Biography
Hong Kong-born actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang, best known for playing Jian Yang on HBO's hit comedy "Silicon Valley" (2014- ), moved with his family to America when he was 13. There, he immediately began absorbing his new country's culture. Yang was especially drawn to American comedy, particularly the works of such comedians as Dave Chappelle and George Lopez, and would spend hours memorizing both comics' best material. Yang secretly harbored a career ambition to one day become a comedian, but throughout his teens, he never saw that as much more than a fantasy. Yang went to college at the University of California San Diego where he studied management science. He spent all four years at the university concentrated on his studies, and had every intention on making a stable career for himself in his chosen field upon graduation. But, as luck would have it, his graduation commencement speech was given by none other than Mike Judge, creator of such iconic shows as MTV's "Beavis and Butt-Head" (1993-97, 2011), whose personal story about quitting physics to pursue a career in comedy inspired Yang to do the same. Hence, after graduation Yang took the few thousand dollars he had saved and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a standup comedian. He quickly landed an agent and started performing at clubs all throughout the country, whilst making a name for himself as a hot young comic on the rise. His breakout moment came in 2014 when he nabbed a spot to perform his standup act on the revamped "The Arsenio Hall Show" (Syndication, 2013-14). Yang's performance earned him a standing ovation, and it wasn't long after that he made his debut as Jian Yang on HBO's "Silicon Valley." The popularity of "Silicon Valley" made Yang a household name amongst the show's devoted fans. In 2016 Yang turned to more serious fare when he played a young man held captive by the Tsarnaev Brothers in "Patriots Day," which was about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. His role in the film, was widely acclaimed, introduced Yang to a much larger audience, while further cementing his status as one of America's most talked about young entertainers.
