Jimmy Wong

James Franklin Wong[1] (born March 28, 1987)[2][3] is an American actor and musician. 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 Video Game High School. In 2017, he and YouTuber Meghan Camarena co-hosted the video game themed variety show Polaris Primetime, which was created as part of Disney's "D|XP" programming block on Disney XD.

For other uses, see Jimmy Wang (disambiguation).

Jimmy Wong
Wong in 2012
Born
James Franklin Wong

(1987-03-28) March 28, 1987
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMiddlebury College
Occupation
  • Actor
  • musician
Years active2010–present
Known forVideo Game High School
Notable work
"Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song"
RelativesFreddie Wong (brother)

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.[4] He graduated from Middlebury College in 2009, where he majored in theater and drama.[4][1] After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to become an actor.[1]

Career

Wong garnered national news coverage in March 2011, when he uploaded his music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" to YouTube. He created the video as a response to a UCLA student's vlog rant against Asian students using mobile phones in the UCLA library,[5][6] one which MSNBC qualified as "offensive."[7] NPR suggested that Wong's video response was one that "effectively turn[ed] the tables on the original rant," offering an alternative method of defense against cyberbullying.[8] Wong later said in an MSNBC 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 approach would only encourage "this behavior to continue."[7] "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" went viral and was covered nationally by the American media.[9][10][11][12]

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 Video Game High School.[13] He was also invited by Lionsgate and Google to create the web series District Voices.[14] In 2014, Wong was ranked #73 on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels.[15]

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.[16] He has also been called upon by Wizards of the Coast to preview new sets at exhibitions and on their YouTube channel.[17]

Personal life

Wong is of Chinese and Mongol ancestry.[4] He is the younger brother of filmmaker Freddie Wong.[18]

Partial filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2011 "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" Composer and singer YouTube music video
2012 John Dies at the End Fred Chu Feature film
2012–2013 MyMusic Leader Web series
2012–2014 Video Game High School Ted Wong Web series
2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – District Voices District 9 Voice TV mini-series
2016 Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party Constable Jimmy YouTube series, 4 episodes
2017 The Circle Mitch Feature film
Polaris Primetime Co-host with Meghan Camarena, broadcast on Disney XD's "D|XP" block[19]
2017–2018 Parker Plays Recurring guest TV series, 8 episodes
2020 Mulan Ling Feature film[20]

Awards

References
  1. Sydney (May 5, 2011). "Interview with Jimmy Wong Of Alexandra Wallace Fame". Untemplater. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  2. Wong, Jimmy (March 28, 2018). "For my birthday this year, I present my own personal Top 32 bracket for March. If you like it Twitter, yall know what to do". Twitter. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  3. Wong, Jimmy (August 12, 2020). "also lol i'm 33, they wanted a 12-14 year old to play aang. so not really in the books for me anyway". Twitter. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  4. Nguyen, Stacy (April 7, 2011). "Hit singer Jimmy Wong on Alexandra Wallace and why angry responses are unproductive". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  5. Zhan, Julie (July 7, 2011). "Never stop working. If you're doing something you love, then it shouldn't be a problem". The Other Asians. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  6. Roderick, Kevin (March 24, 2011). "Jimmy Wong as Internet savior". LA Observed. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  7. "Jimmy Wong makes 'ching chong' a love song". MSNBC. March 23, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  8. Pell, Dave (March 21, 2011). "Jimmy Wong Saves The Internet". NPR. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  9. All Things Considered (March 24, 2011). "A Racial Rant Inspires An Internet Balladeer". NPR. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  10. Chansanchai, Athima (March 18, 2011). "UCLA student's 'Asians' rant ignites YouTube responses". Today (U.S. TV program). Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  11. Samuel, Sharon (March 17, 2011). "'Ching Chong' Shot Heard Around Social Media World". The New York Observer. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  12. Walker, Rob (June 28, 2012). "On YouTube, Amateur Is the New Pro". New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  13. Sun, Rebecca (December 12, 2014). "THR's at-a-glance look at the week in representation news". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  14. Vlessing, Etan (October 20, 2014). "Jimmy Wong, Rob Czar and iJustine's Justine Ezarik made videos for Lionsgate and Google". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  15. "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 75-51!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  16. "Podcasts - RocketJump". RocketJump. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  17. Magic: The Gathering (June 20, 2016), Access Magic: Eldritch Moon, Episode 1, retrieved June 13, 2017
  18. Austen, Ben (December 16, 2011). "The YouTube Laugh Factory: A Studio System for Viral Video". Wired. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  19. Lafayette, Jon (June 14, 2017). "Disney XD Set to Launch Gamer Programming Block". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  20. Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Casts Jimmy Wong & Doua Moua Deadline Hollywood, Retrieved August 14, 2018
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