Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Ken Jeong on Reinventing Himself and Trusting His Instincts

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Ken Jeong is an actor and comedian who has built an illustrious career spanning film, television, and stand-up, from The Hangover and Community to 14 seasons on The Masked Singer. Jeong sits down with Willie Geist to discuss his evolution from practicing physician to comedian, how finding success later in life has shaped his perspective, and why ensemble work has played such a central role in his career. Plus, he reflects on the support of his family, the importance of projects like KPop Demon Hunters and Crazy Rich Asians in his career and how he’s learned to take his work seriously without taking himself too seriously. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. I've got a great one for you this week. I don't mind saying with the hilarious Ken Jong. He's got one of the most unusual, improbable, extraordinary stories in all of Hollywood. As you may know, Ken was a practicing doctor. He went to Duke University. He went to University of North Carolina Medical School, did his residency in New Orleans,

moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a doctor for seven years before going to an audition for a movie called Knocked Up. Judd Apatow, the director of that 2007 movie, wanted an actual doctor who happened to also be funny to play the part that Ken Jong got. That kind of introduced him into the world of real show business. He'd been dabbling in it. He'd been interested in it. He'd been doing stand-up comedy on the side while he was a doctor. But that role in not. knocked up, launched him. A couple of years later, he shows up in The Hangover as Leslie Chow. And who could forget that role? Unforgettable. We talk a lot about that. We talk about his building through community, that great TV show on NBC, also getting his own sitcom, Dr. Ken. He's done so much,

including The Masked Singer, a new season now, 14 seasons in for Ken Jong in that show since it premiered in 2019 as a panelist there. And also, how about this? He was in K-pop Demon Hunters, the Netflix cultural phenomenon, the animated show, the animated movie where he plays Bobby, the K-pop band's manager. I just have to say, a great guy to begin with. I think the fact that he didn't really launch his Hollywood career until he was 40. He's 56 now.

Has a lot to do with his humility and his gratitude and his, I can't I believe I get to do this with all of my friends kind of thing. So naturally funny. Of course, you know that. You've seen it. He went to Duke, as I mentioned. He is a crazy Duke fan in basketball, a crazy college basketball fan. So as we start this interview at a really cool venue in Brooklyn called the Red Pavilion to talk about everything he's done and his story, I decided to get my teary Barbara Walter's crying moment right out of the gate by bringing up the 1990 NCAA National championship game in which the Duke Blue Devils were beaten by UNLV by 30 points. It was Ken's senior year in college and remains quite painful for Ken.

So now sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation right now with Ken Jong on the Sunday Sitdown podcast. Ken, it's great to see you, man. Thanks for doing this. Thank you for having me. He's an honor. So the obvious first topic is the 1990 NCAA championship game. Duke comes in an underdog against one of the great teams in NCAA history.

The running rebels, Larry Johnson, Stacey Ogman, those guys. Bobby Hurley has a stomach flu, as I remember. This interview's over. We can talk about anything else except the 1990. I'll see you guys. Carrie, mommy, mother, mother! We got our cry. We got our cry.

Now we can move on. He brought up the finals. He brought up the finals. And you said he would not bring up the finals. Just screaming at carry. It was a 30-point loss. And this is all off the record. Please, because we won't use any of this footage,

just please say I was mad. And I didn't cry. This is the real Ken Dung. It's what we bring you up. And see. See, I guess sob right out of the gate. You can use it later for an unrelated topic. Yes.

Yes, yes. This is how I conduct myself every morning with a cry and a glass of water and two cameras. No, so for people just joining us, which makes sense, we've been talking about college basketball for about 30 minutes. Yes. You went to Duke. Yes. You got there right on the precipice of when it all blew up. I prepped them.

Yeah, exactly. I nurture them. I cultivated them. Coach K will not give me credit, and that's fine. Yeah. That's how real heroes conduct themselves. and anonymity, and no one will ever know. That's right.

Blend into the public. Blend into the public as if I never had anything to do with their success. More on Duke later. That's a big part of your story. We don't have to talk about the hoops, although I know we both like to. Oh, yes. Maybe rather. But let's jump right into the Masked Singer.

Season 14, which I couldn't believe. Crazy. When you hear 14 years of a show, how does that sound to you? It just, it is the gift that keeps on giving. It, to me, 14, I mean, that's longer than I have been, than I was a doctor, you know? It's like longer than I've done any other job in history. And it actually breaks all the rules of kind of why I quit my medical job to do acting and to do, you know, spending six years on community, having two seasons of my own sitcom.

And, you know, it's all about precision and about doing things. as best as you can. Even on the hang of movies, just trying to do things as best as you can. And whereas a mass singer, I'm not a recording artist. I'm not a singer. I have nothing to do with the music business.

And it is from a guy considered to be one of the smartest people in the business because of my medical background. It is so fitting that I am the dumbest person on that show has no reason being on that show. And I get paid to have a good time. People see kind of how I really am in terms of just having fun. And I may take my job seriously,

but I never take myself seriously. And I think this show kind of shows that. And it is so much fun. I basically just get paid to watch amazing singers. You know, every single. It's the music. The ultimate music appreciation class. That's the way I compartmentalize it.

Given everything you just said about not knowing a lot about music, maybe this wasn't like the format you'd seen yourself in. Never. What did you think when this first came to you? Wouldn't you be a panelist on a show about people singing in costume? Oh yeah. I was, I was, it was my mom who actually convinced me to do the show. Because a mass singer actually originated in Korea.

