Fox’s Resident Funnyman Ken Jeong Unmasked

quotI never envisioned this whatsoeverquot Jeong said quotFifteen years of my life in medicine culminating to this current point where I realized The Unicorn is Tori Spelling I never thought it would get to that point and yet here we arequotJeong though is not just a panelist he39s also played the games For The Masked Singer and The Masked Dancer Jeong slipped into complicated costumes to performquotI was a contestant on the Korean Masked Singer a couple of years ago to promote the US Masked Singerquot he recalled of his turn as a golden pig quotI am familiar with how difficult it is under that mask to sing and how incredibly difficult it is to dancequotHe went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as the purple fox when she was doing segments called The Masked Dancer quotI worked with a choreographer about doing new dance moves I am not known forquot he said quotI have four moves and I beat them to deathquotThis Wednesday brings the season finale I Can See Your Voice another show featuring some people who shouldn39t lipsynch even in the shower Still Jeong manages to be kind and funny even to those who assault the ears That39s how he rollsquotHe doesn39t take himself seriously and he still doesn39t consider himself Alist or a starquot says Yvette Nicole Brown who worked with Jeong on Community quotHe is selfdeprecating to a fault He will never push himself in front of someone else It39s almost like he doesn39t see himself in the position he holds He is still just a journeyman actor In his mind he is a working actor and a working standup and that is just endearing You can39t help but love thatquotBrown has been a guest on both of Jeong39s singing shows during the pandemicquotHe is the kind of person who says 39I need someone I want it to be my friend39quot she says explaining how his former costars wind up on his shows quotAny time Ken has called me it was a 39yes39 We did the two episodes during COVID and I said I will take these tests He would not bring me anywhere that would cause me harm He looks out for other peoplequotKnowing that Jeong is a physician helps He keeps his medical license current and famously leaped off a stage during a standup act two years ago to help a woman in the audience who was having a seizure The soldout comedy club went silent and an EMT in the audience also aidedquotIt was frightening but aspects of it were very inspiring to see people work together for the sole purpose of helping someone get betterquot Jeong said quotIt was one of the most surreal moments of my career for surequotAdmittedly his career path is unusual Jeong grew up in North Carolina where his dad was an economics professor and his mom a business owner He studied piano and violin and was talented enough to compete and to play in orchestrasquotI always envisioned a career in academicsquot he explained quotShow business was not even an interest of mine as a child I was a pretty happy kid and tried to get along with everybody It mimicked who I am nowquotWhile studying zoology at Duke Jeong took an acting class and immediately was torn His father always supportive asked quotDo you really think a person of your look can survive in this businessquotAnd so Jeong went to UNC medical school Comedy was relegated to monthly open mics During his residency in New Orleans he participated in the Big Easy LaffOff The prize Performing at the Hollywood Improv The judges were Improv founder Budd Friedman and NBC president Brandon Tartikoff Jeong wonquotThat was my entrance to LAquot he saidThat39s a golden ring few aspiring comedians could ignore Jeong didn39t but he postponed comedy for a couple of years to finish his residency Then he moved to LA and for seven years juggled being a doctor and a comedianHe39s played a doctor 11 times which could be typecasting but then again he has also played a ballerinaWhile Jeong has been cracking up audiences in The Hangover movies and Crazy Rich Asians and guesting on dozens of sitcoms heamp8217s also faced one of the harshest facets of life His wife Tran Ho also a physician was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive breast cancer when their twins were one year oldShe39s been cancerfree for 12 years The experience naturally altered his perspectivequotThere is just no guarantee of anythingquot Jeong noted quotYou have to seize the moment when it is around because life is short That has trickled down to my career I have an ability I don39t ever think I had I am now a gowiththeflow guy When you have a career in medicine you don39t get there by being really laid backquotTo me going through this pandemic reminds me in many ways of going through on a personal level what we went through with Tran and having no choice but to take things day by dayquot Jeong continuedHe doesn39t miss a beat when citing his goals Rather than respond with the usual choices of his second career directing producing starring his goal sounds much more like his first careerquotFor everyone to get that COVID vaccinequot Jeong said quotTo me there is nothing more important because that will reopen the economy That will ease restrictions Most importantly it will save lives What I really want is an effective vaccine that is distributable to all It is the only way we can defeat this I say that on the heels of two companies applying for FDA approval I am an optimistquotThe Masked Singer is telecast Wednesdays at 8 pm The season finale of I Can See Your Voice will be telecast on Wednesday December 9 at 9 pm The Masked Dancer premieres on Sunday December 27 at 8 pmClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Fox’s Resident Funnyman Ken Jeong Unmasked

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Jacqueline Cutler

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Fox’s Resident Funnyman Ken Jeong Unmasked

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jacqueline Cutler

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies