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Randall Park
Randall Park, cropped, New York City (October 2016) (29977100934).jpg
Park in New York City, 2016
Born (1974-03-23) March 23, 1974 (age 50)
Education University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA)
Occupation Actor, comedian, writer
Years active 2003–present
Spouse(s)
Jae Suh Park
(m. 2008)
Children 1

Randall Park (born March 23, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Louis Huang in the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series award in 2016.

Before these major roles, Park gained popularity by playing Steve, a prank replacement of Jim Halpert (dubbed "Asian Jim") in an episode of the NBC sitcom The Office and starring in the recurring role of Governor Danny Chung in the HBO comedy series Veep. He also co-starred in and co-wrote the Netflix romantic comedy film Always Be My Maybe (2019), alongside Ali Wong, and directed the comedy-drama film Shortcomings (2023).

He has appeared in numerous web series on Channel 101, including Dr. Miracles and IKEA Heights. He has also appeared in a few short films by Wong Fu Productions.

Park played Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), the miniseries WandaVision (2021), and the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023); he played a future version of himself in the 2021 Dwayne Johnson autobiographical comedy series Young Rock; he portrayed North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the comedy film The Interview and he appeared in the DC Extended Universe film Aquaman (2018) as Dr. Stephen Shin.

Early life

Park was born to Korean immigrants in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Castle Heights, Los Angeles. His mother was an accountant at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his father owned a one-hour photo store. Park graduated from Hamilton High School's humanities magnet program.

Park began attending UCLA in fall quarter of 1993. As a student, he co-founded "Lapu, the Coyote that Cares," the largest and longest-running on-campus Asian American theater company, now known as the LCC Theatre Company, in 1995. He credits his experiences with LCC for sparking his desire to pursue acting professionally and would go on to collaborate with many of its alumni. Their first performance was of Treehouse Bachelor Society, a full-length play Park had written, and it was performed at the Northwest Auditorium. Park was also a student volunteer for UCLA's official charity, UCLA UniCamp, and went by the camp name "CareMoose."

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English, with a concentration in creative writing, and minor in Asian American studies from UCLA in 1997. He remained at UCLA, partly to continue acting with LCC, and later completed his master's degree in Asian American studies in 1999. After graduation, Park worked at the weekly newspaper New Times LA as a graphic/print designer for a few years. When he left the job, he considered pursuing architecture school but failed the pre-requisite courses and realized he did not want to attend any more schooling.

Career

Park has made guest appearances on television shows, including Community, Curb Your Enthusiasm, New Girl, The Office, ER, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Four Kings, Las Vegas, House, iCarly, Cold Case, The Mindy Project and Reno 911!.

2001–2006: early years

He co-founded the Propergander theater group with a few LCC alumni. Their first production was of The Achievers by LCC co-founder Michael Golamco in 2001. Around this time, Park began doing stand-up comedy recreationally in his backyard during Propergander shows. He cited Mike Birbiglia and Mitch Hedberg as early influences and would later perform alongside comedian Ali Wong. Other notable alumni include Vivian Bang, Tim Chiou, and Eddie Shin. Park, Shin, and LCC co-founder Naoya Imanishi were also a part of the short lived improv group, "The Legendary Stage Ninjaz," along with comedian Ali Wong.

Park made his screen debut as the lead in the 2003 short film Dragon of Love, which won Best Short Film at the 2003 Hawaii International Film Festival.

Park co-wrote and starred in the feature film American Fusion, directed by UCLA alumnus Frank Lin, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 Hawaii International Film Festival. It was actor Pat Morita's last role before his death in November of that year. The script was a quarter-finalist for the 2009 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.

Early in his career, when Park did not have a talent agent, he would book roles through diversity showcases at different television networks. In 2006, he was featured in the CBS Diversity Showcase. At 32, while a cast member on MTV's Wild 'n Out, he worked at Starbucks to supplement his income.

