Jimmy O. Yang

Biography

**Jimmy O. Yang** (born Au-yeung Man-sing on June 11, 1987) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and author. Recognized for his sharp comedic timing, deadpan wit, and relatable immigrant humor, he achieved international recognition for his breakout role as Jian-Yang on the HBO comedy series *Silicon Valley* (2014 to 2019) and Bernard Tai in the blockbuster romantic comedy *Crazy Rich Asians* (2018). Born in Hong Kong, Yang immigrated with his family to Los Angeles, California, at the age of thirteen. He attended the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), graduating with a degree in economics. While working at a financial consulting firm, he felt drawn to comedy and began performing open-mic sets at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood. He eventually quit finance to pursue entertainment full time, balancing stand-up gigs with odd jobs as a DJ, comedy club doorman, and used car salesperson before landing guest spots on shows like *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia* and *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* In 2014, Yang was cast as Jian-Yang, the deadpan, cunning software developer in Mike Judge's *Silicon Valley*. Originally conceived as a one-line guest part, his hilarious dynamic and antagonistic banter with T.J. Miller's Erlich Bachman impressed the showrunners, earning him a promotion to series regular from season two through the series finale. His performance turned Jian-Yang into one of the most quotable, fan-favorite characters on the show. In 2018, he published his humorous memoir, *How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents*, detailing his journey from Hong Kong to Hollywood. Yang achieved major film success in 2018 with Jon M. Chu's cultural phenomenon *Crazy Rich Asians*, where his scene-stealing performance as the ostentatious, bachelor-party-throwing Bernard Tai earned widespread laughs. He subsequently showcased dramatic depth as real-life carjacking survivor Dun Meng in Peter Berg's Boston Marathon bombing thriller *Patriots Day* (2016). His extensive film credits also include the comedies *Life of the Party* (2018), *Like a Boss* (2020), *The Opening Act* (2020), the holiday rom-com *Love Hard* (2021) as leading man Josh Lin, and the action comedy *Easter Sunday* (2022). On television, Yang reteamed with Steve Carell as Dr. Chan Kaifang in the Netflix workplace satire *Space Force* (2020 to 2022), where he also contributed as a staff writer. He starred as Danny Ho in the Hulu mystery drama series *Interior Chinatown* (2024), based on Charles Yu's National Book Award-winning novel. He has released popular stand-up specials, including *Good Deal* (2020) and *Guess How Much?* (2023), and voiced characters in animated hits like *Wish Dragon* (2021) and *The Monkey King* (2023). Moving fluidly between stand-up, screen acting, writing, and voice performance, he remains one of the most prominent Asian American voices in modern entertainment.