I'm a Korean descent. And when I was offered to be a panelist, I was kind of reluctant about it. And my mom was, even though she lives in the state, she watches Korean television on satellite. And she was like, she had followed the Maskedger for years. And she said, you have to take the job. It'll be a game changer.

And she would send me clips on YouTube. And I was like, oh, okay, I get that. I think I can do that. And it was honestly because of my mom that that was the tipping point of like, okay, I'll do this. And little did we know. I thought maybe it'd be a one-off. You do it for a few seasons, have fun.

But yeah, now here I am talking to you, you know, finishing up my 14th season. It's kind of crazy. It's funny, when you say it out loud, I can't really. Sometimes when you're in the moment, you don't think, I don't think of my career in life like that. But yeah, it's just, that's just crazy. It's so surreal and it's wonderful. And we still have a lot to go. I think the season was the most fun because we, um, we,

we really got to, now they're, I'm doing some cold opens where they will leverage my lack of music ability and seeing so, we'll do a, I did an opening number

where I'm singing the theme song from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes. And doing, just doing having, and like last season, I did a Shrek tribute where I dressed up as Lord Farquod

and, and sang that, that smash mouth song. So it was, and that went viral, So it's kind of funny how it's evolved where in many ways it's just, it's like a variety show disguised as a game show. So I actually think Masked is our flagship variety show.

There's a little bit of everything there. And that's been, it's been so much fun. And I'm just having fun, again, just being, I'd say, the dumbest character on network TV right now. Well, you're very charming while you're dumb. I have to say that, yes. Thank you. And that's on the record. Your mom has good instincts, by the way.

She was right. She gave me a second chapter of my career. She really did. I assume she took the standard 10% for, oh, again. Let's just not talk about that. I've done it again. Oh, no. Oh, no.

Oh, no. First of all, Duke loses her 30 points, and then my mom, mom's going to see this. This is our most explosive, an emotional interview yet. Look. Okay, now that we've ripped a lid open, lack of compensation for my mother, I don't see her complaining much where I gave her that $30 check this Christmas. She wasn't complaining then. Gave her some back in, some $30 back in. Oh, your sweet mother. He's joking. I think. Yeah, we hope.

So how do you can explain the phenomenon that the show is? has become. What is it, if you last 14 seasons, by definition, you're successful and in this case, a phenomenon. It goes viral, as you said all the time. What is it about this show that people love so much? I think it's family. I think it's just families watch it for an escape. I think that you have, I don't know, and it's with kind of, you know, obviously you have these amazing Emmy award-winning costume designers. That's been really the trademark of the show. It's really the contestants that inhabit things. the show. And I think to me, it's just this wonderful

it's Sesame Street with the 90s background track, you know, at times, you know? Yeah. It really is a lovely escape. And it kind of dovetails in many ways with K-pop demon hunters, where I think that I don't know if I would be a part of that particular project if it wasn't for kind of my success on the mass singer. And it kind of,

to me, it dovetails very well in terms of kind of just offering this musical escape. And I think that I see artistically the through line, but I don't think I would have certain opportunities that I'm enjoying right now if it wasn't for the mass singer. So, so very grateful. And I just have, I think people see, see us all having fun. And I think that, I think that, I think that's the main, and it helps me as a performer when I'm doing my other projects of sometimes I'm so intense and I, you know, it's my kind of my medical Korean background where I just want to do everything the right way. And it's, the Maskedinger reminds me is like, it doesn't have to be perfect. You know, my, like I never guess anyone right on the show,

you know, and I enjoy, and I have fun not being perfect. And I think to me, it's a good reminder in life, actually, just you don't have to be perfect to be content. fulfilled, successful. To me, it's like just to have, feeling fulfilled in other ways is very important to seeing the big picture. And being happy with who you are, you know. And I know, it's, so it has had some existential,

it's very surreal to say, you know, it has had some existential, like, I don't know, learning points for me, just being on the show. It's just to not, not, it can take your job seriously, but not to take yourself seriously. You mentioned rarely getting it right. Yeah. I watch the show and I watch you, but also everyone else on the show, and I say, I have no clue who that is.

Yeah. And they give you a little clue sometimes, which helps steer you in the right direction. So when you're sitting there and you just hear a voice that you don't recognize, where do you begin the process of guessing? That's where the comedy comes in. You know, I just, I will just do my best enlightened idiot kind of point of view and say, I know. exactly who that is. So if I say that, I have no idea, and I'm panicking deep down inside.

Buying some time. Yeah, buying some time. And I will, I've been known to confabulate. And so one of my favorite moments, I think the third season, I had no idea who this contestant was, and Nick Cannon kept grilling me. And yeah, it was the mouse.

And I kept saying it was Tina Turner and I was putting all the clues together. And I did kind of think Teeny Turner, but everyone just started laughing and audience started booing. And I started doubling down more. This is definitely Tina Turner. And I was starting making, I was starting to make stuff up. And I was like, no, we're dear friends. You know, rest in peace, I had never met her.

And I said, and this is back when she was alive. And I said, no, we're really good friends. And we're at the clues of wine and cheese. We're at a wine and cheese party together. And Nick was calling me out. Like, how are you at a wine? I was like, yeah, I was her plus. one. And where was it at? And I was like, Costco? It goes, where? Yeah, the Costco and

Sherman Oaks. It was a grand opening. Why would Tina Turner, why would Tina Turner be your plus one at a Costco and Sherman Oaks? I think, because she wasn't a member, Nick. So it just, I just to remember who became this whole thing. She needed you to get in. Yeah. Yeah. And it was. It's like an improv. It was an improv game. So I, that's exactly how I view Mess Singer for me. These are all just, the clues are bullet points for some improv and to have fun. Yeah, I think. That's kind of my recipe, really. Not to bring it up, but I think your batting average is like not great, right?

