Stephen Park is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member of the sketch comedy television series In Living Color during the 1991–1992 season. His film roles include Sonny in Do the Right Thing (1989), Detective Brian in Falling Down (1993), Mike Yanagita in Fargo (1996), and Lieutenant Nescaffier in The French Dispatch (2021). Park's other acting work includes the roles of Mike Sorayama in the Adult Swim animated television series The Venture Bros. and Judge Pete in the critically acclaimed independent film Rocket Science (2007).

Early life and career Park grew up in Vestal, New York. The son of Korean immigrants, Park began his entertainment career as a stand-up comedian before transitioning into acting.

Park was a cast member on In Living Color. He has appeared in films such as Do the Right Thing (1989), Fargo (1996), A Serious Man (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023). Park has acted in multiple films by the Coen brothers, Bong Joon Ho, and Wes Anderson.

Personal life Park married Kelly Coffield, another former cast member of In Living Color, in 1999. They have a son and a daughter.

Advocacy

In 1997, Park wrote a mission statement in which he called for Hollywood to portray people of Asian descent in a less disparaging light. He wrote the statement after witnessing a racist incident while appearing in a guest role on the television series Friends. In his statement, Park wrote that "In movies and television, Asian characters, mostly men, are subjected to indignity and violence or are tokenized, while Asian women are exploited as objects of sexual desire. You rarely see Asian characters in leading roles that contain any significant power or influence".

Park published his statement as an open letter and it was shared widely online and in the news. He reported that he faced pushback from people in the film industry for his letter but that he would continue his advocacy regardless of the retaliation he faced.

Filmography Film +YearTitleRoleNotes 1989 Do the Right Thing Sonny1990 Quick Change Grocery Cashier Kindergarten Cop Assistant to Salazar 1991 Showdown in Little Tokyo Asian Cop #11992 Kuffs Officer Favaro Toys Researcher 1993 Falling Down Detective Brian1996 Fargo Mike Yanagita Sgt. Bilko Captain Moon Red Ribbon Blues Kris Lee 1997 Yellow Alex's Uncle 1998 Desperate Measures Dr. Gosha 2007 Rocket Science Judge Pete 2008 The Promotion David Kim2009 State of Play Chris Kawai A Serious Man Clive's Father2010 The Best and the Brightest George Tanaka-Blumstein Morning Glory Channel 9 Weatherperson2012 Price Check Board Member The Brass Teapot Dr. Li Ling Putzel Song2013 Snowpiercer Fuyu Wedding Palace Kwan 2014 The Gambler Number 2 2015 Don Verdean Poon-Yen 2020 Kajillionaire Another Father Uncredited 2021 The French Dispatch Lieutenant Nescaffier2023 Ghosted Utami Asteroid City Roger Cho The Good Half Father Dan 2025 Mickey 17 Agent Zeke Death of a Unicorn Dr. Song The Phoenician Scheme The Pilot 2026 Office Romance Luke

Television +YearTitleRoleNotes 1989 The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd Deliveryman Episode: "Here's a Shot in the Dark"1990 Kojak: Flowers for Matty Billy Television film WIOU Dr. Kajita Episode: "They Shoot Sources, Don't They" 1991–1992 In Living Color Various 28 episodes 1992 MacGyver Tan Yee Episode: "The Stringer" 1994 Murder, She Wrote Joe Yoshanaga Episode: "Death in Hawaii" 1995 Martin Mr. Jones Episode: "Kill Him with Kindness" 1995–1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child I Kwan / Dong (voice) 2 episodes 1996–1997 Friends Scott Alexander / Phil 2 episodes 1998 Boy Meets World Jump Master Episode: "Raging Cory" 1998–1999 Mad About You Dr. Lee 2 episodes2004 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Dr. Shimo Episode: "Want" The Venture Bros. Mike Sorayama (voice) Episode: "Past Tense" 2005 Hope & Faith Mr. Yamagoto Episode: "Carmen Get It" 2005–2008 Law & Order Dr. Park / Dr. Bruce Chang 2 episodes 2009 The Unusuals Councilman Tony Harbor Episode: "Pilot" 2011 White Collar Paul Sullivan Episode: "Deadline" 2012 Smash Reporter #1 Episode: "The Callback" 2012–2013 Elementary Oren Watson 2 episodes 2013 Phil Spector Focus Group Man Television film 2014 Believe Lim Episode: "Prodigy" 2014–2015 The Mindy Project Ray 2 episodes2015 Person of Interest Mark Lee Episode: "Search and Destroy" 12 Monkeys Yakuza Soldier Episode: "Shonin" 2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Eugene Lee Episode: "Real Fake News" 2019–2020 Warrior Tu 7 episodes 2021 Infinity Train Min-Gi's Father (voice) Episode: "The Twin Tapes"

References

External links