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BD Wong

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"Bradd Wong" redirects here. For the video game character, see Brad Wong.

BD Wong
Wong in 2016
Born
Bradley Darryl Wong

(1960-10-24) October 24, 1960 (age 64)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Other namesBradd Wong
Occupation(s)Actor, director
Years active1983–present
Spouse
Richert Schnorr
​
(m. 2018)​
PartnerRichie Jackson (1988–2004)
Children2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese黃榮亮
Simplified Chinese黄荣亮
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWong4 Wing4-loeng6

Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in M. Butterfly, becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role. For his role as Whiterose in the television series Mr. Robot, he was nominated for both a Critic's Choice Television Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Wong is known for such roles as Howard Weinstein in the film Father of the Bride, Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Father Ray Mukada on Oz, Dr. John Lee on Awake, Dr. Henry Wu in the Jurassic Park franchise, Hugo Strange in Gotham, and Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme in the film Seven Years in Tibet. Wong is the host of the HLN medical documentary series Something's Killing Me with BD Wong. He has also done extensive voiceover work and stage acting. Wong voiced Captain Li Shang in the Disney animated film Mulan as well as its 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, and the 2005 video game Kingdom Hearts II.

Early life and education

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Bradley Darryl Wong[1] was born on October 24, 1960[2] and raised in San Francisco, California, to Roberta Christine Wong (née Leong), a telephone-company supervisor, and William D. Wong, a postal worker. He has one older brother and one younger brother.[3] He is of Chinese descent, with family from Hong Kong.[4]

Wong attended Lincoln High School, where he discovered his love of acting and starred as the lead in numerous school plays.[3]

He went on to attend San Francisco State University in the 1970s, where he was the only Asian American in the theater department, and there were no roles for him.[5]

Career

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Wong with Ian McKellen and Margaret Cho at the 47th Emmy Awards, 1994

Wong gained wide attention as a result of his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly opposite John Lithgow. The play won multiple awards, including several for Wong, who at that time ceased using his full name in favor of his initials. He has since ceased the use of punctuation in his initials.

He is notable as the only actor to be honored with the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award,[6] Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role.[7] In addition to his stint on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as FBI psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, he has had recurring roles in All American Girl and played Father Ray Mukada on all six seasons of Oz, with guest appearances on The X-Files and Sesame Street.

On the big screen, he has appeared in The Freshman (1990), the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, Father of the Bride Part II, Jurassic Park (1993), Executive Decision (1996), and Slappy and the Stinkers (1997). He also provided the voice of Captain Li Shang in Disney's Mulan (1998), its direct-to-video sequel, and the video game Kingdom Hearts II. He returned to Broadway as Linus in a revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, alongside Anthony Rapp, Roger Bart, and Kristin Chenoweth, and the 2004 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.

Wong narrated a public television documentary, "Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story" (1990) about the life and work of the ground-breaking Chinese American novelist.[8]

In 1990 Wong objected to Actor's Equity that the plan to use Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce in the role of The Engineer in the Broadway run of Miss Saigon, which Pryce had played since the beginning of the show's 10-year extended run in London, would take jobs away from actors of Asian descent. Although the union barred Pryce from acting the role in response to Wong's complaint, vociferous opposition from Charlton Heston and a threat by the musical's creator and producer, Cameron Mackintosh, to cancel the American production entirely, induced the union to reverse course.[citation needed] Pryce went on to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the role.

Wong in 2008

In 2008, Wong starred in the one-man show Herringbone, in which he portrayed 12 roles, at McCarter Theatre at Princeton University. He brought the show to the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego the following year. In 2012, Wong starred in Herringbone to benefit Dixon Place in New York for two performances. The production, recorded live for a 2014 CD release, was his first appearance in New York of the material, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the original New York production.

In 2014, Wong starred in the U.S. premiere of James Fenton's acclaimed adaptation of The Orphan of Zhao, a classic Chinese legend that has its roots in the fourth century BC, directed by Carey Perloff at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). The Orphan of Zhao is an epic story of self-sacrifice and revenge. In the aftermath of a political coup, a country doctor is forced to sacrifice his son to save the last heir of a noble and massacred clan. The Orphan of Zhao was a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse.