It's like 20-something out of 200. It's like, it's so bad. But in fairness, it's hard. It is. Thank you. I'm no idea who's under the mask. It is a hard. Yeah.

I never know. And one of my most embarrassing is, it really sucks when they're legit friends of yours. All right. The first season, it was Margaret Cho, was on the show, and all the clues were designed for me to know. And even I believe in character, she said, you know, and this is for you, Ken. And I'm like, and so I'm trying to play it off. And I just was paralyzed with thought I had no idea who it was. And when it was Margaret Cho, when she revealed, I mean, there was a real moment.

She was like, I just, I'm disappointed. thought we were friends. Yeah, yeah. And so every time I see her, there's still that at glimpse. Because she is an icon. She is one of my role models. She is one of the reasons why I got into comedy. She was just one of my comedy heroes.

She's a pioneer in Asian American comedy. But every time I see her now, it's just that little bit of awkwardness. Like, I've let mother down. I mean, I think you're forgiven. I mean, she was under a cop. Yeah, she was under. This season, for people excited and getting ready to watch, there is a literal dovetailing that you mentioned of K-pop Demon Hunters

without giving way too much, I think, the mass singer, but that's a cool element right out of the gate in the first episode. Yes. No, it's out there right now. We're able to sing Golden. And to have that as part of kind of our lexicon, I don't know, I think to me that's the biggest moment we've ever had on the show. To have something, and not because I was involved in it. I was a small part of it.

But just to have, it's the perfect marriage for two properties. With Masked Singer, K-pop Demon Hunters, it makes sense. And then it was surreal for me to kind of be actually part of the group singing it now where I had the fortune to be at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last Thanksgiving and introducing E.J. Rehami and Audrey Nuna, like the real Huntrix and singing Golden. So there are so many moments of surrealism that I experienced that day. I got kind of emotional. I had dressed up in my Bobby outfit. And I don't know. It was maybe my favorite day on the mass singer. or just kind of blending those two things together.

It was really, really special and wonderful. And again, just, it's an embarrassment of riches. It's a cool colliding of your worlds, too. I mean, while we're talking about it, can you believe how huge K-pop demon nutters became? I mean, it feels like it just grew and grew and grew over this last year. And it's just an utter phenomenon. The singles from the soundtrack go to number one on the Billboard charts,

all that was around that. when you were making it, did you feel like it was something special? I had no idea. I mean, I'm just an actor in a recording booth just there for a couple of days. I was not even privy to the music. I love the script. I love the animatics. But once I was there at the premiere and just heard the music, and it just all was like,

this is a cultural masterpiece. And again, just the way it organically became. the biggest title ever on Netflix. You can't predict those moments. But it, and again, just, and when I look at it personally, you know, I've been so beyond blessed to be a part of all kind of zeitgeisty projects like, like The Hangover and and like community that was very special to me and crazy rich Asians, you know, this, this is, this is yet another project that I'm just privileged to be, you know,

a small part of that I'm, where you're happier for the people, the cast and crew than you are for yourself, because like Maggie and Chris, the filmmakers, the directors of this, I mean, they've worked for seven long years on this project. And E.J. wrote not only Golden, but several of the songs on the soundtrack. And once you, once I got to know everybody, you know, and they're journey. It's so fulfilling and I'm so, I really am like the manager, you know, this the loving manager that I, that it's really art imitating life. Like I love my girls. You know, I'm just so happy for them. And just to see all the critical success that they're having and the, and the acclaim as well as the commercial success, it's almost like I take myself out of it.

And I'm just so happy for them. So every time I see them, it's just the big. biggest smile and I don't know. The older I get in this business, I think it's wonderful to see people who you love and respect really, I don't know, it's just as fulfilling in many ways as it is just to be a part of it. It really is. And you have been a part of so many of those incredible ensembles that you just kind of rattle up, just like all-star crews and movies and TV shows. And you're always a highlight, I have to say. A lot of people say that. Thank you. On the record.

It's again. Check the gate. That's it. We're good. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Ken Jong right after the break. Welcome back now more of my conversation with Ken Jong. But you also happen to have, I think, one of the most extraordinary stories in all

of show business, given that you were a legit medical doctor, a practicing doctor. It wasn't like, oh, I took a class, a bio class, and college. It was like, you went from being a doctor. So I want to just go back a little bit to you growing up in Greensboro. Yes. You had the idea of being a doctor that was sort of a vision probably in your family. Yep. But it sounds like as driven as you were and maybe as your parents were, there was humor.

There was comedy in the house. Yes. Yes. It came from my dad. My dad, he was a professor of economics at North Carolina, A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, was like over 34 years. And so I actually, my dad, well, he made me audit one of his statistic classes when I was a kid. That just wanted me. It's just like sitting and enjoy the magic, I guess.

