Steven Yeun

Early life and education

Yeun was born in Seoul on December 21, 1983, to Je and June Yeun. His father was an architect in South Korea before moving his family in 1988 to Canada, where they lived in Regina, Saskatchewan. In Regina, he attended Ruth M. Buck Elementary School. He has a younger brother named Brian. The family later moved to the U.S. and settled in Taylor, Michigan, and then Troy, Michigan, a Detroit suburb where Yeun lived until he graduated from Troy High School in 2001. Growing up, Yeun's family spoke Korean at home.

Yeun was raised in a Christian household. His parents, who owned beauty-supply stores in Detroit, He received a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in neuroscience At Kalamazoo, he befriended the sister of comedian Jordan Klepper and she took him to see Klepper's improv show, which inspired him to take his first acting class and later follow Klepper to Chicago, where they joined The Second City.

Career

2005–2009: Early career

Yeun revealed to his parents that he planned to pursue an improv career in Chicago instead of enrolling in law school or medical school. His parents were unhappy with the decision, but supported him nonetheless and gave him two years to pursue acting. He moved to Chicago in 2005, living in the city's Lincoln Square with his brother. Shortly after graduation, he joined Stir Friday Night, a Chicago-based Asian American sketch comedy troupe. Other alumni of the group include Danny Pudi, known for his role in Community. He joined The Second City in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in October 2009.

2010–2016: Breakout with ''The Walking Dead''

Yeun's breakout role was the starring role of Glenn Rhee on The Walking Dead, an AMC television horror drama based on the comic book series of the same name. The series, which began in 2010, involves a group of characters who fight to survive in a violent apocalyptic world infested with flesh-eating zombies. The Walking Dead became the highest-rated series in cable television history, and seasons three through six of the show garnered the most 18 to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series. The series has received mostly positive reviews from professional television critics. Per Variety, Yeun was "a major part" of the show's success; his character developed "from a plucky young member of the show's central group to a bona fide action hero and sex symbol". Yeun left the show in 2016 after the season 7 premiere.

2017–present: Transition to films and acclaim

Yeun was cast in Joe Lynch's action horror film Mayhem (2017). The film was released in theaters on November 10, 2017. In April 2016, Yeun was cast in Bong Joon-ho's action-adventure film Okja. The film competed for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. It was released on Netflix on June 28, 2017. Yeun also provided the voice of Bo in 2017's The Star. Yeun co-starred in Boots Riley's dark comedy Sorry to Bother You, alongside Lakeith Stanfield, Armie Hammer and Tessa Thompson, which was released in theaters on July 6, 2018. The film had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018. It additionally won The 2019 National Board of Review's Top Ten Independent Films award, as well as Best Screenplay and Best First Feature at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards.

In late 2018, Yeun played Ben in the South Korean mystery drama film Burning, directed by Lee Chang-dong. The film was first unveiled at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. His performance in the film was acclaimed. Yeun won Best Supporting Actor at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2018, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2018, and 2018 National Society of Film Critics Awards. In late 2018, Yeun landed a main role in an episode of Jordan Peele's revival of The Twilight Zone. He currently voices the title protagonist Mark Grayson in the animated superhero series Invincible, adapting Robert Kirkman's comic book series, which was released on Amazon Prime in March 2021.

In 2020, Yeun starred in and served as an executive producer for Lee Isaac Chung's A24 immigrant drama Minari, which also includes Youn Yuh-jung, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Will Patton and Scott Haze among the cast. The film is about a Korean immigrant family becoming farmers in Arkansas; Yeun included his own immigrant experience in his acting. The film had its world premiere and won two top awards at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. Yeun received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for Minari. He also became the first Asian-American actor to be nominated at the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

Yeun does voice acting in both animated television series and films. Some of these roles include Avatar Wan in the second season of The Legend of Korra (2013), Steve Palchuk in Trollhunters (2016–2018) and 3Below (2018–2019), Keith in Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016–2018), Nathan Park/Wingspan in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (2017–2018), Little Cato in Final Space, (2018–2021) and Speckle in Tuca & Bertie (2019–2022). It was later revealed that Yeun's role as Steve Palchuk would continue into Wizards, the third series of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy. The first season of 3Below was released on Netflix on December 21, 2018, and the second and final season was released on July 12, 2019.

In 2021, he was included in the Time 100, Times annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2021, he co-starred alongside Jayne Houdyshell, Richard Jenkins and Amy Schumer, in Stephen Karam's award-winning one-act play adaptation The Humans. In 2022, he co-starred alongside Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer in Jordan Peele's science fiction horror film Nope, as Ricky "Jupe" Park, the owner of the fictional theme park Jupiter's Claim.

