In an interview with Stephen Colbert, the South Korean actor talks about how his life changed when he starred in a doctor role for the movie “Knocked Up”. He was cast as the doctor that was going to deliver the baby of Katherine Heigl’s character.
Ken Jeong says that the movie really changed his perspective on everything. It was an adventure to him and that he felt like he was on the “avengers of comedy” naming few actors such as Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Kristen Wig.
After going back to his work, he didn’t feel like being a doctor anymore. He jokingly said that he didn’t even want to see patients anymore. At that time, he reached a moment of epiphany. He decided to switch career safter he spent his whole life on establishing one. From being a doctor, he decided to be an actor. Ken Jeong changed his life around for the better. He found his passion after being in a stable career, showing to the world that it’s never too late.
His strict Asian father was against the decision at first but with a joke he explains that after the financial success of the Hangover movies, his strict father became proud of him. From demanding good grades, he started to demand a Mercedes. So, the moral of the story is that if you have a career and don’t like it, you can always change it. Sure, Ken Jeong was lucky in the sense that his initial few movies became popular and gained a lot of success. It may not be the same case for everyone, but that shouldn’t really stop anyone.
Asians kids can especially relate to Ken Jeong, his father made him become a doctor because that was his wish. Even though Ken was okay with it, he wasn’t passionate about it. In this new world of today, we see that passion is much more important than anything else. You need to have an interest for the career you choose, or otherwise you may be stuck in a stagnant job that pays just enough to get you by. There are far more opportunities out there for someone to just give up and choose whatever seems safe. Ken showed us that even if you’re in a high paying job, you might not be satisfied from it.
Perhaps the demographic that should learn this the most is the Asian world. Parents need to understand that their children aren’t born to just fulfill their wishes and desires. They have a life of their own and they need to act on that otherwise it would lead to their kids leading a nihilistic and depressed lifestyle. The spark they have will be vanquished. We can’t and shouldn’t let that happen.