And he was working the room like a comic. And he was just so engaging and so funny. And I get my comedy from my dad, clearly. And so, and I grew up loving Eddie Murphy, like, like, like, Letterman, those are just huge towering world figures, you know, in my worldview. So even as a kid, I was just, I just loved to laugh, but I was not, I was never like the class clown or anything like that. And I just, that really happened at college at Duke, where I took my first acting class. And I, everyone was always like, yeah, you love comedy, you laugh, you know,

maybe you should try, you know, you always got that kind of thing. And, and then I took my first acting class spring semester, sophomore year at Duke, and I was just hooked. This was like, oh, this is my calling. And comedy acting. And we would do like freeze tag

and improv acting. But I just, it just one of those things, it just was instant. And you just felt like you were born to do. But it was hard. And I always joked that I was Koreaned into staying pre-med. You know, it was 80.

and, you know, I could say that. And it was true at that time. But that's not the case. It was me. I did not think that a person with my look could necessarily succeed. This is like 88, 89. And, you know, and also not just beyond ethnicity. I didn't know if I had, I just, I didn't know if I would have the maturity,

the emotional maturity to handle this. And my dad did pose that question was like, you know, it's not, I know, I believe in your talent, you know, but this is not a, showbiz is not a meritocracy, you know, so it's not based on that. And can you handle that? And so I definitely had to come to Jesus talk with my dad. And I was like, you know, and I said, I don't think I could, I never even left North Carolina. I don't think I'd ever been to Los Angeles, you know, at that time. So I didn't know if I had the kind of the, kind of the. the maturity to succeed. But, again, things happened in life. I got into med school, and I, you know, everything went according to plan, but I just couldn't shake off the acting bug, the comedy bug. So I would do stand-of-comedy because I couldn't do theater anymore. And I didn't have the bandwidth to do it, but I found doing stand-of-comedy.

I would just do it once every couple of months during med school, and I would just go on open mics or occasionally I'd go on the road and be an opening act for somebody. And I just kind of kept it up, you know, and actually I would compartmentalize what I would do. And I was like, oh, this is my golf. This is my hobby. And so I don't know if I'm going to do this for a living, but it makes me happy. So I just want to continue to do stuff that makes me happy. And it was in my residency, which I did in New Orleans.

at Oxner Foundation Hospital. And that really gave me kind of the key to kind of blend both worlds because my director of my residency, he became my mentor. And he's a very enlightened person. He was a prominent nephrologist, but also on the board of Jazz Fest.

And he loved what I was doing. He was like, you go, you know, you will be a better doctor because of the bedside manner that you've attained. from your comedy, but you can also, if you choose to go to the path, you could be a better comedian because of your medical background, and we would allow you to do that as well. And that blew my mind because I didn't think anyone would invest in me.

Well, what if I decided to leave medicine? He was like, I'm cool with that. And not a lot of programs would support that mentality, but he did. Ironically, he kept me in medicine for much longer because he really gave me a balance worldview of what life is all about. And it was because of him, actually, I stayed. There were times I wanted to quit, and there were times I wanted to do, kind of just quit early. But it was because of him. I stayed and I practiced for seven years in L.A. at Kaiser Permanente. And I met my wife, who's also a physician and still practices part-time. And so medicine's a big part of my world.

of you. And I think having the stamina to follow through with something, as difficult as that, has definitely given me stamina now. Here we are like 14 seasons later on a show and me being in the business for as long as I have now. You know, I think it's given me, it's given me some indirect lessons and indirect benefits that I never thought I would get anywhere else. And I think it does come from my medical background, you know. Your jump to comedy is all the more extraordinary given how much you invested in medicine. I mean, you graduated high school and you're 16, I think. Yes.

You're the 1986 Greensboro Youth of the Year. Take a bow. Actually, my parents will love that. You said that. That matters more to them than anything I do now. I suspect it. It really does that. My parents will get a kick out of that.

Congratulations to get on that. Coming up on the 40th anniversary. That's what I'm telling my dad. You know, we were pinning this, not to Massa, we're pinning it to the 40th anniversary of the year. Yeah. I got a plaque from Mayor John Forbes. It was amazing.

So. We had to get it in. We had to get it in. So you got that plaque. That's huge. Go through Duke. You go through med school. You go through your residency.

And then as you said, when you moved to L.A., it wasn't like, I'm in show business. You work for seven years as a physician. Yeah. So when is the moment of, I'm out of medicine, I'm into comedy. When did you make that decision and that commitment? Yep, it was, when I worked at Kaiser,

I was also doing a stand-up comedy at the improv and laugh factory and open mics. I was just kind of, so during the day I'd be in the clinic and at night, I just would just compete for stage time. And then got an agent and I started auditioning. And it led to my first movie. which was knocked up. It was directed by Judd Apatow and playing a physician. And he was looking for someone with a comedy background and someone with a medical background.

And it was really serendipitous. And, I mean, it was a long process where, you audition and then, you know, 90% of the time you don't get the part. And that's the name of the game. And so I remember putting myself on tape and just kind of forgot about it. And a couple of months later, I was invited to a table read. And it turned out, I remember specifically Seth Rogen had said, like Evan Goldberg, his partner, and I watched your audition real, you know, we really believed you're a burned out doctor. And I was saying without any irony or not doing it, I said, because I am. You know, I really, and I had one of those magical moments where I was very fortunate.

I had a great table read. And it was almost like being at the free throw line. It's like, you know, or it's like, it's like Leitner in 92 with the shot. And I was able to have maybe my one and only clutch moment that it just happened at the right place, at the right time on this table read. And I do remember Judd Apatow saying, fantastic job. And I did have a feeling I'd get the part in a few days later. I got the part. And, you know, it really just, that was the, but I still have my medical date job. And so I shot it on a vacation day.

Is that right? Yeah, it was only like, you know, it was really a small part. And because even then I was very practical. I didn't necessarily think that, oh, this is going. I was mature enough to think, oh, this is not going to, it's not like my world's going to change overnight. You know, and so I, it was that emotional maturity I think I attained being a physician and saying, just because you get a part in a movie, you know, it doesn't mean as long as,

And my dad, I had given credit, taught me that. He was like, if you're going to go into acting, which he gave me his full support, if you're going to go in acting, do it because you love it. Don't do it because you're famous. You want to be rich. You want any of that stuff. Just do it because you love it. And you have to have an end.

