“Hungover” in Branford Courtyard: Ken Jeong encourages Yalies to find art in the everyday
Ken Jeong shared advice on choosing between creative and conventional careers and spoke to a packed auditorium about his experience acting in “The Hangover” and “Community.”

YuLin Zhen, Photography Editor
On Thursday, Jan. 23, dozens of Yale students eagerly waited outside the 53 Wall St. Auditorium to see one person: actor, comedian and physician Ken Jeong.
Jeong was invited to give a “DramaTalk,” an event hosted by the Yale Dramatic Association, or Dramat. More than 250 people had registered on Yale Connect for the talk, and many stood in line on the waitlist.
Jeong is best known for his comedic work in “Knocked Up,” “The Hangover,” “Community,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Masked Singer.” Throughout the talk, Jeong flaunted his signature wit, while fielding questions from the audience, as well as moderator Adam Buchsbaum ’27.
“I’m paid an enormous amount of money to be stupid, and it’s amazing,” Jeong said when reflecting on his role as a judge of the Masked Singer.
With the seats packed, audience members sat on the floor in front of the stage and some stood on the balcony. For many students in the audience, the story of the physician-turned-actor resonated with their struggle between creative and conventional career tracks.
Buchsbaum, the DramaTalk coordinator, said that he was looking forward to hearing about Jeong’s career pivot.
“I’m really excited to hear about his career, particularly in switching from medicine to comedy, especially within the context of this as an educational experience for a lot of students,” said Buchsbaum. “And I know many people here who have these phenomenal creative outputs, but they’re also studying STEM.”
Once Buchsbaum introduced Jeong to the audience, the actor received a warm welcome of applause. He immediately jumped into action and jokingly picked on a student, Elizabeth Richards ’28, who cheered after he told the audience he was from North Carolina.
When Richards told him she lived near Greensboro, Jeong joked that she was his daughter. According to Richards, her father is a “huge fan” of Jeong, and she couldn’t wait to tell her dad.
“Ken is phenomenal. He’s been so enthusiastic and wonderful,” Buchsbaum, who organized the event, stated. “When I emailed him, he sent back emojis, and then a GIF of himself putting up heart hands. And the whole time he’s been really enthusiastic about coming.”
During the talk, Jeong explained his connection to Yale and spoke about visiting Yale to accompany his wife, Tran Ho ’94, for her class reunions.
“I had passed out at Branford Courtyard in ’04” he said, recalling a photo taken of him while he was inebriated in true “Hangover” fashion. “I love it here.”
During the talk, he recognized that his wife’s support played a crucial role in his decision to pursue acting full-time. He described “The Hangover” as a “cathartic” film for him to act in, as his wife was undergoing chemotherapy to treat breast cancer during the time.
While filming, Jeong said, he told himself to follow the opposite of his instincts. Normally, he would prepare intensely and intentionally for his roles. “But for ‘The Hangover,’ there was no thought.”
Jeong emphasized the importance of family support and the camaraderie among actors on “The Hangover” set, which, he said, also applied to the other casts he has worked with. He said that the “Community” text thread is still very active.
“My career legacy is seen in text chains,” he said jokingly.
Jeong described his role on the show as Señor Chang as his “conservatory.” He said that working alongside the series creator and showrunner, Dan Harmon, had helped him grow as an actor. To fans in the audience, he teased the film adaptation of “Community.”
During the Q&A, when a student asked Jeong about how to choose a career at such an early age and how to set goals to limit distraction from other paths, he encouraged them to persist.
“This is not the end game,” said Jeong about college. “You know, this is just chapter one. This is act one of your script. And it’s okay to have this almost overwhelming embarrassment of choices to go through.”
When Jeong was asked if he regretted beginning his career in medicine and instead wished to pursue drama from the onset, he responded: no.
According to Jeong, his medical background helped him assist a woman suffering a petit mal seizure mid-performance during a comedy show in Phoenix.
Jeong left the audience with one final piece of advice.
“The one thing I encourage everyone to do is to find art in whatever you do,” said Jeong. “Find art in your science, find art in your global policy. Find art everywhere you go.”
Jeong is a licensed physician in California.