<b>Ken</b> Zheng is 46 years old, but his petite size and fleshy face make him look like a young man who has not grown up, and with the laugh-filled characters on the screen, he feels like he is the pistachio of everyone. Before becoming an actor, this "pistachio" claimed to be a complete "nerd", and became a doctor after graduation, it is hard to imagine that the life-saving white coat can perform well in R-rated comedy.
This famous gif is from a scene from Ken Zheng's Hangover
Although 2007's "One Night Belly" did not make Ken "belly", it was really "overnight fame", and then gave a wonderful performance in "Hangover". In addition to "Waste Wood Alliance", a TV series with autobiographical overtones, "Doctor Huang Liu", began broadcasting on ABC on October 2 last year. Although the ratings were mediocre at the time of the pilot, the popularity has risen with the deepening of the plot, and it has been renewed for a second season. In the TV series, Ken returned to his familiar position as a doctor, to which he said that it was a long-term dream to be able to shoot works with his own experience.
From doctor to comedian, Ken Zheng spanned two seemingly unrelated professions, and he confessed that he was supported by his wife, Tran Ho.
Ken Zheng starred in "Doctor Huang Liu" as his old line of work, still full of jokes
Time.com: How did you come up with the idea of making "Doctor Huang Liu"?
Ken: Every actor dreams of being able to shoot a work based on their own experience, and that's the best reward for me. This passionate TV series is something I've always dreamed of, and it can also help understand the realities of the entertainment industry. And of course thanks to all the producers, writers, Sony, ABC, mike Sikowitz, and all the cast.
Time.com: There are also many American dramas starring Asian faces, but they are rarely as popular as "Doctor Huang Liu", how do you do it?
Ken: Even though the title is my name, it's a TV series that revolves around all the characters. From The Hangover to Scrap Wood Alliance, everything I do is driven by big teams. A lot of people ask me "is this a workplace drama or a family comedy," and I think it's a show of stars around my experience as a doctor at the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). For me, the focus of the show is on the whole cast, not on me, I'm just one of the bricks that everyone creates in this house. Discuss with them in the screenwriting room every day and put yourself into every step.
Ken Zheng was a doctor before becoming an actor.
TIME: Did you get very immodest when you were a doctor?
Ken Cheng: I've never been that way, and I hate the metaphor that laughter is the cure, that only medicine is the cure. If I were to perform a talk show on the sidelines, the patient would be surprised. Even though I know I love stand-up comedy, I'm still very serious when it comes to patients.
Time.com: Why didn't you become a doctor and become an actor?
Ken: To be honest, I was very happy as a doctor, my wife still works part-time in that institution, and all my good friends are doctors. I'm excited to play the doctor in Belly In One Night, The Hangover has turned my life from black and white to color, and now I can make my own sitcoms, and everything seems to be dreaming, as lucky as winning the lottery. In fact, my license is still valid, and I can now work in any freelance clinic.
TIME: Although it's a comedy, do you still take medical knowledge seriously?
KEN: Of course. This play is more inclined to describe the dynamics of the workplace, which is both everyone's and my personal. In addition to that, the series also tells family stories, so it's a sitcom about everyone.
Time.com: Is the taciturn father a stereotype of sitcoms?
Ken: While it's often used for such persona, it doesn't mean it's true, and we also try to add comedy to everyone in the family. Sometimes I get fully involved in the background and let others be in the spotlight.
Time.com: Can I say that in some ways, does this show reflect your relationship with your wife in reality? She's a psychiatrist in life, but why did you set her character as an internist?
Ken: Actually, this is the natural development of the plot. In real life, my wife is the object of my conversation and always calms me down. As the plot progresses, another psychiatrist will appear.
Ken Zheng with his wife
TIME: Was it your wife who eventually persuaded you to become a full-time actor?
KEN: Yes. When I was shooting Belly In one night, I still had work during the day, and I had meetings that week. But it was my first film, and it was directed by Judd Apato, and every actor in the show is now a big star. My wife knew that I had always wanted to be an actor, but I couldn't let go of my original job, and only a few days of film proved nothing. Thanks to my wife's encouragement, the military merit badge must have half of hers.
TIME: How do your patients react when they see you after watching Belly Of The Night or The Hangover?
KEN: It's interesting. I'm still friends with many of my patients, and they're all happy for me. Actually, every patient supports me, which is important to me. Every time I received an email from a previous patient or met some patient on the road, they would cheer me on and make me very moved.
Time.com: Will the doctor ken in the play change careers like you?
Ken: It's my first time as a producer, and it's the first time I've written a screenplay, and the show will form an independent world, and I won't limit it to my personal world.
TIME: What makes you like talk shows?
Ken: In high school, I never performed or participated in anything like that, and all I wanted was to get into a good school and finally to Duke. I grew up in a family with a strong academic atmosphere, and my father was a retired economics professor. I was a nerd at the time, but I was also a popular nerd. I had a lot of humor, and when I graduated from high school, I was shortlisted for the "Men's Funny Beauty Pageant", when I was chubby, wearing a pair of sculptural swim trunks, posing for some fitness, and dancing to the piano and violin accompaniment to sing Leonard Ritchie's "Love For a Lifetime". At that moment I was like "Napoleon the Great Man", and this feeling stayed with me until I finally stepped into show business.
Time.com: When was your first talk show?
Ken: The first time was 24 years ago, in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it was the worst 20-minute performance. It felt very unreal, and everyone was cheering.
Time.com: Your wife supports your ideals, but your father is an economics professor, can he understand?
Ken: My father was more concerned about whether his wife supported me, he felt that Tran was my family now, and since my wife chose to support me, he would support me unconditionally. This way of educating my children is really amazing, and we have become closer, and I will communicate with him a lot, pour bitter water to relieve stress or something.