| This article is about the actor who portrayed Glenn Rhee. You may be looking for the TV Series character, the season one Fear the Walking Dead character, the season three Fear The Walking Dead character, the actor who portrayed Simon, the other actor or the stuntman. |
Yeun Sang-yapp (Korean: 연상엽), better known as Steven Yeun is a South Korean born American actor who portrayed Glenn Rhee in AMC's The Walking Dead.
Biography
Yeun was born in Seoul, South Korea, to South Korean parents Je and Jun Yeun. His father was an architect in South Korea before moving his family to Regina, Saskatchewan, and later to Michigan when he was 5.
Yeun was raised in Troy, Michigan in a Christian household. Yeun's parents began calling him "Steven" after meeting a doctor by that name.
Yeun's interest in acting and improv came during his freshman year at Kalamazoo, when he watched the college's improv group, Monkapult. He auditioned for Monkapult, but was initially rejected before successfully joining the group during his sophomore year.
Yeun revealed to his parents that he planned to pursue an improv career in Chicago instead of enrolling in law school or medical school. His parents, while unhappy with the decision, were supportive, according to Yeun, and gave him two years to pursue acting.
Involvment In The Walking Dead
Yeun auditioned for an ABC Pilot a month and a half before he auditioned for The Walking Dead. That was his first audition for a pilot. He managed to get a quote, sign a contract, and meet with the execs, but he failed to get the role.
Later, he auditioned for The Walking Dead, though it wasn't a "drawn-out" process. He went into seeing the casting director, Sharon Bialy, and Bialy liked him. Bialy called him back, and eventually they both worked together. Then Yeun met Frank Darabont in his office, and Darabont put him on tape with a camcorder. In front of nobody else- it was just Darabont, Denise Huth, and two casting directors, auditioning for the role of Glenn, which he gets.
Other Works
- I Origins
- Carpe Millennium
- Voltron: Legendary Defender
- Trollhunters
- Okja
- Jerry
- Chew
- The Legend of Korra
- Filthy
- The Big Bang Theory
Trivia
- A letter sent in by Yeun was published in the letters section of Issue 102. It stated that he was very upset about the death of Glenn in Issue 100.
- Before Yeun started his acting career, he wanted to be a neurosurgeon.
- Yeun speaks some Korean, but is not fluent in the language.
- Yeun shares his birthday with Tom Payne.
