Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#4142
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Jimmy O. Yang works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Jimmy O. Yang appears in 23 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Jimmy. Wish Dragon is the clearest case: a film rated 7.6 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, horror, drama. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Jimmy O. Yang, Vera Miao, Stephen Chow and others, Jimmy O. Yang helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Wish Dragon (2021) as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice) · We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020) as Joey Raccoon (voice) · Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) as Henchman 1 (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #4142 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
23
2016–2026
Career length
10 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.6
Wish Dragon
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.8
Wish Dragon
Most frequent director
Jimmy O. Yang
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Jimmy O. Yang
Most common genre
Comedy
20 titles
Average runtime
1h 35m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.2
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2010s
6.5 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Life of the Party, The Happytime Murders — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.5
Across 6 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.5
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2010s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Life of the Party, The Happytime Murders.
Most productive era
2020s
17 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.72 films | 4.94 films |
| Action | 6.53 films | 6.41 film |
| Thriller | 7.11 film | — |
| Comedy | 6.45 films | 6.415 films |
| Crime | 6.42 films | 7.22 films |
| Romance | 6.72 films | 7.32 films |
| Horror | — | 2.92 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2016Patriots Day
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Dun Meng.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2021Wish Dragon
7.6 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Kung Fu Soccer
The current state of the argument, as Stadium worker.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
23 of 23 films
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Directed by Chris Appelhans
as Joey Raccoon (voice)
Directed by Daniel Chong
as Monkey King (voice)
Directed by Unknown
as Henchman 1 (voice)
Directed by Kyle Balda
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Wish Dragon (2021)
Performance score7.7
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice) gives Jimmy O. Yang a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Josh Lin
Love Hard (2021)
Performance score7.3
Love Hard asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Josh Lin is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Joey Raccoon (voice)
We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020)
Performance score7.3
We Bare Bears: The Movie asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Joey Raccoon (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Monkey King (voice)
The Monkey King (2023)
Performance score7.2
The Monkey King asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Monkey King (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Start here. Wish Dragon is the clearest statement of what Jimmy O. Yang does — accessible, 99 minutes, and rated 7.6 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Jimmy at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020)
Keeps the comedy register of Wish Dragon but asks for a colder reading of it.
Love Hard (2021)
Keeps the comedy register of We Bare Bears: The Movie but asks for a colder reading of it.
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Keeps the comedy register of Love Hard but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Monkey King (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Minions: The Rise of Gru but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Peter Berg
Director
1 film together
Notably Patriots Day
Jesse Peretz
Director
1 film together
Notably Juliet, Naked
Jon M. Chu
Director
1 film together
Notably Crazy Rich Asians
Brian Henson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Happytime Murders
Ben Falcone
Director
1 film together
Notably Life of the Party
Mike Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Steve Byrne
Director
1 film together
Notably The Opening Act
Miguel Arteta
Director
1 film together
Notably Like a Boss
Jeff Wadlow
Director
1 film together
Notably Fantasy Island
Daniel Chong
Director
1 film together
Notably We Bare Bears: The Movie
Chris Appelhans
Director
1 film together
Notably Wish Dragon
Jay Chandrasekhar
Director
1 film together
Notably Easter Sunday
Albert Calleros
Director
1 film together
Notably Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
John Hamburg
Director
1 film together
Notably Me Time
Kyle Balda
Director
1 film together
Notably Minions: The Rise of Gru
Ross Venokur
Director
1 film together
Notably Rally Road Racers
Kyle Marvin
Director
1 film together
Notably 80 for Brady
Derek Cianfrance
Director
1 film together
Notably Roofman
Stephen Chow
Director
1 film together
Notably Kung Fu Soccer
Vera Miao
Director
1 film together
Notably Rock Springs
Jimmy O. Yang
Director
1 film together
Notably Jimmy O. Yang Finally Home
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Chris Appelhans
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wish DragonDaniel Chong
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
We Bare Bears: The MovieKyle Balda
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Minions: The Rise of GruDerek Cianfrance
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RoofmanJon M. Chu
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Crazy Rich AsiansPeter Berg
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Patriots DayAlbert Calleros
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the UniverseMike Mitchell
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lego Movie 2: The Second PartStephen Chow
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kung Fu SoccerRoss Venokur
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rally Road RacersJesse Peretz
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Juliet, NakedKyle Marvin
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
80 for BradyMiguel Arteta
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Like a BossBen Falcone
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Life of the PartyJohn Hamburg
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Me TimeJeff Wadlow
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fantasy IslandBrian Henson
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Happytime MurdersJay Chandrasekhar
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Easter SundaySteve Byrne
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Opening ActJimmy O. Yang
Director
1 film together · 4.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jimmy O. Yang Finally HomeVera Miao
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rock SpringsSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Juliet, Naked
as Elliot (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Jimmy O. Yang has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
20 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Patriots Day
as Dun Meng
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Fantasy Island
as Brax Weaver
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Patriots Day
as Dun Meng
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
as Enthusiastic Zebra (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Wish Dragon
as Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Kung Fu Soccer
as Stadium worker
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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