If you're a persistent soul artistically, you'll find the truth of your art.
— Ken Jeong
When you're working with your friends, it doesn't feel like it's work.
During the day, I was a doctor. At night, you know, I was a comic. And it was really just to let off some steam. It just became my golf, you know, in many ways. Most doctors have golf as a hobby. Mine was doing comedy.
Comedy was always an escape for me; I just happened to be a doctor.
I think critics tend to think that comedy is freakin' math. Like, this is the Pythagorean Theorem. They're not sophisticated enough to know that comedy is fluid, that it evolves, and these organic evolutions are what you have to embrace.
'Community' was a very important part of my growth as an actor. I see it as my acting school, not having a lot of formal acting training.
I think the key to being a good parent is to individualize your love for each child.
I wake up in the morning crying, and I'll tell you why. It's because I look at myself in the mirror, and then I say, 'It'll get better.'
A lot of people don't know the passion I have for Asian American cinema.
I'm very blessed that I have such a supportive wife who is secure with letting me embarrass myself.
Medicine really matured me as a person because, as a physician, you're obviously dealing with life and death issues, issues much more serious than what we're talking about in entertainment. You can't get more serious than life and death. And if you can handle that, you can handle anything.
It was my wife that insisted I do 'The Hangover.'
Sitcom food is by far the tastiest of all showbiz food.
I'm definitely a people pleaser. I like people to be happy around me and be comfortable. I go out of my way, sometimes to a fault, to make sure everyone is okay.
You just can't take the doctor out of you.
You can't get through medical school if you don't have a strong will and a strong constitution.
I always say 'Knocked Up' opened the doors, and 'Hangover' just burst it wide open. To this day, it's still surreal. And my wife's a doctor. All our friends are doctors - our close friends. And it's just that I have an odd job now. I think I'm like a doctor who had a detour, and I just have an odd job.
I do think 'Dr. Ken,' at its heart, is about a great doctor who's a bit burned out. But even when I was a burned-out doctor, I was still happy and had a life outside of work.
I'm not really a helicopter dad or tiger dad per se. If anything, I try to not do that, but I get anxious while I'm trying to be relaxed about raising my kids.
I think, at the end of the day, you should just be judged by your work, not on what effect it might have on the world or your community.
I've been fortunate to work with some amazing Asian filmmakers in independent film.
There is something special and different about being a father to twin daughters.
'The King of Masked Singer,' as they call it in Korea, it's the most popular show in Korea, and it's my mom's favorite show.
I'm not lying, every single project I've done, they've all been great.
I think I've been asked just about every question under the sun. I'm just really honored that people are even interested in asking me questions.
When I finished my residency in New Orleans, I went to L.A. where I would work as a doctor during the day, and then at night I would actually go to The Improv and do standup, all the while kind of cultivating my comedy resume.
I really realize the more movies I do just how important - it's so cliche when people say it, because everybody says it nowadays - but it's so important to keep it grounded. I totally understand what that means.
You can have all the tools in the world but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.
I grew up in North Carolina, and I grew up on wrestling.
I'll never leave 'Community,' no matter what. You're either a lifer, or you're not.
I never let on I was a comedian. I never acted out. It was really important to me, like, to not be Patch Adams. I was so super serious as a doctor, I would bark orders to my nurses. I was hard-core. I wanted to make sure I did my job right. I was perfectly trained to be a physician. You know, it wasn't a fluke. I worked hard at it.
I was a very efficient doctor. I would get rewarded with a lot more patients. By the end of my medical career, I had maybe 2,000 patients in my practice.
Artists aren't role models. If you want to do that, go into politics.
That's what I loved about 'Community' - we had one of the most diverse casts on TV, but we didn't emphasize culture. And yet, we also didn't run away from it.
The best thing I can recommend is to listen to your child. I really mean that.
I have my own show. I get to work in Hollywood on my own project. If I can still make it back home by eight to put the kids in bed, then wow: I am having my cake and eating it, too.
We're all conditioned to work hard, and it's not just an Asian thing: it's an Asian American thing. You maximize the little opportunity you have, and I've made a career.
I always just loved to laugh. I always just loved it as a kid.
There's really no substitute for working hard. I think that's my biggest talent. There are always people who are funnier and more talented than I am, but I don't take anything for granted and I commit myself 100% to each of my roles.
I have a very simple approach in career: You work with the people you love.
I went to Duke, which is... a Top Five school. Not community college. But whatever.
I wasn't sued out of medicine, I wasn't arbitrated out of the profession.
I think everyone's different but in comedy, I try to do my scene to make the director and the other actors laugh. If I can make them laugh and we have the same sensibility, then I'm on the right page.
