- POPSUGAR Australia
- Celebrity
- Get to Know “Beef” Star Steven Yeun a Bit Better With These 7 Quick Facts
Get to Know “Beef” Star Steven Yeun a Bit Better With These 7 Quick Facts
Getty / Rich Fury
Roles in “The Walking Dead” and “Minari” may have put Steven Yeun on your radar, but his Netflix show “Beef” allows him to shine in entirely new ways. Of course, his role in “Minari” netted him a history-making Oscar nomination for best actor in 2020, so his acting talents are well-documented, but as the chaotic, abrasive Danny, Yeun shows off his acting chops in a show that explores the consequences of unprocessed rage.
In addition to his onscreen skills, there are plenty of other reasons to love Yeun, from his good looks to his adorable relationship with wife Joanna Pak. Also, did you know that he has a degree in psychology? Yeun is usually pretty private when it comes to his personal life, so keep reading to get to know a little bit more about him with these seven quick facts.
Related: Steven Yeun Made Oscars History as the First Asian American to Be Nominated For Best Actor
Want some entertainment stories? Click through the articles below:
- What the Cast of “Gossip Girl” Have Been Up to Since the Show Ended
- 15 Essential “Grey’s Anatomy” Episodes For Meredith-and-Derek Fans
- 30 Women-Led Movies Streaming on Netflix Now
- All of Millie Bobby Brown’s TV and Movie Roles Over the Past Decade
- The ’90s It Girls You Wanted (and Still Kind of Want) to Be
- 11 Epic and Unforgettable Love Triangles in TV History
- Inside Flavor Flav and Taylor Swift’s Unexpected Yet Delightful Friendship
Getty / Michael Tran
His Real Name Is Yeun Sang-Yeop
Yeun was born in Seoul, South Korea on Dec. 21, 1983, where he was given the name Sang-Yeop. His parents are first-generation Americans, and he moved to North America when he was “four or five,” first living in Saskatchewan before settling in Michigan.
Getty / Noel Vasquez
He's Married
Yeun tied the knot with professional photographer Joana Pak at the historic Paramour Estate in LA in December 2016. The couple have two beautiful kids together – a son named Jude and a daughter, whose name has not been revealed yet.
Getty / Paul Zimmerman
He Has a Degree in Psychology
The actor graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a degree in psychology and a focus in neuroscience. His parents wanted him to become a doctor, so the plan was for him to go to med school after college. Instead, Yeun worked with The Second City and did improv before making it in Hollywood.
Everett Collection / Monty Brinton
You May Have Seen Him in "The Big Bang Theory"
Before his big break on “The Walking Dead,” Yeun landed three commercials in LA and tested for a pilot on ABC that he didn’t get. He then played a small part on one of the “The Big Bang Theory”‘s flashback episodes.
Getty / Rich Fury
He's a History-Making Oscar Nominee
Yeun starred in and executive produced “Minari,” a 2020 film about a Korean-American family that moves to Arkansas. The performance netted him a nomination for best actor, making him the first Asian-American actor to be nominated for the award – though according to a New York Times interview, he slept through the nominations announcement. While Yeun didn’t win, his costar Yuh-Jung Youn took home the award for best supporting actress.
Getty / Roger Kisby
He Was a Big "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Fan Growing Up
As a child, Yeun told The Guardian in 2021, he felt like he was different people at school and at home. Because of that, he was “really drawn to Will Smith” in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” “When you think about the Fresh Prince, it was kind of that concept. He’s caught between places, just trying to be himself,” he said. In his acting roles, he’s strived to give audiences characters they can relate to like he could to Smith’s.
“Where I try and speak from as an actor is always feeling, I guess, isolated,” he said. “I warred with that for a lot of my life – of feeling disconnected from a system, a majority, or a group. I deeply wanted to connect, so I would bend and twist and break myself to try and conform.”