And I think in my 30s, which is when I shot that movie, God, I actually, it's about almost going on 20 years since I shot that movie. Yeah. Yeah. And in 06, I think summer of 06 is when I shot that movie. And it really was the game changer. And it was my wife who encouraged me to quit my job and do it full time. And I was nervous telling my dad. And my dad was like, look, if you, if, and to his everlasting credit, he said,

you always need to support of your family to make a watershed decision like this. If you have, and your wife is now your family. If you have her blessing, you have my blessing. And then so I was able to go into show business full time guilt. guilt-free and debt-in-emotional, emotionally debt-free. I had no issue. So once the hangover happened, I was able to have a very healthy mindset and it wasn't like revenge success. See, Dad! It wasn't like that. See? You know, like, I think Jimmy Kim was the first talk show I went on when the hangover happened. It wasn't like, hey, how does it be famous? I don't know,

Dad. How does it feel? You know, didn't have any of those. told you, didn't have any of those hangups. And I think psychologically, just having that was very important to me. And I think to have that kind of mindset of no psychological debt was really important to me. And I'm sure having the validation of Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, all those guys saying, you're funny, that'll push you down the road. That was being, you're coronated by Kings. Yeah. I mean, just to have their approval, I mean, it's.

still, it still matters to me. And it gave me the confidence. And Judd had said, like, you, you are my discovery and I will put you in all my movies. And then he knew I quit my day job. And he gave me day player roles in Pineapple Express, like stepbrothers, just like one-line roles. And he'd helped me out so greatly. He gave me roles in a couple of movies that eventually, I think, were either recast or I was doing so many Judd movies at once, I couldn't do them all, and I still got paid for it.

And I've never told anyone that. It still got paid for it that day. And he, at least five Apothal projects, he took care of me. And he does this with everyone. That's why people love him so much because he took care of me. And I remember after the hangover,

I saw him at an Emmy party, and he said, are you doing the sequel? And I said, yeah. And he said, great, I don't have to worry about you anymore. Just walks away. Those are really, like, really, I get choked up thinking about that. That's really cool. Yeah.

Yeah. And there are a lot of people in Hollywood who have similar versions of that story. Yeah. With him, I think. Absolutely. Everyone who's worked with Judd at that level has a similar story. I think the way you put it is, knocked up, opened the door for your career, hangovers, blew it open.

Yeah. That phenomenon. We talked about K-pop demon hunters, but long before that, this phenomenon of the biggest movie in the country, the biggest movie in the world, one of the funniest movies of all time. People still go back and quote it and watch it, especially your lines. What was that experience for you being relatively unknown actor and then being this international star? It gave me a career. It's literally the reason why I'm talking to you right now. I'm not here if it wasn't for The Hangover. It just was looking back. I was already happy with the way my career was. was going already and for it to happen. I don't know if I, it, it was so intense overnight success, you know, and I'm sure, I'm sure all the guys have told you that, you know, have said that and have felt that.

It just, I like, it changed my life from black and white to technical. It just, I remember going to, we live in L.A. and we go to a suit. Me and my wife went to a sushi restaurant where we always go for the past, I don't know, five years prior to the hangover and then go in, like, right after the hangover's released, everyone's just staring at me

and just everything, it's like, oh, okay, I guess everything's changed. Right. And it's quickly, too, I imagine. Quickly, yeah. Yeah. Even though I had quietly done this maybe for seven years in L.A. or just, you know, doing stand-up.

But, and Jim Carrey's right. It does take 10 years to be this overnight success. But once you are that overnight success, it's intense. And it's, it was, I don't know, it was for a person like me who didn't even think that they would even be able to have a shot at doing it full time, I was actually very happy and grateful. I mean, so for me, and I think it helped that I wasn't the lead. I was able to, like you had Bradley, Ed and Zach and Todd, you know, those were the starting. I was like, they always put me in a position to succeed.

So I was really kind of like the guy off the bench that could shoot the three. I know we're doing a lot of basketball. I was like Mr. Reliable. Right. I was always that guy that, you know, Lakers speak, I was Michael Cooper. Whatever. I just come off the bench. Yeah, just always reliable and always put in a position to succeed.

They would emphasize my strengths, hide my flaws. And I was just like, you know, I was just always just golden. I was always just that guy. And so I was always protected. And I think that actually helped me psychologically that, A, I got my fame later in life because Hangover came out when I was 40. And then so being famous at 40 is healthy, healthier. You're an adult.

And also, I think the fact that I was protected in many ways, I was kind of the grateful bench player. And I'm not saying that to demean myself or anything. It just, but I think it's a healthy thing. And I think that it's allowed me to find my own voice and find my own kind of niche and diversifying into other projects like Mask Singer and like K-pop Demon Hunters and like other things that I do that aren't necessarily in movies that I've been able to find and continue to kind of find my own voice. I was watching some scenes again this morning and the trunk scene.

remains one of the most outrageous things I've ever seen in a movie. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the nudity your idea? That was your idea. Like, it wasn't scripted that way. No, it was not. You're like, I think Chow should be totally nude. It was the scene. Yep, it was, he was supposed to have pants, supposed to have slacks, and I had this idea.

