Ken Jeong plays Mr Chow in The Hangover Part III (Picture: Troy Rizzo/FilmMagic)

Ken Jeong, 43, is a doctor and actor best-known for his role as Mr Chow in The Hangover and is now back in Part III of the popular comedy franchise.

Do you think The Hangover Part III is as good as the first one? I was laughing my ass off when I read the script, which was such a page-turner. I was so exited to be able to do another one. I was beside myself. As an actor this is the best thing I have ever done. It’s hard to fully absorb all this good fortune.

What do people say when they spot you in public? They always quote Mr Chow. Lately it has occurred twice at the same cashpoint. I see a guy driving by. He looks at me, the traffic light goes green, then he yells: “Toodle-oooo, motherf***ers!” I love it. Everyone in life wants to be patted on the back for a job well done. I was only in the first movie for five minutes, so it was really unexpected to get that kind of response and have a small role make this type of impact. The first movie really gave me a career.



When you’re home do you jump out of car boots naked, like Mr Chow does? The opposite. Mr Chow has made me more mellow in my personal life. Really I’m just a married guy and the father of twins. Maybe if I had a boring professional life I’d be more upbeat and full of energy at home.


Your daughters are five. Are you worried about them seeing these films at an inappropriate age? What’s amazing to me is how my wife has such an open mind and is making sure my daughters are the same. Even at five, they are showing seeds of maturity. My wife has told them about Daddy’s odd job but they see how normal I am in real life. They see me on TV and they know I’m an actor and a goofball. Everything I do is a performance. This is just an escape, a fun outlet.

What do you miss about your old life as a doctor? I miss the patients. I still keep in touch with some of them. I don’t miss the hours. I have a more relaxed lifestyle now.

Were you a good doctor? My wife always says people don’t realise how good a doctor I was. Way back, when I was working as a doctor and doing stand-up comedy, none of my colleagues knew about that side of my life. I was always so serious at work unless I knew the person I was with really well. If you’d ever met me at work, you’d have thought what an intense and unfunny guy I was. I was only into making sure you were fine. Now it’s funny how seriously I take my comic job.

You’ve been friends with Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms since before The Hangover. Do you all improvise madly on set? We go by the script but we’re known to come up with new lines on the day. The best idea always wins out. Sometimes it’s so perfect on the page that we don’t need to change anything, or try something different. It’s not random madness but a focused collaborative work and no one shows off. Everyone serves the moment.

Are you the first doctor to become a TV and movie star? Well it’s super-rare and I’m super-lucky. My wife still works as a doctor at the same place where I worked and lots of people can’t believe I’ve made it this far. It’s been surreal. All my closest friends are still doctors. My wife makes me laugh so hard, actually. She is the funniest person I know and we definitely have similar taste.



She was a huge fan of Old School, for example, so I wasn’t too worried when I ran it past her that I was going to be naked in the first Hangover. She said: ‘Sure, go for it. You should be naked because it’s going to be a feel-good summer movie and every guy will go home feeling secure about themselves!’ You have to love a girl with humour like that.

Who else makes you laugh? Growing up, I was a huge fan of Eddie Murphy, David Letterman and Richard Pryor. I love Zach [Galifianakis]. He’s the funniest man alive. I feel I have just been paid to laugh at Zach for the last three movies. He is so sharp, so quick.

What’s ahead for you? I just want to stay happy the way I am right now. Acting is so unpredictable. I think it’s not about quantity but quality.



Will you ever go back to medicine? One of my best friends has a free clinic. So I can see myself doing some charitable work or being in the background on the medical field. We’ll see. I love being a doctor and I still have my licence. But I don’t know if I could go back and see patients as a nine-to-five thing.

The Hangover Part III is out now.

MORE: Is The Hangover Part III worth a watch? Check out our review.