Andrew Phung (born January 26, 1984)[3] is a Canadian actor, improviser, and comedian. He played the character Kimchee Han on the CBC Television sitcom Kim's Convenience.[4] For this role, he has been a five-time Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He is also the co-creator of the sitcom Run the Burbs on which he plays Andrew Pham.

Andrew Phung
Phung hosting the University of Calgary Arch Alumni Awards in 2014.
Born (1984-01-26) January 26, 1984 (age 40)[1][2]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Calgary
Years active2009–present
Known forKim's Convenience, Run the Burbs
Spouse
Tamara Sharpe
(m. 2013)
Children2

Background

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Andrew Phung was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and attended Bishop McNally High School.[5] Phung's father is of Vietnamese descent and his mother is Chinese.[6] He joined the Loose Moose Theatre Company when he was 16 years old. As of 2020, he is a senior ensemble performer and instructor with the theatre.[7] He studied economics at the University of Calgary and worked as a non-profit director before pursuing acting.[8]

Career

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In 2008, he joined the comedy group Sciencebear. Together they created and produced various comedic shorts, and in 2009 they released the film Sketch, which was produced on a $100 budget. It was an official entry into the 2010 Calgary International Film Festival.[9]

In 2009 Phung was named one of Calgary's Top 40 under 40 by Avenue Magazine.[8] That year he was also a featured cast member on the television series Drafted on the Score Television Network.[10]

Phung is the co-creator of the hit improvised comedy shows Past your Bedtime,[11] Northeast: The Show,[12] and Kill Hard.[13]

From 2015 to 2016, he co-wrote and starred in two seasons of Cowtown, a sketch comedy series produced by Nur Films and Telus Optik.[14]

From 2016-2021 Phung played the role of Kimchee in the CBC Television sitcom Kim's Convenience.[15] He has won several Canadian Screen Awards for Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, and the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020.[16][17][18] In March of 2021 it was announced that despite being renewed to a 6th season, Kim's Convenience would be ending after five seasons due to the departure of the show runners.[19]

Post-Kim's Convenience, Phung stars in the lead role on Run the Burbs for CBC; he also is a co-creator of the series.[20]

Phung won two awards at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, winning both his fourth award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Kim's Convenience, and Best Host in a Web Program or Series for his role as host of the 2019 Canadian Improv Games.

Personal life

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In 2013, Phung married Tamara Sharpe. They have two sons together.[21][22]

Phung is the co-founder of YYCSolediers, an online sneaker group which also produces Sneaker SWAP, a Calgary-based sneaker event.[23] He is heavily involved in an organization called Youth Central, a non profit organization which helps youth get involved in their communities.[24]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 Let's Talk English Host/Main Cast 120 episodes
2015 Young Drunk Punk Waiter
2015–2016 Cowtown Main Cast
2016–2021 Kim's Convenience Kimchee Winner – Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series - 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
2016–present The Beaverton Eddie Zheng
2020–2021 Wynonna Earp Casey
2022–2024 Run the Burbs Andrew Pham
2022 LOL: Last One Laughing Canada Himself

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Little Italy Luigi
2020 Events Transpiring Before, During and After a High School Basketball Game Brent
2024 Lucky Star Darren

References

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  1. ^ According to Andrew Phung's Instagram post made on January 29, 2024, that he celebrated his 40th birthday three days prior, thus making his birth year as 1984.
  2. ^ "Instagram".
  3. ^ "Instagram".
  4. ^ "A Convenience truth; Andrew Phung stars in new TV series about an Asian corner store". Ottawa Citizen, October 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Bell, David. "Andrew Phung shows his Calgary, as Kim's Convenience sneak peek sells out". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  6. ^ Volmers, Eric (2016-09-03). "From improv to the CBC, Calgarian Andrew Phung lands role in Kim's Convenience". The Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  7. ^ "Banff 2020 Virtual Edition - Andrew Phung". banffmediafestival.playbackonline.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  8. ^ a b "Andrew Phung". 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  9. ^ "Sketch | Calgary International Film Festival". www.calgaryfilm.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  10. ^ "Score Media Announces 'Canada's Next Sportscaster' - Broadcaster Magazine". 2009-12-09. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  11. ^ Roe, Jon (October 23, 2013). "Cheap Date: The Fortunate Ones". The Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "The North East gets ready for its Loose Moose close-up". 2015-07-31. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  13. ^ "Fringe review: KILL HARD". 2015-08-16. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  14. ^ "Cowtown sketch series celebrates Calgary's comedy culture". BeatRoute Magazine. 2014-12-01. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  15. ^ "Production on Thunderbird's Kim's Convenience begins for CBC". 2016-07-12. Archived from the original on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  16. ^ "The Canadian Screen Awards nominations are out!". NOW Magazine. 2017-01-17. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  17. ^ "'This is wild': Baroness von Sketch Show takes top honour at Screen Awards". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  18. ^ "Wynonna Earp, Kim's Convenience actors Andrew Phung and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee among local nominees for Canadian Screen Awards". Calgary Herald. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  19. ^ Jethro Nededog, "Korean family comedy Kim's Convenience canceled after 5 seasons". Entertainment Weekly, March 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "Three new original comedy series coming soon from CBC | CBC Comedy". CBC. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  21. ^ "Kim's Convenience's Andrew Phung still the 'kid from northeast Calgary'". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  22. ^ Toronto, Harriette Halepis for Streets Of (2021-05-17). "Toronto artist Andrew Stelmack spreads joy with stunning mural". Streets Of Toronto. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  23. ^ "Collectibles: The shoe collection of improv/shoe guru Andrew Phung". 2016-05-17. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  24. ^ "Guest Speakers of Calgary West Rotary Club". www.calgarywestrotaryclub.org. Archived from the original on 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
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