And at that time, I was only known for knocked up and playing a doctor. and then reading the script and being a fan of old school, that was Todd Phillips' previous movie, you know, he's just so good at building suspense and tension and chaos. He's the best arbiter of chaos in the comedy movie. And so you had Mike Tyson, you had a tiger, what could be, how can you top that? And I was like, oh, the dude from knocked up just jumped out of a trunk naked.

And it was something that I was just so locked into character. Anyone who knows me, I don't, I'm not an exhibitionist. I don't, like, I've been asked on countless movies and award shows, hey, will you be naked in this? Like, absolutely not. Right. That's a one-time thing. Or a hangover thing, maybe in sequels.

But I will, like, I cannot, I will never do that ever again. And it's because at that time, I did feel like this was right for the movie. It was right for my character. And I had given it a lot of thought. And I felt like this was the right. And do I have the balls, no pun intended to do it? And I did. And it was nerve-wracking, but I did talk to my wife about it.

And she did say, and I talk about it in my stand-up, my stand-up special, it was true. She said, this will be the feel-good movie of the summer because every guy will go home feeling good about themselves. She's actually said that. And not to bring it down at all, but it was, my wife was going through, she's a breast cancer survivor. And cancer-free since, since guys almost going on 18-year. years now. And she, I think what made it even more dramatic was I almost didn't do the hangover when it was, I had auditioned and when it was offered because Tran was, she just got diagnosed and going through chemotherapy at that time. And it was, but she was, her tumor levels

had diminished down to normal levels after the first dose of chemo. and talking it over with everybody on the medical team and on with my wife. And also, shout out to my mother-in-law as well, who was helping out. They were all like, you know, our twin girls were one-year-old at the time. And I didn't have a job. And I just quit my medical job. And they were like, you should do the movie. It's just a couple of, again, it was only like a two-day role.

Like, knocked up. It wasn't that large apart. And so, and I give, Scott Budnick, one of the producers, all the credit, he and Todd and the studio, they flew me out just to do my scenes and flew me right back to be with Tran and be back with her during her chemo. So I didn't miss a beat in many ways. I just went out shot. So ironically, in The Hangover, Mr. Chow's known, you know, whenever I go to Vegas now, I'm always known as Mr. Chow. But while filming the movie, I was only there for two days. I didn't realize that.

You're so prominent in my memory of vision of that movie. And that was Todd being gracious and generous and the movie being as impactful as it is as it is. But it wasn't, yeah, I was not there most of the time. And it was, again, one of those now revisiting it all these years later. I'm just, yeah, it's like a dream. I mean, it really is. And yeah, when I say it out loud, I still can't believe that any of that happened.

But again, just having that support system of those guys, even the hangover. And I did a movie with Bradley Cooper prior to that. So he and Todd Phillips had known about Tran situation. And Todd had said, like, every day I was on said, and only those few days. It was like, yeah, just always ask how Tran was doing. and he comes from a family of, like,

I think his sister's a pediatric oncologist or, like, you know, okay. So I don't know, just, in many ways, I view maybe the raunchiest, dirtiest movie I've ever been a part of, like, the most warm set behind the scenes. Right. And subsequently in the sequels,

like, and Tran would come on said. Like in Tang River Two, she came to Thailand with me, and it was, so emotional for me because she got to enjoy it and be there with me. And it was so, again, it's funny. It's ironic to say how, again, the dirtiest movie of all time was so warm and wonderful to me and my life behind the scenes. I can't even repay them enough. So even if the hammer wasn't the success that it was, I think in many ways, Mr. Chow was such a therapeutic character.

And I was making choices that I wouldn't necessarily make right now. being naked in movies and doing things like because I think I was going through a time where you know I was like just life is short and you just got to just whatever your instinct is you just got to go for it just got to go for it take that three you know take that shot don't be afraid and and and be fearless I'm not always to be honest I'm not always like that and to this day and but I think for that moment I was you know gave your wife a laugh with the nudity when she needed it Yeah, she had. And it was...

Masking the pain with a laugh. Yeah, masking the pain with a laugh. And it's funny, I'm Korean and she's a Vietnamese, she's Vietnamese, and so there is so much nonsense in Mr. Chow. I would literally just speak gibberish in Vietnamese to make her laugh. And just to see if it would make the cut, I didn't tell anybody. So when we're releasing, like, Mike Epps, you know, and I'm like, you know, I was like, got check!

And it sounds like release the hostage, you know? And in Vietnamese it means chicken die. It was just such a weird. I would just say all these random phrases. And I would say, I was like, ah, come on. And then Todd kept thinking, I was saying, come on. I love it how you say, come on. Like, come on, let's go.

And, you know, gamong is thank you in Vietnamese. So there's all these little, like, Easter eggs in the movie that make me and Tran laugh. That's amazing. So at least three Vietnamese phrases in the first one. Stick around for more. of my conversation with Ken Jong right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Ken Jong. I think I know the answer to this, but what's the line from the hangover you hear the most from people on the street?

Is it Tudaloo? It's Tudaloo. Yeah. It's Tudaloo. It's happened to me. I was at an ATM one day in this guy. kind of convertible, just stops and just stares at me, and the light is green. And when light goes green, he goes, to do, lo, my that f***.

It just drives away. So it just didn't say anything else, didn't say I was a fan. You're like, there's my legacy. That's my legacy. Yeah. And, but no, I, for me, just to, I don't know, it's just for people to know that about me and, and, and, and, and to smile. You know, it just, I don't know, it's a gift. It's a gift.

