Kelvin Yu (born 1979[1]) is an American actor and writer.
Kelvin Yu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 1979 (age 44–45) Santa Ana, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer | ||||||
| Years active | 1992–present | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 遊朝敏 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 游朝敏 | ||||||
| |||||||
Early life and education
editYu was born to Yu Ming-chuan and Lin Ling-juan.[2] He grew up in Los Angeles, where he currently resides. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where he majored in film, theatre, and television.[3] His brother, Charles Yu, is a writer.[3]
Career
editActing
editYu started acting in theater at the age of thirteen.[1] His television credits have included guest spots on Frasier, ER, Las Vegas, Without a Trace, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, CSI: NY, and Bones.
Yu's first film was the 2003 comedy The Utopian Society. He later made an uncredited appearance in the 2005 film Elizabethtown. The following year, Yu had a supporting role in the comedy Grandma's Boy. Yu played a role in the Ghost Whisperer episode "Double Exposure" (3x6) as Joseph. Yu had a supporting role in the 2008 Academy Award-winning biographical political drama Milk.[4]
Yu has starred in several short films, including 2006's My Prince, My Angel. Yu later appeared with Linda Park on the ABC series Women's Murder Club, and a lead role in the 2007 short film Fortune Hunters. In 2020, he played a role in Wonder Woman 1984.
Yu had a recurring role in the Netflix original series Master of None as the character of Brian Chang, the on-screen analogue of the show's creator Alan Yang, described as a "hottie" by Vulture magazine.[5][6]
He provides the voice of a minor character on The Great North. In 2022 Yu appeared in the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty.
Writing
editYu is currently a writer and executive producer for the Fox animated series Bob's Burgers, has been nominated six times for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, winning in 2017. In 2016, he won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production (along with co-writer Steven Davis) for the episode "The Hauntening."[7] Yu also is a consulting producer on Central Park and has written a few songs for that show.
In October 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had given a series order to a television adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese. It will be produced by 20th Century Television with Yu and his brother Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Marvin Mar and Jake Kasdan as executive producers, and Destin Daniel Cretton as director and executive producer.[8]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Utopian Society | Ken | |
| 2005 | Duck | Chinese Delivery Man | |
| Big Time | Cool Henchman | ||
| Elizabethtown | David Tan | Uncredited | |
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | Kane | |
| 2007 | If I Had Known I Was a Genius | Cost Surplus Customer | |
| 2008 | Cloverfield | Clark | |
| Milk | Michael Wong | ||
| 2009 | Timer | Nelson | |
| Star Trek | Medical Technician | ||
| 2017 | Tilt | Andy | |
| 2020 | Wonder Woman 1984 | Jake | |
| 2023 | Somebody I Used to Know | Christian |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Popular | Freddy Gong | 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Felicity | Keith Fannin | 1 episode |
| 2001 | Frasier | Copy Guy | 1 episode |
| Emeril | The Camera Man | 1 episode | |
| Danny | Lachardi | 1 episode | |
| ER | Rondo | 1 episode | |
| Any Day Now | Waiter | 1 episode | |
| Men, Women & Dogs | Earl | 1 episode | |
| The Tick | Tom | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Gilmore Girls | Cousin David | 1 episode |
| The Shield | Sam | 1 episode | |
| Life with Bonnie | Man | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Judging Amy | Dr. Butler | 1 episode |
| Las Vegas | Larry | 1 episode | |
| 2004 | The Division | 1 episode | |
| Combustion | Kit | TV movie | |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Jin Kim | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Kevin Yu | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | The Closer | Randy Chen | 1 episode |
| Burn Notice | Nick Lam | 1 episode | |
| Dirty Sexy Money | Sam | 1 episode | |
| Women's Murder Club | Fong | 1 episode | |
| Ghost Whisperer | Joseph | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | CSI: NY | David Oka | 1 episode |
| Bad Mother's Handbook | Phil | TV movie | |
| 2009 | Bones | Franklin Tung | 1 episode |
| The Forgotten | Quon Wen | 1 episode | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Jimmy Su | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Traffic Light | Brian | 1 episode |
| Hawaii Five-O | Gabriel Delgado | 1 episode | |
| Torchwood | Nicolas Frumkin | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | Dallas | Ken | 1 episode |
| Common Law | David Paek | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | NCIS | Sebastian Kim | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Satisfaction | Darryl | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Master of None | Brian Chang | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | American Dad! | Various (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2020-present | Bob's Burgers | — | Executive producer |
| 2020–2022 | Central Park | Sheng | 4 episodes; Also executive producer |
| 2021 | Cinema Toast | Voice | 1 episode |
| 2021–2022 | The Great North | Steven Huang | 6 episodes |
| 2022 | The Afterparty | Ned | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | American Born Chinese | Creator, Executive Producer | |
| 2023 | Clone High | Confucius (voice) | |
| TBA | Dying for Sex | Noah | Upcoming miniseries |
References
edit- ^ a b "Milk's man: Kelvin Yu - Gay News Asia". fridae.asia.
- ^ Tsao, Edward; Liu, Kuan-lin (18 September 2017). "Taiwanese American wins Emmy Award". Central News Agency. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ a b "A Chat with Actor Kelvin Yu". TaiwaneseAmerican.org. 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Milk's man: Kelvin Yu plays Milk's campaign staffer Michael Wong in new biopic". Asian Week. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
- ^ Jung, E. Alex (16 November 2015). "Master of None's Kelvin Yu on immigrant parents and finally playing the hottie". Vulture.com. New York.
- ^ Freeman, Molly (11 November 2015). "Who is 'Brian' on Master of None? Kelvin Yu is more than Aziz Ansari's sidekick". Bustle.
- ^ "46th Annual Annie Awards". annieawards.org. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2021). "Disney+ Greenlights 'American Born Chinese' Series From Melvin Mar, Kelvin Yu & Jake Kasdan; 'Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2021.