In 2007, he regularly appeared as an actor in the filmmaking reality show On the Lot.

2007–2013: online work

Park found work to be scarce in 2009 due to the Great Recession in the United States in 2008 and a potential SAG-AFTRA strike at the beginning of 2009, so he began to focus on his own projects during this period. He wrote the short film Blueberry, which won an award for Best Actor at the NBC Shortcuts Film Festival For Short Films in 2010.

Park had a recurring role as Martin Fukanaga on Supah Ninjas.

Park has collaborated on several projects with Wong Fu Productions. Previously, he has appeared as Brandon in the comedy skit Too Fast (2010) and the stepfather in the web series Home Is Where the Hans Are (2012). More recently, Park played a D.E.I. agent in the feature film Everything Before Us (2015) and its accompanying short film, Asian Santa in the comedy skit Why is Santa Asian?, and a brief cameo as himself in Asian Bachelorette 2.

He created, directed, wrote, and starred in several short internet series for Channel 101, including Dr. Miracles, The Food, IKEA Heights, and Dumb Professor. In 2013 he wrote and starred in a series for Channel 101 featuring his baby daughter entitled Baby Mentalist. In Channel 101's bracket competition format for web-series, Baby Mentalist was voted number one the most times of any show at the time, ending with six episodes in 2013.

2014–present: mainstream success

Park played the recurring character of Minnesota governor Danny Chung on the HBO comedy Veep.

In 2014, Park played a company rep trying to recruit college students in Neighbors. He had previously worked with the director, Nicholas Stoller, on The Five-Year Engagement (2012). Stoller later recommended Park for the role of "a vague North Korean dictator," who later turned out to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in the controversial film, The Interview, directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. Impressed by his audition, Goldberg and Rogen offered Park the role after one audition. Park gained over 20 pounds for the role. For reference material on the role, he used Forest Whitaker's performance in The Last King of Scotland and the Vice documentary on North Korea.

In 2015, he appeared as Jeff in the prequel 2015 series for Netflix, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He also appeared in Wong Fu Productions' first feature film, Everything Before Us. Park appeared with John Malkovich in the music video for Eminem's single "Phenomenal". He also appeared as a co-worker of Amy Schumer's character in Trainwreck. He also had roles in the films Southpaw (as Jed Wang) and The Night Before as Ethan's Boss.

From 2015 to 2020, Park starred as Louis Huang, patriarch of a Taiwanese American family, alongside Constance Wu, in ABC's television show Fresh Off the Boat (based on Eddie Huang's memoir, Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir), written and produced by Nahnatchka Khan and executive produced by Jake Kasdan. He was the first actor cast on the show, with the producers having approached him before the pilot was ordered. Park initially felt uneasy about portraying a Taiwanese father as somebody of Korean heritage. However, Huang reassured Park that he was Huang's first choice to play his father. When they were staffing the writer's room, Park recommended Ali Wong for the position. The show ran for six seasons and was concluded on February 21, 2020.

In 2016, Park appeared in the film Office Christmas Party as Fred.

In 2017, Park appeared in the comedies The House as the Wall Street Guy and The Disaster Artist. He also lent his voice talents to the CGI animated film The Lego Ninjago Movie as Chen the Cheerleader.

In 2018, Park had minor roles in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe (DCEU). He played FBI Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Studios film Ant-Man and the Wasp. Park returned as Woo in the Disney+ series, WandaVision (2021). In the DCEU, he played Dr. Stephen Shin in the film Aquaman.

Park produced and starred in the Netflix original film Always Be My Maybe, directed by Fresh of the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan, with Ali Wong. The film was written by Park, Wong, and Michael Golamco. The in-film hip hop band, Hello Peril, is inspired by Park's 90s hip hop band, Ill Again. The film was released in select theaters on May 29, 2019, and digitally on May 31, 2019, on Netflix.