It's just a gift. And, and, and, and, and, and, and, and you know, you, you, you want to, you want to do as best as you can to, to service that. And again, I've, you know, I'm, we're all human, we're not perfect, but, but there is a part of me always that I, I recognize that's such a gift, man. And I'll never, you know, if that's, if that's what I'm known for, for the rest of my life, it's just what a great thing to be known for. Yeah, not bad. Another gift we were talking about earlier is community, which has been this kind of cult favorite for a long time. And I feel like during COVID, it became something else. Like a whole other wave or another generation.

Yeah. Got it and experienced it. That thing. That's another one that just keeps growing with time. It's my kid's favorite thing I've ever been on. And the fact that they, like Dan Harmon's writing, he, he's like a poet. He has a lyricism to it. There's a lyricism to his writing.

And there are certain writers in this business, too, that, you know, like Aaron Sorkin has a distinct style. You know, Wes Anderson has a distinct style. Like, Dan Harmon has a distinct cadence and style. Like, oh, okay, I know this was, I know this draft was written by Harmon themselves. You just knew. His wordplay, such a wordsmith. And like I said, there's a lyricism.

And this happened. This was great for me as an actor because it happened to me at the same time. I was doing the Hangover sequels. And Hangover was kind of like we were, like, in basketball terms, the ball is the spotlight, but we're kind of improvising our own plays because we know the system so well. That's part of our system is to improvise. Television, scripted television, community, we're on a tighter schedule.

It's not like that. So it's more like, hey, you got to play in a great pop of it system. Yeah, run the offense. You have to run the offense. doesn't matter. Great, you're talented? Great. Run the offense. You're not talented? Great. Run the offense. It doesn't matter. Run the offense. And so if Hangover made me famous, community

made me a better actor. Because I started out improvising a lot on community and everyone, including Harmon, is later telling me, what the hell was that? And then you realize, oh, you're a genius. Why didn't you tell me?

And then you realize that It just trust the words, trust the environment. Right. And just if you trust that environment, great things happen. So it gave me another, I don't know, it just gave me another skill set. So by the time I had my own sitcom, Dr. Ken, I was comfortable improvising. I was comfortable just going, just sticking the script. You know, and I think having that well-rounded game, I think community gave me that well-rounded game.

because, and then you got to rub elbows with the most talented people I've worked with over a long period of time where you work, you know, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Academy Award winner Jim Rash, Dan, the Russo brothers, you know. Yeah. Everybody, Ludwig Gorinza, who is the Oscar winning composer of Op and Iron Iron Black Hat, they're all came from community. It's wild. Yeah, it's wild. I mean, certainly had Joel McHale, who I learned nothing from, and never will. It's on the record. Willie asked me.

Wow. I didn't offer that. So. Staring down the barrel of the camera for that one. Just, just Joel McHale, which I don't know. Just some things you have to suffer through.

You know what I mean? Wow. Yeah. Like, I was going to have... Something my back hurt from carrying him from six seasons and possibly a movie. It's getting weird.

I mean, I wouldn't have brought it up if Willie hadn't asked me that question. You said possibly a movie? Possible. Are we doing the movie? I'm all... Come on. Got to do it.

We got to do a movie. That'd be amazing. I mean, it would... It literally is, getting everyone's schedule aligned. Yeah. Like, especially Donald, and I have to admit,

especially Joel, Joel's so busy, you know, he may or may not be, he may or may not be my best friend in the world and who I love dearly. He may or may not be that person. Right.

I don't know, Sunday today. I don't know. There's our promo. Yeah, there's our promo. Why are we talking about Joel McHale on my segment? Why are you making me talk about Joel McHale?

On my segment, Willie Geist. Well, I was going to ask you about animal control where you're back together with Joel, but I don't dare bring it up. Do I dare bring it up. You brought up Duke. Now what? You brought up my mom. And you brought up Joel McKell on two different projects. It is, Joel, again, community was like college where you make lifelong friends.

And Joel, I'm actually closer with Joel. Some people you're closer with after college than you are during college. and he's one of them. It was, we were always been friends, even during community. But we have so much in common. Like, we're just best friends. I mean, and we could be in another profession. We would just, I don't know.

And it was actually during the pandemic, too. We got even closer. And it was him. We did a podcast called The Darkest Timeline Podcast that was all his idea. And he wanted, we got to do a podcast. And for years. I was like, I'm busy, you know, using an excuse. And so when the lockdown happened, he goes,

he called, or anything you do it, call me. Now you do a podcast. And so we did it. And it was all Joel's concept of having, talking about issues at that time like COVID, based on my experience as a physician. And then we had interview friends, and namely friends from community. And we got everybody together do a table read. And it just became.

Yeah, people ate it up. And it happened riding on the coattails of the success of community on Netflix and on various streaming outlets. That actually led to a deal to do a movie. So I give Joel immense credit. And now he is hugely successful on his great show, Animal Control. It's only because of the supporting cast. That's right. They carry Joel.

Right. I mean, the supporting cast is outstanding. Joel is just there. And it is so... Wow. It's going all in. It is so much. It is so much fun. Again, I'm just getting paid to hang out with Joel. It is working with a brother.

It is, again, like basketball, he can read my mind where I'm going to go comedically. I can read his mind. So to have that shorthand, and I play his boss on the show. And it is just... It's just not work. It's literally not work. Because I, I, we would, we do bits all the time for free without a camera. Right.

And we're like, always, like, ragging on each other. So we just get to do it in front of a, in front of a camera now. It's just, again, just, I don't know. It's just playing hoops with an old friend. Yeah. It's just so easy. And, and again, so happy. Again, I, I am, I'm so happy for, for that cast.

