Rise to Fame
At 32, he was still working at Starbucks while appearing on MTV. Fresh Off the Boat broke the pattern in 2015, the first Asian American family sitcom on network TV in over 20 years. He was the first actor cast, a Korean American playing a Taiwanese patriarch. As Louis Huang, the relentlessly cheerful dad running a steakhouse in Orlando, he anchored six seasons of a show that didn't fit what Hollywood thought it could sell. The show shouldn't have existed by network math. It ran longer than most shows with better odds.
In the Spotlight
Agent Jimmy Woo was supposed to be a bit part. WandaVision turned him into a fan favorite, which is how Marvel works when it works. The more interesting move was Shortcomings in 2023, his feature directorial debut, adapting Adrian Tomine's graphic novel. It premiered at Sundance and landed at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, making clear he wasn't content to be the MCU's steady character actor. The Residence (Netflix, 2025) gave him a genuine prestige lead. Two more features are in the works. He's not peaking. He's pivoting.
Side Notes
The UCLA thread in his career is easy to miss. He co-founded an Asian American theater company at UCLA in 1995, followed up with an MA in Asian American Studies, and spent his twenties writing plays and web series before anyone handed him a network role. His production company, his advocacy, and his collaboration with Ali Wong all trace back there. He and Wong shared an improv group before either was famous and later co-wrote Always Be My Maybe, one of Netflix's better romantic comedies. Running the New York City Marathon at 50 in November 2024 was exactly on brand.