James Franklin Wong (born March 28, 1987) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

. He is best known for his 2011 music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" and for his role as Ted in the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

Video Game High School ''Video Game High School'' (often abbreviated ''VGHS'') is an American action comedy web series from RocketJump Studios. It was written by Matthew Arnold, Will Campos and Brian Firenzi and directed by Matthew Arnold, Brandon Laatsch, and Freddie ...

''. In 2017, he and YouTuber

Meghan Camarena Meghan Camarena (born July 17, 1987), known by her online pseudonym Strawburry17, is an American YouTube personality, television host, actress and comic book writer. She has worked on a number of videos, web series, and films, gaining popularit ...

co-hosted the video game themed variety show ''Polaris Primetime'', which was created as part of Disney's "DXP" programming block on

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

. Wong has appeared in feature films such as '' John Dies at the End,'' '' The Circle'', and the live-action version of '' Mulan''.

Early life

Wong grew up in

Normandy Park, Washington Normandy Park is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,771 at the 2010 census. History Normandy Park was officially incorporated on June 8, 1953. The city is located in King County and is bordered on the north ...

. He graduated from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in 2009, where he majored in theater and drama. After graduating, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

to become an actor.

Career

Wong garnered national news coverage in March 2011, when he uploaded his music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. He created the video as a response to a

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

student's

vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...

rant against Asian students using mobile phones in the UCLA library, one which

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

qualified as "offensive." NPR suggested that Wong's video response was one that "effectively turn dthe tables on the original rant," offering an alternative method of defense against

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

. Wong later said in an

interview that while he was initially frustrated by the video rant, he realized that humor offered a better response, as he hoped to "put a positive spin on all of it." Furthermore, he stated, an

eye for an eye "An eye for an eye" ( hbo, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The principle exists also in Babylonian law. In Roman c ...

approach would only encourage "this behavior to continue." "

Ching Chong "Ching chong" and "ching chang chong" are ethnic slurs and racial pejorative terms sometimes used in English to mock the Chinese language, people of Chinese ancestry, or other people of East Asian descent perceived to be Chinese. The term is ...

: Asians in the Library Song" went viral and was covered nationally by the American media. That same year, he co-launched and co-host the YouTube cooking show ''Feast of Fiction with Ashley Adams.'' Wong later portrayed Ted in the web series ''

''. He was also invited by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquarter ...

and

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

to create the web series ''District Voices''. In 2014, Wong was ranked #73 on

New Media Rockstars ''NewMediaRockstars'' (''NMR'') is an online magazine which was launched in December 2011 and primarily covers YouTube performers, entrepreneurs, and artists with videos and interviews. In 2013, ''NewMediaRockstars'' closed because of lack of fund ...

Top 100 Channels. Wong played Ling in Disney's 2020 live action remake of the 1998 ''Mulan'' animated movie.

Gaming

Wong is an avid player of '' Magic: The Gathering'', specifically the Commander format. He hosts a podcast with co-host Josh Lee Kwai called ''The Command Zone'', where he and Josh discuss their experiences playing the Commander format. Wong is referred to by his co-host as "Jimmy the Red" due to the fact that he often plays red decks when playing commander. He has also been called upon by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidi ...

to preview new sets at exhibitions and on their YouTube channel. He also was on the podcast Dungeons & Daddies (a D&D podcast), for a short time, were he played a demonic human-paladin character named: Jodie Foster.

Personal life

His father is Chinese, from Canton, and his mother is of Chinese and

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

ancestry. He is the younger brother of filmmaker

Freddie Wong Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main ch ...

Partial filmography

Awards

*2015: Won: International Academy of Web Television Awards – Best Ensemble Performance/Comedy, ''

'' (shared with other cast members) *2014: Won:

Streamy Awards The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...

– Best Action or Sci-Fi Series, ''

'' (shared with cast and crew members) *2014: Won:

– Best Ensemble Cast, ''

'' (shared with other cast members) *2017: Won:

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

- Most videogame characters identified in one minute

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Jimmy Living people American male film actors American musicians of Chinese descent American male actors of Chinese descent American people of Mongolian descent American YouTubers Place of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Seattle Middlebury College alumni Male actors from Seattle Nonviolence advocates Gaming YouTubers Let's Players 21st-century American male actors 1987 births Singers from Washington (state) 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers