Steve Park (comedian)

Steve Park
Steve Park
Born	Stephen Park; Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupations	Comedian; actor; voice actor;
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Kelly Coffield (m. 1999)
Children	2

Stephen Park^[1] is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for being a cast member of the sketch comedy television series In Living Color during the 1991–1992 season. He is also known for the film roles of Sonny in Do the Right Thing (1989), Detective Brian in Falling Down (1993), Mike Yanagita in Fargo (1996), and Lieutenant Nescaffier in The French Dispatch (2021).

Park's other acting work includes the role of Mike Sorayama in the Adult Swim animated television series The Venture Bros. and the role of Judge Pete in the critically acclaimed independent film Rocket Science (2007).^[2] Park has acted in two Coen brothers films, Fargo and A Serious Man (2009).^[3]

Early life and career

Park grew up in Vestal, New York.^[1] The son of Korean immigrants, Park began his entertainment career as a stand-up comedian before transitioning into acting.

Park was a cast member on In Living Color. He has appeared in films such as Do the Right Thing (1989), Fargo (1996), A Serious Man (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023).

Personal life

Park married Kelly Coffield, another former cast member of In Living Color, in 1999.^[1] They have a son and a daughter.^[1]

Advocacy

"[T]he 1st AD (assistant director), in a short tirade, called an Asian-American actor to the set over a walkie-talkie with the words, 'I don't have time for this! Where's Hoshi, Toshi or whatever the f--k his name is. Get the oriental guy!' He did not even have the respect to learn the name of the actor, a veteran of 40 years."

—Steve Park, recounting his experience on the set of Friends^[4]

In 1997, Park wrote a mission statement in which he called for Hollywood to portray people of Asian descent in a less disparaging light. He wrote the statement after witnessing a racist incident while appearing in a guest role on the television series Friends.^[4] In his statement, Park wrote that "In movies and television, Asian characters, mostly men, are subjected to indignity and violence or are tokenized, while Asian women are exploited as objects of sexual desire. You rarely see Asian characters in leading roles that contain any significant power or influence".^[4]

Filmography

Film


Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Do the Right Thing	Sonny
1990	Quick Change	Grocery Cashier
1990	Kindergarten Cop	Assistant to Salazar
1991	Showdown in Little Tokyo	Asian Cop #1
1992	Kuffs	Officer Favaro
1992	Toys	Researcher
1993	Falling Down	Detective Brian
1996	Fargo	Mike Yanagita
	Sgt. Bilko	Captain Moon
	Red Ribbon Blues	Kris Lee
1997	Yellow	Alex's Uncle
1998	Desperate Measures	Dr. Gosha
2007	Rocket Science	Judge Pete
2008	The Promotion	David Kim
2009	State of Play	Chris Kawai
2009	A Serious Man	Clive's Father
2010	The Best and the Brightest	George Tanaka-Blumstein
2010	Morning Glory	Channel 9 Weatherperson
2012	Price Check	Board Member
	The Brass Teapot	Dr. Li Ling
	Putzel	Song
2013	Snowpiercer	Fuyu
2013	Wedding Palace	Kwan
2014	The Gambler	Number 2
2015	Don Verdean	Poon-Yen
2020	Kajillionaire	Another Father	Uncredited
2021	The French Dispatch	Lieutenant Nescaffier
2023	Ghosted	Utami
	Asteroid City	Roger Cho
	The Good Half	Father Dan
2025	Mickey 17	Agent Zeke	Post-production
TBA	Death of a Unicorn		Post-production

Television


Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd	Deliveryman	Episode: "Here's a Shot in the Dark"
1990	Kojak: Flowers for Matty	Billy	Television film
1990	WIOU	Dr. Kajita	Episode: "They Shoot Sources, Don't They"
1991–1992	In Living Color	Various	28 episodes
1992	MacGyver	Tan Yee	Episode: "The Stringer"
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Joe Yoshanaga	Episode: "Death in Hawaii"
1995	Martin	Mr. Jones	Episode: "Kill Him with Kindness"
1995–1997	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	I Kwan / Dong (voice)	2 episodes
1996–1997	Friends	Scott Alexander / Phil	2 episodes
1998	Boy Meets World	Jump Master	Episode: "Raging Cory"
1998–1999	Mad About You	Dr. Lee	2 episodes
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Dr. Shimo	Episode: "Want"
2004	The Venture Bros.	Mike Sorayama (voice)	Episode: "Past Tense"
2005	Hope & Faith	Mr. Yamagoto	Episode: "Carmen Get It"
2005–2008	Law & Order	Dr. Park / Dr. Bruce Chang	2 episodes
2009	The Unusuals	Councilman Tony Harbor	Episode: "Pilot"
2011	White Collar	Paul Sullivan	Episode: "Deadline"
2012	Smash	Reporter #1	Episode: "The Callback"
2012–2013	Elementary	Oren Watson	2 episodes
2013	Phil Spector	Focus Group Man	Television film
2014	Believe	Lim	Episode: "Prodigy"
2014–2015	The Mindy Project	Ray	2 episodes
2015	Person of Interest	Mark Lee	Episode: "Search and Destroy"
2015	12 Monkeys	Yakuza Soldier	Episode: "Shonin"
2017	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Eugene Lee	Episode: "Real Fake News"
2019–2020	Warrior	Tu	7 episodes
2021	Infinity Train	Min-Gi's Father (voice)	Episode: "The Twin Tapes"

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Williams, Stephen P. (June 5, 2009). "'In Living Color,' the Sequel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
^ Holden, Stephen (August 10, 2007). "A Boy Rendered Speechless by Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
^ Emerson, Jim (April 25, 2011). "Steve Park: A funny man, serious and significant". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Park, Steve (1997). "Steve Park's Mission Statement". Model Minority: A Guide to Asian American Empowerment. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2024.