Park, Golamco and Hieu Ho launched the Asian American focused production company, Imminent Collision, and signed a first look deal with 20th Century Fox Television in October 2019. The name is derived from a play they worked on while members of the LCC theater group at UCLA.

In 2021, Park was announced as starring in the upcoming Netflix comedy series Blockbuster.

In January 2023, Park's directorial debut, Shortcomings, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released on August 4, 2023, by Sony Pictures Classics.

Other works

Park was a front man for the San Francisco Bay Area hip-hop/jazz/rock fusion band, Ill Again. The band served as the inspiration for his character's band, Hello Peril, in the film Always Be My Maybe (2019). He later formed the rap group Novelists with former Ill Again emcee Andrew Johnson. In this group, Park went by the rap name, "Randruff." They released the album Bookends in 2008.

In 2019, Park rapped alongside Wayne Brady, Rafael Casal Utkarsh Ambudkar & Daveed Diggs in "Housewarming Cypher". In 2022, Park was featured in rapper Lyrics Born's song "This Song's Delicious" alongside Dan the Automator. In the music video, Park went by the name "Sitcom Dad."

Park has been featured in ads for HBO Go, Ally Financial, and the 2011 Father's Day Verizon Droid commercial. He plays a "doggie daycare owner" in a print and online campaign for Chase Bank, which aired in early 2015.

Park was featured in UTC Business Ethics Course HUR750 "Respect in the Workplace".

Personal life

Park is married to actress Jae Suh Park. They worked together on The Mindy Project and the short film Love, NY. They live with their daughter Ruby in the San Fernando Valley.

Park returned to UCLA as a keynote speaker for the Asian American Studies department commencement ceremony in 2015 and for English department commencement ceremony in 2017.

Park and Jae Suh's daughter, Ruby Louise Park, was born in 2012. Ruby Louise starred, alongside her parents, as a crime-fighting baby superhero in Baby Mentalist, a comedy web series developed by her father in 2013. Ruby Louise is autistic, as discussed by Park on Mike Birbiglia's podcast Working it Out. Park supports the non-profit KultureCity that focuses on "sensory accessibility and acceptance for those with invisible disabilities." Park is on KultureCity's board of Directors.

Park is an active supporter of East West Players theater group in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. He has publicly voiced his support of the theatre during EWP's donation campaign in 2018.

Park has an older brother. In the beginning, Park's parents were not supportive of his acting ambitions. However, in hindsight, Park has acknowledged that they have supported him tacitly by continuing to house him throughout the years. When Park received the script for The Interview, his parents encouraged him to pursue the role.

Park delivered the keynote address at all three 2023 UCLA College commencement ceremonies.

Filmography

Film

Key
Not yet released Denotes works that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Will Unplugged Kevin
American Fusion Josh
2007 Universal Remote The Sick Man / Asian Father
2008 Fix Sam
2009 The People I've ... Carlton Kim
Winged Creatures Resident
2010 Dinner for Schmucks Henderson
The 41 Year Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It Officer
2011 Larry Crowne Trainee Wong
Our Footloose Remake Ren McCormack
The Good Doctor Clerk
2012 The Five Year Engagement Ming
2014 ... Tape Edward
They Came Together Martinson
The Interview Kim Jong-un
2015 Trainwreck Bryson
The Meddler Officer Lee
Everything Before Us Randall
The Night Before Ethan's Boss
Amigo Undead Kevin Ostrowski
2016 The Hollars Dr. Fong
Office Christmas Party Fred
2017 The Disaster Artist Rob
Snatched Michael
The 60 Yard Line Trapper
The House Buckler
The Lego Ninjago Movie Chen the Cheerleader Voice
Dismissed Mr. Sheldon
2018 The Samurai of Tsushima Ganpei Voice
Ant-Man and the Wasp Jimmy Woo
Aquaman Stephen Shin
2019 Long Shot Boss
Always Be My Maybe Marcus Kim Also writer, producer
Straight Up Wallace
2020 Valley Girl Principal Evans
2021 PAW Patrol: The Movie Butch Voice
2022 The People We Hate at the Wedding Russell
2023 Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Jimmy Woo Cameo
Shortcomings Ji-Hun Also director
Feature directorial debut
Strays Hunter Voice
Totally Killer Sheriff Dennis Lim
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Not yet released Dr. Stephen Shin

