Steven Yeun is a South Korean-American actor. He portrayed Glenn Rhee in AMC's horror television series The Walking Dead from 2010 to 2016 and starred in the South Korean mystery film Burning. For the latter, he won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, among other awards. Yeun has also played supporting roles in the films Okja and Sorry to Bother You. He starred and executive produced the film Minari. Yeun is also a prolific voice actor, voicing main characters in ' , , Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, and '. He currently provides voices for Little Cato in Final Space and Speckle in Tuca & Bertie.
Yeun's interest in acting and improv came during his freshman year at Kalamazoo, when he watched the college's improv group, Monkapult. He auditioned for Monkapult, but was initially rejected before successfully joining the group during his sophomore year. Yeun revealed to his parents that he planned to pursue an improv career in Chicago instead of enrolling in law school or medical school. His parents, while unhappy with the decision, were supportive, according to Yeun, and gave him two years to pursue acting. Yeun moved to Chicago in 2005, living in the city's Lincoln Square with his brother. Shortly after graduation, he joined Stir Friday Night, a sketch comedy group composed of Asian-American members. Other alumni of the group include Danny Pudi from Community. He joined The Second City in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in October 2009.
''The Walking Dead''
Yeun's biggest role to date was Glenn Rhee on The Walking Dead, an AMC television horror drama based on the comic book series of the same name. The series began in 2010 with Glenn as one of the original main characters who fights to survive in a violent apocalyptic world infested with flesh-eating walkers as well as other humans, some of whom are more dangerous than the walkers. The drama is the highest rated series in cable television history, with its third through sixth season garnering the most 18 to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series. The series has received mostly positive reviews from professional television critics. Yeun left the show in 2016 after his character Glenn was killed off in the season 7 premiere.
Yeun has also voice acted in both animated series and films. Some of these roles include Avatar Wan in season 2 of The Legend of Korra, Steve Palchuk in Trollhunters and 3Below, Keith in , Nathan Park/Wingspan in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Little Cato in Final Space, and Speckle in Tuca & Bertie. It was later revealed that Yeun's role as Steve Palchuk would continue into Wizards, the third series of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy. The first season of 3Below was released on Netflix on December 21, 2018, and the second and final season was released on July 12, 2019. In late 2018, Yeun landed a main role in an episode of Jordan Peele's revival of The Twilight Zone. He next will voice act in eight-episode animated series Invincible adapting Robert Kirkman's comic book series. The series will release on Amazon Prime in 2020.
Personal life
Yeun is an investor of The Bun Shop, a Korean-Mediterranean fusion restaurant in Koreatown, Los Angeles, owned by his younger brother Brian Yeun and business partner James Seok. Yeun married photographer Joana Pak on December 3, 2016. They have two children together. Having grown up in Michigan, Yeun is a longtime Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings fan.