Wong announced his departure from the cast of Law & Order: SVU in July 2011, to join another NBC police drama, Awake, in which he portrayed Dr. Johnathan Lee, a confrontational therapist of an LAPD detective (portrayed by Jason Isaacs) who lived in two realities.[9] Wong guest-starred in a thirteenth season episode of Law & Order: SVU titled "Father Dearest" (which aired May 2, 2012).[10]

In 2015, he was named Artist-in-Residence at La Jolla Playhouse. Wong guest-starred on NCIS: New Orleans Episode 1.13 titled "The Walking Dead" (which aired February 3, 2015), where he portrayed Navy Lieutenant Commander Dr. Gabriel Lin.

Wong also played the enigmatic Whiterose, head of the hacker collective Dark Army, who lives a double life as Zhang, the Chinese Minister of State Security, on USA Network's Mr. Robot. He was credited as a recurring role for the show's second season and promoted to main cast for the third season, which debuted October 11, 2017.

On August 13, 2017, Wong began hosting the new HLN series Something's Killing Me with BD Wong. The documentary explores strange and unexplainable, real medical ailments and attacks that may be gradual or descend rapidly. But in either case, if a cause and cure are not found immediately, these real-life patients will die.[11]

In 2022, Wong was featured in the book 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre, with a profile written by theatre scholar Esther Kim Lee.[12]

Charity work

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Wong donates his time and resources to a number of LGBT and arts-related charities, such as the Ali Forney Center, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Materials for the Arts,[13] and Rosie's Theater Kids, of which he is also a board member.[14]

Personal life

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Wong was in a long-term relationship with talent agent Richie Jackson from 1988 to 2004.[15] In 2000, the couple had twin sons, Boaz Dov and Jackson Foo Wong through a surrogate mother using Wong's sperm and an egg donated by Jackson's sister. Boaz Dov died 90 minutes after birth. In 2003, Wong wrote a memoir about his experiences with surrogacy titled Following Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man (ISBN 9780060529536). In 2004, Wong and Jackson ended their relationship.[15] Wong co-parents his son with his ex-partner Jackson and Jackson's husband, Jordan Roth.[16] His son Jackson Foo is also gay, having come out at age 15.[17]

On October 7, 2018, Wong married Richert John Frederickson Schnorr, his partner of eight years, in Brooklyn, New York.[18]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Karate Kid Part II Boy on Street Credited as Bradd Wong
1989 Family Business Jimmy Chiu, Adam's MIT Prof
1990 The Freshman Edward
1991 Mystery Date James Lew
Father of the Bride Howard Weinstein
1992 The Lounge People Billy
1993 Jurassic Park Dr. Henry Wu
And the Band Played On Kiko Govantes
1994 The Ref Dr. William Wong, Marriage Counselor Aka Hostile Hostages
(uncredited)[19][20]
Men of War Po
1995 Kalamazoo Justin
Father of the Bride Part II Howard Weinstein
1996 Executive Decision Sergeant Louie Jung
Joe's Apartment Cockroach Voice
1997 Seven Years in Tibet Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
1998 Slappy and the Stinkers Morgan Brinway
Mulan Captain Li Shang Voice
The Substitute 2: School's Out Warren Drummond Straight-to-video
2002 The Salton Sea Bubba
2004 Mulan II Shang Direct-to-video
Voice
2005 Stay Dr. Edmund Ren
2006 Ira & Abby Party Guest
2012 White Frog Oliver Young
2015 Focus Liyuan Tse
Jurassic World Dr. Henry Wu[21]
2017 The Space Between Us Tom Chen
2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Dr. Henry Wu[21]
Bird Box Greg
2022 Jurassic World Dominion Dr. Henry Wu
Blue's Big City Adventure Director
2023 Heart of Stone King of Clubs
The Monkey King Buddha Voice