In 2023, Yeun starred opposite Ali Wong in the Netflix dark comedy series Beef, for which he also served as executive producer. For his performance, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He is the second person of Asian descent to win the Golden Globe Award in the category of best actor.

Personal life

Yeun married photographer Joana Pak on December 3, 2016. They reside in Los Angeles and have two children together.

He is a longtime fan of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings, and endorsed Andrew Yang for president in the 2020 U.S. election.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video appearances

Video games

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Steven Yeun

Over his career, Yeun has received numerous accolades. For his leading performance in Minari (2020) he received a nomination for the Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. For his work on Beef (2023) he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Critics' Choice Television Awards as well as nominations for two Independent Spirit Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

References

References

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3. (September 15, 2021). "Steven Yeun".
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5. (February 8, 2013). "'Walking Dead': Steven Yeun's Glenn is beating heart of AMC series". [[Los Angeles Times]].
6. (February 3, 2021). "The Many Lives of Steven Yeun". [[The New York Times]].
7. (February 26, 2014). "Photos: Steven Yeun Of 'The Walking Dead' Brings Flavor Of Detroit To K-Town".
8. Yeun, Steven. (October 6, 2014). "Steven Yeun on his Parents".
9. Hinds, Julie. (February 13, 2016). "Michigan's 'Walking Dead' star on life before, after Glenn". [[Detroit Free Press]].
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14. (October 28, 2016). "Steven Yeun Says Conan Has Been Mispronouncing His Name For Years". ComicBook.com.
15. (December 2012). "''The Walking Dead'' Is First Cable Series to Beat Every Show of Fall Broadcast Season In Adult 18–49 Rating". AMC.
16. Kissell, Rick. (February 17, 2016). "Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Down, Still Huge in Return; Small Tune-In for HBO's 'Vinyl'". [[Variety (magazine).
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22. Squires, John. (August 8, 2017). "Here's When You'll Be Able to Watch Joe Lynch's 'Mayhem'". Bloody Disgusting.
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26. Romano, Nick. (May 25, 2017). "Okja cast on film's political parallels, 'wars' against nature and women".
27. Busch, Anita. (June 15, 2017). "Tessa Thompson, Lakeith Stanfield, Steven Yeun To Star In 'Sorry To Bother You'".
28. Blistein, Jon. (May 17, 2018). "Watch Lakeith Stanfield Make Millions With 'White Voice' in Wild 'Sorry to Bother You' Trailer". [[Rolling Stone]].
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32. (April 12, 2018). "Cannes Lineup Includes New Films From Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard". [[Variety (magazine).
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34. Petski, Denise. (January 31, 2019). "'Invincible': Steven Yeun & J.K. Simmons Top Loaded Voice Cast For Robert Kirkman's Animated Amazon Series". [[Deadline Hollywood.
35. Sun, Rebecca. (July 11, 2019). "Steven Yeun to Star in and Exec Produce A24 Immigrant Drama (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
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42. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (March 13, 2019). "Film Adaptation Of 'The Humans' Play In Works By A24, IAC, Scott Rudin & Eli Bush". [[Deadline Hollywood.
43. (July 20, 2022). "''Nope'' Review: Jordan Peele Stages An Absolute Spectacle With His Scary, Funny Sci-Fi Blockbuster".
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45. Davis, Clayton. (2023-08-17). "Emmys: Lead Actor (Limited or TV Movie) – Evan Peters Faces 'Weird' Competition From Daniel Radcliffe and Steven Yeun".
46. Sun, Rebecca. (2023-12-11). "Lily Gladstone Scores Rare Nom for Indigenous Actors as Golden Globes Claims It Has the Most Culturally Diverse Major Awards Body".
47. Zinoman, Jason. (2024-01-07). "2024 Golden Globe Awards: Matthew Macfadyen Gives 'Succession' Its First Win of Night". The New York Times.
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60. (July 17, 2025). "Crash Site - A Sci-Fi Short Film Starring Steven Yeun and Sam Richardson".
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63. (March 27, 2025). "Steven Yeun Joins Paramount's Untitled Animated Aang 'Avatar' Film (Exclusive)".
64. Yin-Poole, Wesley. (July 28, 2025). "Avatar Creators Confirm Steven Yeun's Role in Upcoming The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender Movie {{!}} SDCC 2025".
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