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Fastlane Octopus Man Episode: "Strap On"
Reno 911! Mailman Episode: "Dangle's Moving Day"
Las Vegas Jasper Episode: "Jokers and Fools"
2004 Alias Korean Soldier Episode: "Crossings"
ER Yong-Jo Pak Episode: "White Guy, Dark Hair"
2005 House Brad Episode: "Autopsy"
2006 Four Kings Server Pat Episode: "Night of the Iguana"
2006–07 Wild 'n Out Himself / Various 16 episodes
2006; 2007 The Bold and the Beautiful E.R. Doctor 2 episodes
Mad TV Bobby’s Cousin / Korean Man / Ando 3 episodes
2007 Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz Police Officer / Hypeman Waiter / Bjork 3 episodes
Cold Case Manny Kim '07 Episode: "That Woman"
2008 iCarly Mr. Palladino Episode: "iGot Detention"
The Sarah Silverman Program Mongolian Aide Episode: "The Mongolian Beef"
Eli Stone Chris Kim Episode: "Unwritten"
Zip Mr. Yu Television film
The Apostles Ettinger
2009 Gary Unmarried Dr. Greenberg Episode: "Gary Tries to Do It All"
Curb Your Enthusiasm Doctor Episode: "The Table Read"
2009–10 IKEA Heights James Melville / Ezekiel Ikea / Lucas Melville Main role; web series
2010–11 Svetlana Dr. Park 3 episodes
2010; 2015 Community Crime Boss / Himself 2 episodes
2011–13 Supah Ninjas Martin Fukanaga Recurring role, 27 episodes
2011 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Scott Katsu Episode: "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead"
A Series of Unfortunate People Odd Man / Jay / Barry 3 episodes
Random Comedies Joe Episode: "Open House"
2012 New Girl Will Episode: "Fancyman Part 1"
The Office Steve Episode: "Andy's Ancestry"
A Car Called Wanda Richard Episode: "It Wasn’t a Roofie"
Slanted Kai Episode: "Paying Your Dues"
2012–17 Veep Governor Danny Chung Recurring role, 13 episodes
2013 Infomercials Mark Episode: "Broomshakalaka!"
Mr. Box Office Larry Kung Episode: "Marcus Gets Kung Pow'd"
2013–14 The Mindy Project Dr. Colin Lee 3 episodes
2014 Newsreaders Clavis Kim 3 episodes
2014; 2018 Robot Chicken Kim Jong-un / Li Shang / Charon / Red Power Ranger Voice, 2 episodes
2015 Repeat After Me Himself Episode: "#1.5"
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Jeff 4 episodes
Comedy Bang! Bang! Himself Episode: "Randall Park Wears Brown Dress Shoes With Blue Socks"
2015–20 Fresh Off the Boat Louis Huang Regular role
Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series (2016, 2017)
2016 Idiotsitter Hank Episode: "GED Prom"
Childrens Hospital Jamyang Episode: "Show Me a Hero"
Dr. Ken Gary Chon Episode: "Korean Men's Club"
$100,000 Pyramid Himself Episode: "Randall Park vs. Anna Camp"
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Grieg Episode: "Day of the Diamond Dealmakers"
2017 Michael Bolton's Big, ... Valentine's Day Special Blair Netflix Variety special
Love Tommy 2 episodes
Angie Tribeca Dr. Moreau Episode: "Brockman Turner Overdrive"
Drop the Mic Himself Episode: "James Van Der Beek vs. Randall Park / Gina Rodriguez vs. Rob Gronkowski"
Do You Want To See a Dead Body? Episode: "A Body and a Crater"
2018 Hot Streets Donovan Kim Voice, episode: "Got a Minute for Love?"
... History Jamukha Episode: "The Middle Ages"
Animals. Nikolai Voice, episode: "The Democratic People's Republic of Kitty City"
Art Prison Himself Adult Swim TV special
2018; 2020 BoJack Horseman Moose / Hotel Concierge / American Tourist Voice, 2 episodes
2019 Hell's Kitchen Himself Episode: "Devilish Desserts"
What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage Episode: "Neighbor"
2020 Medical Police Clavis Kim 4 episodes
Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart Eugene Voice, episode: "Adoradad"
Adventure Time: Distant Lands Hugo Voice, episode: "BMO"
American Dad! Doctor Voice, episode: "Trophy Wife, Trophy Life"
Where's Waldo? Wizard Shadowbeard Voice, episode: "Shadow of Bali"
2021 WandaVision Jimmy Woo Regular role, 6 episodes
Marvel Studios: Assembled Himself Documentary; Episode: "Assembled: The Making of WandaVision"
Tuca & Bertie Bertie's father Voice, 1 episode
Star Trek: Lower Decks Apergosian High Leader Voice, episode: "Strange Energies"
Amend: The Fight for America Himself 3 episodes
Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. Dr. Edmund Choi 2 episodes
2021–2023 Young Rock Future version of himself Recurring role, 29 episodes
2022 Ghostwriter Lion Episode: "Ghost of Oz, Part 1"
Blockbuster Timmy Yoon Main role
2022–2023 Human Resources Peter "Pete" Doheny Voice, main role
2023 Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai Yao/Odd-Odd Voice, episode: "Always Buy a Ticket"
Solar Opposites Mr. Sarner Voice, episode: "The Ping Pong Table"
2023 Big Mouth Peter "Pete" Doheny Voice, episode: "Panic! At The Mall"
2023 Blue Eye Samurai Heiji Shindo Voice

Music videos

Year Artist Title Notes
2015 Eminem "Phenomenal"
2013 Chester See "Whistle While I Work It"

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Dr. Miracles Dr. Miracles Also writer/director
2009 Greendale Community College Webisodes Brody Leitz Promos for Community
2009 The Food Wallace Also writer
2009 IKEA Heights James YouTube Series only filmed in IKEA without staff noticing
2010 Too Fast Brandon Wong Fu Productions short
2010 Dumb Professor Professor Raymond Nash Also writer/director
2010 Weekend Forecast Tokyo Mitsubishi MagicHugs short
2010 Workout Tape Ronny Nishimoto MagicHugs short
2011 Siamese Dad Russell Also writer/director
2011 The Game Station - The Street Fighter Kenneth
2012 The Game Station - The Return of King Hippo Roommate
2012 Listen to Grandpa, Andy Ling Andy Ling Starred opposite Elliott Gould
2012 Home Is Where The Hans Are Andrew Wong Fu Productions short
2013 Baby Mentalist Detective Chung Also writer
2014 CollegeHumor - If Google was a Guy (2) Bing
2014 Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey Himself Guest with JaeLego
2018 Asian Bachelorette 2 Himself Wong Fu Productions short
2023 Good Mythical Morning Himself Guest


Discography

with Ill Again

  • Self Titled (2004)

with Novelists

  • Bookends (2008)

Select awards and recognition

  • 2010 – Best Actor Award at NBC's Short Cuts Film Festival.
  • 2011 – Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment New Writers Award for the pilot Erasists
  • 2015 – Asian Pacific Alumni Alumnus of the Year Award
  • 2015 – V3Con Visibility Award
  • 2016 – Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year
  • 2017 – Visionary Award by East West Players (EWP)
  • 2022 – Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performance (Nominated)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Randall Park para niños

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