Andrea Bang

Andrea Bang
Bang in February 2024
Born (1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 (age 35)
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
Occupation(s)Actress, writer
Years active2011–present
RelativesDiana Bang (sister)
Websitewww.andreabang.com Edit this at Wikidata

Andrea Bang (born 2 May 1989)[1] is a Canadian actress and screenwriter from Burnaby, British Columbia. She is best known for playing Janet Kim in the CBC comedy Kim's Convenience, for which she was nominated three times at the Canadian Screen Awards. She has appeared in A Million Little Things, Fresh and Running with Violet.

Early life and education

Bang was born in Burnaby, British Columbia[1][2] to Korean immigrant parents.[3] Her sister, Diana Bang, is also an actress and writer.[3] Bang attended Burnaby North Secondary School[4] and was in the chorus in a school production of Bye Bye Birdie.[5][6]

Bang graduated in 2012 with a degree in psychology from University of British Columbia, while also taking acting lessons.[3][7] In 2017, she told the Vancouver Sun:

For the longest time, I kept my interest in acting a secret. Minus a select few, no one really knew. I played around with so many different non-acting career paths. Finally, one day I said 'screw it.' I got an agent and a job that allowed me to audition—and the rest is history.[5]

Bang's parents, who had immigrated from Korea,[6] initially found it "distressing" that Andrea and her sister, Diana Bang, had chosen to pursue acting as a career, but have since become fully supportive.[3]

Career

In 2015, Bang won a best actress (Summer Award) at the Asians on Film Festival for her debut movie performance as Francesca in the short film Playdate.[6] In 2016, she landed the main role of Janet Kim in the CBC comedy Kim's Convenience alongside Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Simu Liu and Andrew Phung.[6][3]

In 2020, Bang received a nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series for her role as Samantha in Running with Violet.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Note
2015 Playdate Fran (Francesca) Short film
2016–2021 Kim's Convenience Janet Kim Main cast
2016 Networking with James Erica Short film
Sunnyhearts Community Centre Lucille Web series
Bon Bon Fire Sinclaire Suzuki Short film
Convos with my 2-Year-Old Girl Guide #2 Web series
2017 Android Employed May
The Prodigal Dad Teresa
Lucy Dies Lucy Short film
Adventures in Public School Autumn
2018 Even the Devil Swiped Right Jen Short film
Camp Death III in 2D! Angela Park
2018 The Date Girl on Date Short film
2018 Karaoke Mamas Short film, director
2019 Luce Stephanie Kim
2019 Hudson and Rex Gwen "Sixie" Chiu Rex Machine, S2, Ep11
2019 Running with Violet Samantha Web series
2021–2023 A Million Little Things Claudia 13 episodes
2021 A Small Fortune Susan Crowe
2022 Fresh Penny
2022 Stay the Night Grace
2023 Dear David Evelyn
2023 Float Waverly [9]
2025 The Chinatown Diner Mula Post-Production[10]

Writing

Year Title Notes
2011 Schnitzel or Spaetzle Short film
2015 Playdate
2017 Lucy Dies
2018 Karaoke Mamas
2019 Idols Never Die
In Loving Memory

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2015 Asians on Film Festival Best Actress (Summer Award) Playdate Won [6]
2017 Leo Awards Best Performance in a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series Kim's Convenience Nominated [11]
2018 Won [12]
2019 Nominated [13]
2020 Won [14]
2020 Best Screenwriting in a Short Drama (Shared with: Jerome Yoo) Idols Never Die Nominated [14]
2021 Best Performance in a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series Kim's Convenience Nominated [15]
2022 Won [16]
2017 Canadian Screen Awards Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role Kim's Convenience Nominated [17]
2018 Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Nominated [18]
2020 Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series Running with Violet Nominated [8]
2022 Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Kim's Convenience Nominated [19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Andrea Bang Films". MovieFone. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  2. ^ Yeung, Lien (11 October 2016). "Burnaby actor's lead role in Kim's Convenience a rarity in mainstream TV". CBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Takeuchi, Craig (6 October 2016). "Vancouver's Andrea Bang hopes Kim's Convenience helps boost Asian Canadian representation". straight.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  4. ^ Thompson, Bob (31 December 2014). "The Interview a big break for Diana Bang". O Canada. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Burnaby actor Andrea Bang thrilled to be a busy body in TV, film". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Kim's Convenience Cast: Andrea Bang". cbc.ca. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Kim's Convenience actress comes to Kingston". The Journal. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b "2022 Canadian Screen Awards - Television & Digital Media Nominations". Andrea Bang. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  9. ^ Sun, Rebecca (1 October 2021). "Lionsgate Boards Robbie Amell's Wattpad Romance 'Float' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  10. ^ Wiseman, Andreas. "'The Chinatown Diner': First Teaser Revealed For Under-The-Radar Indie Pic Starring Aileen Wu, Curtis Lum, Andrea Bang, Olivia Cheng & Tzi Ma". Deadline. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  11. ^ "2017 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  12. ^ "2018 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  13. ^ "2019 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. ^ a b "2020 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  15. ^ "2021 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  16. ^ "2022 Leo Awards". leoawards.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  17. ^ "2017 Canadian Screen Awards Nominations revealed". etcanada.com. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Canadian Screen Award nominations 2018". globalnews.ca. 16 January 2018.
  19. ^ "2022 Canadian Screen Awards - Television & Digital Media Nominations". Canadian Screen Awards. Retrieved 8 September 2022.