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 No Big Deal Miss Karnisian's Class TV film; as Bradd Wong
1986 Simon & Simon Counterboy – Photo Shop Clerk Episode: "Mobile Home of the Brave"
1987 Double Switch Waiter TV film
1988 Crash Course aka Driving Academy Kichi TV film; as Bradd Wong
1990 Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston aka The Charles Stuart Story Kim Tan TV film
1991 Alive from Off Center Actor Episode: "Dances in Exile"
1993 Sesame Street Dr. Sing 3 episodes
And the Band Played On Kico Govantes HBO TV film
1994–1995 All-American Girl Dr. Stuart Kim 18 episodes
1994 ABC Afterschool Specials Johnny Angel Episode: "Magical Make-Over"
1995 Dazzle Teng TV film
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child The Wolf
Aladdin/The Genie 		Episodes: "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Aladdin"
Bless This House Johnny Chen Episode: "Neither a Borrower Nor a Landlord Be"
1996 The X-Files Det. Glen Chao Episode: "Hell Money"
1997–2003 Oz Father Ray Mukada 47 episodes
1998 Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's 'Mulan' Captain Li Shang TV film; voice
1999 Chicago Hope Dr. Kai Chang Episode: "Upstairs, Downstairs"
2000 Welcome to New York Dennis Episode: "Jim Gets a Wig"
2002 Kim Possible Agent Will Du Voice; Episode: "Number One"
2001–2015 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dr. George Huang 143 episodes, recurring cast Seasons 2–3,
Series regular, Seasons 4–12,
Guest star Seasons 13-15, & 17
2004 Century City U.S. Attorney Matthew Chin Episode: "Pilot"
2007 Marco Polo Pedro TV film
2012 Awake Dr. John Lee Series regular, 11 episodes
2014 The Normal Heart Buzzy HBO film
2015 NCIS: New Orleans Navy Lieutenant Commander Dr. Gabriel Lin Episode: "The Walking Dead"
2015–2018 Madam Secretary Brent Rosen Episodes: "The Kill List", "Refuge"
2015 Nurse Jackie Doctor Wu Episode: "Are You with Me, Doctor Wu?"
2015–2019 Mr. Robot Whiterose/Minister Zhi Zhang 22 episodes
Recurring cast Seasons 1–2; series regular Seasons 3-4
Nominated—Critics' Choice Award for Best Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2016–2019 Gotham Professor Hugo Strange[22] 16 episodes
2016 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Scientist Episode: "Scientific Studies"
2017–2019 Something's Killing Me with BD Wong Host/Presenter 18 episodes
2017 DuckTales Toad Liu Hai Voice; Episode: "The House of the Lucky Gander!"
2018 American Horror Story: Apocalypse Baldwin Pennypacker 3 episodes
2019–2020 The Flash Godspeed Voice
2 episodes
2020–present Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens Wally Recurring role; 21 episodes
2023 Gremlins Hon Wing Voice; 10 episodes[23]

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 Kingdom Hearts II Captain Li Shang English version
2007 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+
2015 Lego Jurassic World Henry Wu
2018 Jurassic World Evolution
2021 Jurassic World Evolution 2
2023 Disney Speedstorm Captain Li Shang

Audio dramas

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Year Title Role Notes
2021–2022 Around the Sun Dr. Lee Voice
2 episodes

Theater

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Year Title Role Notes
1988–1990 M. Butterfly Song Liling Broadway debut
Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male
Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Debut Performance
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Theatre World Award
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
1993 Face Value Randall Lee
1999 You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Linus
2004–05 Pacific Overtures Reciter
2012 Herringbone Various characters One-man show[24]
2019 The Great Leap Wen Chang

Theme parks

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Year Name Role Theme Park Notes
2019 Jurassic World: The Ride Dr. Henry Wu Universal Studios Hollywood
2021 VelociCoaster Universal's Islands of Adventure
TBA DuckTales World Showcase Adventure[25] Toad Liu Hai EPCOT Upcoming; exact release date not set.

