Jimmy O. Yang, one of the most popular actors and stand-up comedians in the world right now, indirectly motivated his father to become an actor. In one of his past interviews, Yang explained that his father also pursued acting when he bagged a role in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley.
The actor explained that he expected his father to praise him for getting the role but instead, he took it as a challenge and pursued acting. Eventually, his father, Richard Ouyang, appeared in one of the most popular TV shows in China. In fact, Yang’s father has also played his on-screen father in 2016’s Patriots Day.
Jimmy O. Yang’s father became a popular actor while trying to outdo him
In 2020, actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang appeared on Joe Rogan Experience and revealed that his father, Richard Ouyang, got motivated to become an actor after he bagged a role in the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley. Yang said,
“Eventually, when I got on Silicon Valley, the old man understands what a contract is, a serious regular job, on HBO – He’s acting. He got it so, he was finally happy I was financially secure so, instead of ever giving it up and say, ‘Hey Jimmy, good job I’m proud of you, maybe I was wrong, good for you.’ You know what he said, he was like, ‘Oh it’s so easy, you can do it I can probably do it,’ and he started becoming an actor.”
Richard Ouyang signed with the same talent agency his son signed with, Vesta Talent Agency, and became an actor. As for his son, Yang initially started as a stand-up comedian and made his television debut on the CBS series 2 Broke Girls in 2012.
Jimmy O. Yang’s father eventually appeared in one of the most popular shows in China
Yang further explained that he hoped his father would understand the struggle after becoming an actor, however, it backfired as his father became popular,
“I was with a very small agency at the time, I’m like, I’m gonna sign you up with her see if she needs an older Asian guy because there’s not a lot of older Asian guys out there competing so, she signed him – I was like good good good, you are gonna go to auditions and understand how f**king hard my life is, all the rejections I face, all the nerves I got to deal with, but then the plan completely backfired – He went to those auditions and killed it. He booked his first six out of ten jobs.”
Eventually, Richard Ouyang bagged a lot of acting gigs, including a role in Xiao Ba Ba / Little Daddy (2013), which became one of the most popular shows in China. Yang joked that his relatives thought he got his acting skills from his father but the reality was different.
