5 Facts About Hilarious ‘Masked Singer’ Judge Ken Jeong
Fox Reading Time: 4 minutes
There is nothing more outrageous than Ken Jeong’s guesses on The Masked Singer and The Masked Dancer. Here are a few things you should know about the former doctor and The Hangover star.
The 51-year-old father of two is known for being hilarious and got his big break in the acting business with some bold roles. Let’s take a deep dive into some interesting facts about him.
Check Out 5 Facts About ‘The Masked Singer’ Judge Ken Jeong
He Is A Licensed Doctor
Jeong attended Duke University studying pre-med where he first became interested in acting. He graduated in 1990 and went on to attend the UNC School of Medicine in 1995. In between medical school and residency, he took theater classes at UCLA.
Jeong completed his residency in internal medicine at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans while performing improv and standup comedy on the side. He even told Us Weekly that he worked as an MC at a karaoke bar while he was in medical school.
Jeong is licensed to practice medicine in the state of California. But he has focused his attentions on acting for the past decade earning him breakout roles in The Hangover, Role Models, and Knocked Up. He was even on an episode of The Office while working toward his big break.
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Ken Jeong’s Daughter Appeared on His Show ‘Dr.Ken’
In 2015, Jeong starred in Dr.Ken, a comedy that he wrote and executive produced. The show was based on his own life as a doctor before he became a comedian and actor. While the show only lasted for two seasons on ABC, Jeong was absolutely hilarious.
He and his wife Tran Ho have twin girls Zooey and Alexa who were born in 2007. Zooey was actually a guest star on Dr. Ken playing a neighborhood girl with a bit of a stalking obsession.
Zooey joined her dad on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2014 to give her perspective on Ken’s film Penguins of Madagascar. When asked if she thought Ken was funny she said “kind of.”
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It Was His Idea to Get Naked in ‘The Hangover’
Fans of The Hangover know that the film boasts some crazy stunts and outlandish scenes. Jeong plays the character of Mr. Chow, which he initially did not think he would land as it was originally written as a 60-year-old character. Director Todd Philips loved how over the top he was, and Jeong did, of course, get the role.
In the third installment of the franchise, Jeong performs a stunt more than 30 feet in the air. Even though he is afraid of heights, Jeong totally killed the scene.
In another over the top scene, Mr. Chow jumps out of a car trunk fully naked, which was reportedly Jeong’s idea.
“It was my idea to jump out of the trunk naked in The Hangover,” he said. “My wife (doctor Tran Ho) approved, saying, ‘This will be the feel-good movie of the year. Every guy will go home feeling good about himself.'”
The police were actually called after spectators saw a naked man running rampant through the street.
Jeong Dropped Out of ‘The Masked Singer’ UK
We all know and love Jeong on the judging panel for the American version of The Masked Singer. In fact, Jeong is so popular he was recruited to be on the UK version as well. After filming the first season, however, he announced he was dropping out of the show’s second season.
“I had so much fun on season 1 of The Masked Singer UK,” he said. “I told the team nothing short of a global pandemic would stop me from coming back for Season 2!”
The coronavirus pandemic’s enforced travel restrictions have so far prevented him from flying overseas to film.
“I am gutted because I truly love working with Joel, Rita, Davina, Jonathan, and everyone at Bandicoot and ITV,” he continued. “I hope when things start to normalize I can return and offer my expertise on all things British, like the Australian Open. Please take care, be safe, and as the title of the show suggests, wear a mask.”
Jeong was replaced on the panel by British comedian, Mo Gilligan.
He is Hoping For a ‘Masked Comedian’ Spinoff Show
Jeong is already involved in The Masked Singer and The Masked Dancer. He also hosts I Can See Your Voice, but is hoping for yet another spinoff show. The Masked Comedian has been in the back of Jeong’s mind since he began filming The Masked Dancer with comedian Craig Robinson.
“I’ve actually told Craig [Robinson] that there could be a world where that could happen and Craig hosted Last Coming Standing,” he said. “There were moments when we were doing The Masked Dancer, where I would watch Craig on stage, because we go back so much in stand-up, and I said that there could be an amplification of this.”
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You can catch Ken on The Masked Singer Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
