombies and find a safe place. Because of his ability to escape from these beings, he ends up being responsible for getting supplies from his group of survivors. He was gaining prominence as the seasons progressed. “I’m grateful to have been able to humanize the character,” he commented in an interview. “In the beginning, my character was made up of clichés about Asians. The first costume designer dressed me as Stopper in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . It was not on purpose, but he was guided by his image of how he believed that we Asians are ”.

Married to photographer Joana Park on December 3, 2016, the couple have two children. To support his younger brother, Brian Yeun, he partnered with her at The Bun Shop, a Korean-Mediterranean fusion restaurant in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Turned into a popular actor, Steven Yeun is lavished as a dubbing actor for animated series, such as Invincible , where he voices the protagonist, Mark Grayson, son of a superhero who discovers that he also has powers. In cinema, the ‘indie’ director specialized in science fiction Mike Cahill offered him to star with Michael Pitt in Origins , where he gave life to a doctor who investigates human eyes, with a biologist hostile to religion. Then his compatriot From him Bong Joon-hoturned him into Okja en K, an activist for the Animal Liberation Group, who is trying to save a gigantic genetically bred pig. He also played a businessman whose hobby is setting fire to greenhouses in Burning , by South Korean Lee Chang-dong , and a lawyer whose office spreads a virus that causes those infected to unleash their baser instincts in Mayhem , by Joe Lynch .

But his best character has been given to him by the Korean-American Lee Isaac Chung , who signed him for Minari, my family story ,where he plays Jacob, a chicken sexer who moves with his family to Arkansas to make his dream of running a farm come true. His good work – inspired by his mother, who had also reluctantly dragged her family to a new destination – has made Steven Yeun the first Asian-American nominated for an Oscar for best leading actor. “I loved the script, the ones about Asians tend to explain too much, to target white audiences, or white America has to show up a lot,” he says. “But this one told the story with confidence, without seeming like the author has a need to justify himself.” Enthusiastic about the recognition, he hopes “not to be pigeonholed as an actor in prestigious awards films.” Besides, he already feels that he has received the highest award. “My mother,Minari and said ‘it wasn’t bad’, the highest mark he could give me”.