Steven Yeun recently became the first Asian American to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. He received the historic nomination for his role in Minari, a film which earned a total of six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. But before he was starring in movies or TV shows, Yeun was studying at Kalamazoo College. His major was Psychology with a minor in Theatre.
“I can still remember a scene that he did in class that I let go on and on, because I wanted to see how they would resolve it,” Dr. Ed Menta said. “It was some ridiculous thing, and he and his partner evolved this thing where the grandmother was locked in the wall and they couldn't get her out, and it just kept going on and on and on. It's one of my favorite memories of him.”
Menta is a retired theatre professor from Kalamazoo College, and Yeun was one of his students.
“He was an unbelievably energetic guy, sensitive guy, positive guy. He was bold and strong in his choices,” Menta said. “He got to have the experience of being in front of a live audience, of listening to his scene partner, of reading an audience, where the scene is going, just the basic skills you need as an actor.”
Yeun was also actively involved in Monkapult, the school’s student-run improv group.
“He did not get on to Monkapult until his second year,” Lukia Artemakis, a senior Monkapult member, said. “And so we kind of use that as messaging to new people coming in. ‘Success is not just instantaneous,’ or ‘you aren't just good at things.' It's something he had to work at a little bit more, and now look where he is.”
Menta refuses to take any credit for Yeun’s success, despite being one of his first acting coaches.
“I really think it's because of the college, and it's because of the other students around him who really helped him get off on the right foot,” he said. “Believe me, if I could take credit, I would.”
Menta, along with many current Monkapult members, have been keeping a close eye on Yeun, who rose to prominence as Glenn on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
“I have to confess, I had trouble following The Walking Dead, not because of anything with the show, but because I was so starstruck when Steven was on that I would look at the episode and say ‘Wow, Steve’s got another close up!” Menta said. “So I wasn't really listening or paying attention to the show, because I was so proud of him.”
“I think there's a lot of pride on campus right now, with his recent success,” Alonte Mitchell, a senior member, said. “A lot of people are really talking about it, and it's really sparking a lot of conversations.”
Asian American students, in particular, say they’re inspired by the 37-year-old actor.
“Being at Kalamazoo College, which is a predominantly white institution, can be a bit disheartening at times because of a lack of understanding or lack of accommodations,” Rebecca Chan, a junior Monkapult member, said. “To see that he went through this institution and has been able to do really great work and do work that is so specific to his background is another thing that's really inspiring to me.”
“It's so great to know that despite all the focus we get for our racial and ethnic identity, we're qualified actors, we're qualified performers and workers,” Ynika Yuag, a senior Monkapult member, said. “It's only one part of us that's our race or our ethnic identity. That's only one part of our story.”
Menta said he still corresponds with Yeun through email, mostly to compliment his ever-expanding body of work.
“We're really proud of him,” he said. “The fact that he's an artist, and then also that he seems to have handled his career with such unbelievable class and grace, and been a role model for not just Asian Americans and Korean Americans, in particular, but I think really for people who want to somehow make their living as artists. A pretty good model is Steven Yeun.”
Even though Yeun did not win the Oscar for Best Actor, his career does not seem to be slowing down. According to multiple online publications, he will soon be seen in the film adaptation of “The Humans,” formerly on Broadway. Yeun is also in talks to star in Jordan Peele’s next horror film which is still in pre-production.
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