It's a great show, great people. And it is, honestly. it's evolved to be one of my favorite shows I watch on television. I really, it's a great supporting cast. I mean, you know, Joel's just there, but... Again, Joel's just there. But it's so good. You were sincere, almost...

And then it fell apart right at the end. Well, I'm just upset. We haven't talked about Joel so much. On my segment, it's so upset. No, it's a great show. In the new season, I got to watch a couple episodes. Very funny. It's so...

It's so good. Yeah, yeah. And occasionally, you know, sometimes Joel is fun. on the show. Sometimes a broken clock is right twice a day. Well, you don't miss a chance, dude. Because when you interview, Joel, it's going to be even harsher, and I'll be on the set directing it. Great to see you, Kay. Thank you so much. So much fun. Thank you so much. Made you cry twice. Maybe the goal. Look at you. Oh, my goodness. Barbara Walters over chopping onions off camera and I'm crying. Look at you, man. All those, all those techniques.

You're like the Larry Bird of making people crying. That was Barbara Walter's trick, too. Talk about the 1990 Duk game. Barbara Streisand, just... After our sit-down conversation, Ken and I hopped up on the stage at Red Pavilion to talk about his early days of stand-up. This will take you back to your early days of stand-up, maybe? Yes. Do you remember the first time you got on a stage?

Yes, it was during med school. 30... Oh, God, 35 years ago at an open mic at a bar called the Berkeley Cafe. It was in Raleigh, North Carolina, and out of sheer panic, I brought, I think, 18 people to laugh at my jokes, and I still didn't do very well. Oh, it was...

Even your friends were like, no. No, my friends, I should have brought... I should have just left it to the drunks that were there at the bar. I think they were laughing more. It was very... It was very painful. Stand-up, I'll be honest, stand-up is still the most difficult thing I have ever attempted to do in the arts because you're by yourself.

I think I'm at my best where I'm part of an ensemble. I think I've made my success being a part of ensembles, like hangover, community, K-Pot Demon Hunter,'s, Mass Singer. But doing this by yourself, it's terrifying. I'm sure. It's terrifying. And even while doing my Netflix special, I had not done stand-up for, I think, nine years. And I just remember feverishly going to open my, I just did everything I could to just kind of get back in the headspace I was as a stand-up.

And, you know, it's very tough. And literally a shout-out to every single person that does stand-up because it's so much harder than what anyone ever thinks. It's mistakes are made. Things are said. You're workshopping jokes. You're workshopping stuff in real time in public in front of an audience. It's like Seinfeld has always said. It's like going to work in your underwear.

You know, you're trying out different clothes at the same time. And it's so difficult. It's a miracle, you know, one can have a cohesive 10-minute set, you know, and much less an hour. It's very, very hard. And for me it was, at least. Some people, it comes exceptionally easy. And that's why, you know, I don't do it as much. I'm to be brutally honest.

It can't? Especially if you know you don't have them out of the gate, you know, oh, I have 10 more minutes of this. Yes. Like, this is going to be long nights. Yes. I mean, it's one thing, and I've experienced that a lot now. Like, a few times I've done stand up since,

it's exactly, like, Jerry Seinfeld's movie comedian, sums it up that. Like, if you're famous, you have that few moments of grace. Right. And then, but after five minutes, you're like, if you're not fine, okay, man, get off the stage, yeah, please. Okay. It's just, you know, in many ways, there's nothing more democratic, you know, than, like, you have to earn it no matter who you are.

And there's something to be said about that. I think when Jerry was on this show, interviewed him at the Beacon, and I asked him that question about the crowd's all there to see you. They love you. He said, you come out, you get a big ovation. First couple minutes, that's for the past. Thank you for doing Seinfeld. And now, show me what you got today. And like you say, if it's not good, they're not going to laugh.

did a gig in Philly last month. It was a gig I couldn't legally get out of. And I was so stressed out, I made sure that all my jokes that were, it was really, really, really hard. And Philly is not a giving crowd necessarily. And so for me to come out unscathed, you know, was, was, was, was like the ultimate compliment. It was a win because I took it seriously. I was stressed out about it. More than, I was stressed out more about that than doing like mass singer or movies or things like that that can be demanding roles. You know, I did a drama recently.

And it was, I was the lead of this drama and I don't normally do dramas. And I was doing stand-up in Ben Salem, Pennsylvania was more terrifying because I just wanted to, do right by them. And it's just you up there. It's just me up there. Nowhere to hide.

Nowhere to hide. But it went well? It went well. I'm alive here still. I survived and able to talk to you about it now. So I think that's the big win. Philly will let you know. Philly will let you know.

And I think, you know, but that's the beauty of stand-up. The crowd will let you know. And you want to be around, you know you've achieved success. I'm not talking about me, but someone like Seinfeld that achieved success, when you can do it with people that will let you know. That is the ultimate sign. And it's not just about hooting and hollering and getting an ovation by your echo chamber of fans necessarily. But if it's by people that you're like, impress me, oh, okay, you did okay.

Yeah. That, that to me is a compliment. Good enough. Absolutely. All right. All right. So just give us your best 15 minutes. We'll be right here.

Guys, we'll be right back. Brilliant. Thank you. It was a little slow at the beginning when I said we, but when I said back, it could. Oh, they loved it. That's great. My big thanks again to Ken for a great conversation. You can catch him on the Masked Singer, Wednesdays on Fox, and Animal Control.

Also on Fox. That's on Thursday nights. My thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear more of our conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your own two eyes. I'm Willie Geist.

We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.