Audiobooks

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Year Title Author Publisher
1991 Shadow of a Broken Man George C. Chesbro Random House Audio
1991 The Fear in Yesterday's Rings George C. Chesbro Random House Audio
1997 Ticktock Dean Koontz Random House Audio
2002 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Dai Sijie Random House Audio
2019 The Red Scrolls of Magic Cassandra Clare, Wesley Chu Simon & Schuster Audio
2020 The Lost Book of the White Cassandra Clare, Wesley Chu Simon & Schuster Audio
2022 To Paradise Hanya Yanagihara Random House Audio

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
1988 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Play M. Butterfly Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Won
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Debut Performance Won
Theatre World Award Won
Clarence Derwent Award Most Promising Male Performer Won
2003 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Shanghai Moon Nominated
GLAAD Media Award Davidson/Valentini Award Won
2013 Best Shorts Competition Voice-Over Talent The No Name Painting Association Won
2016 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series Mr. Robot Nominated
2017 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BD Wong". Broadway Podcast Network. June 29, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Wong, BD [@wongbd] (October 24, 2011). "I got a bday tweet from the Beev! "@TheJerryMathers: Hope you have a great 51st birthday. I hope you do something fun to celebrate."" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Guthmann, Edward (June 3, 2014). "BD Wong returns to his hometown for 'Orphan of Zhao '". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  4. ^ Nagengast, Kate (December 2, 2008). "'Law and Order' actor BD Wong to speak at Fountain Street Church". MLive.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  5. ^ "SF State News". Actor and alumnus BD Wong returns to campus to share his story with students. March 15, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "53rd Drama Desk Awards". Drama Desk. 2008. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  7. ^ "Theatre World Award Recipients". Theatre World Awards. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  8. ^ "Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story" – via americanarchive.org.
  9. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (July 17, 2011). "Fall TV Scoop: B.D. Wong Reveals His SVU Fate". TVLine. Mail.com Media. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  10. ^ "(#1321) "FATHER DEAREST"". The Futon Critic. April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  11. ^ Mathews, Liam (August 18, 2017). "Something's Killing Me Host BD Wong on Shocking Real-Life Medical Mysteries". TV Guide. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Lee, Esther Kim (2022). "BD Wong". In Noriega and Schildcrout (ed.). 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre. Routledge. pp. 242–245. ISBN 978-1032067964.
  13. ^ Hetrick, Adam (October 29, 2009). "Wong Joins Adams, Burgess, Pazakis and More for A Very MARY Holiday". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  14. ^ "Tony Award Winner Jessie Muller performs with Rosie's Theater Kids – Times Square Chronicles". August 19, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Stone, Christopher (November 16, 2005). "B.D. Wong: Out Author, Actor and Parent". AfterElton. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  16. ^ Voss, Brandon (June 2, 2016). "The Triumphs and Challenges of Gay Parenting in the Modern Age". Playbill.
  17. ^ Artavia, David (December 21, 2019). "Gay TV Producer Richie Jackson Pens a Memoir for His Gay Son". advocate.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  18. ^ "BD Wong, Richert Schnorr". The New York Times. October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  19. ^ Turan, Kenneth (March 9, 1994). "MOVIE REVIEWS : 'The Ref ': Razor-Sharp : Anchored by expert performances and a biting script and direction, the Touchstone release carries a mean verbal stiletto". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "The Ref". TV Guide. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  21. ^ a b Tilly, Chris (March 18, 2014). "Dr. Henry Wu Returns in Jurassic World". IGN.
  22. ^ Melrose, Kevin (October 30, 2015). "Jurassic World's BD Wong Joins Gotham As Hugo Strange". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  23. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 16, 2021). "'Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai' Adds Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys to Cast (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  24. ^ Gans, Andrew (May 21, 2012). "Herringbone, With Tony Winner BD Wong, Plays NYC May 21–22; Performances Will Be Recorded". Playbill.
  25. ^ Corless, Tom (December 3, 2019). "CONFIRMED: Disney's DuckTales World Showcase Adventure Replacing Agent P Game at Epcot". WDW News Today.
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