Steven Yeun: Hot-headed role, slow-burn career

Steven Yeun’s performance as a contractor sent over the edge by a road-rage incident in Netflix’s “Beef” has positioned him as a front-runner for a limited series lead actor Emmy and enhanced his growing reputation as an artistically driven performer with mass appeal.

2010

Yeun began his steady climb to TV and film stardom with a six-year run on the hugely popular AMC horror series “The Walking Dead.”

2018

Yeun won critical acclaim for his subtly chilling portrayal of a wealthy mystery man in South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong’s psychological thriller film “Burning.”

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The National Society of Film Critics and Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. named Yeun best supporting actor for “Burning” — his most prestigious awards so far.

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In 2021, Yeun became the first Asian American actor nominated for a lead Oscar, for his sensitive portrayal of a Korean American farmer in “Minari.” This performance also brought Yeun …

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… other nominations, from the Screen Actors Guild and critics groups across the U.S.

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Yeun could become the third actor of Asian descent to win a limited series lead Emmy, after Riz Ahmed (“The Night Of”) and Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace”).

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Although the Emmys have made small strides in representation in recent years, Ahmed and Criss are two of only five Asian or Asian American performers to win Emmys in the awards’ history.