Harry Shum Jr.

Harry Shum Jr. (born April 28, 1982) is a Costa Rican-American actor, dancer, choreographer, and singer. He is best known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series Glee (2009–15), Benson Kwan on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy (2022–), and as Magnus Bane on the Freeform television series Shadowhunters (2016–19). He was nominated for six Screen Actors Guild Awards for best ensemble performance in Crazy Rich Asians, Glee and Everything Everywhere All At Once, winning for the latter two. Shum won the award for The Male TV Star of 2018 in the E! People's Choice Awards for Shadowhunters.

Harry Shum Jr.
Shum in 2017
Born (1982-04-28) April 28, 1982
Limón, Costa Rica
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
  • choreographer
  • singer
Years active2000–present
Spouse
(m. 2015)
Children1
Chinese name
Chinese[1]
Websitewww.harryshumjr.com
Signature

Shum has appeared in the films Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), Step Up 3D (2010), White Frog (2012), Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), the Hulu web series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (2010–2011) and the YouTube Originals series Single by 30 (2016). In 2020, he starred in Universal's romantic drama All My Life. In 2021 Shum starred in the thriller Broadcast Signal Intrusion and appeared in Netflix's holiday rom-com Love Hard. In 2022, Shum had a supporting role in A24's critically acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All At Once which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and is set to star in a Crazy Rich Asians spinoff centered around his and Gemma Chan's characters.

Early life

Shum was born in Limón, Costa Rica, the son of Chinese immigrants. His mother is a native of Hong Kong and his father is from Guangzhou, China. They relocated to Costa Rica, where Shum and his two older sisters were born. When Shum was six years old, the family moved to San Francisco, California.[2] He stated, "I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Spanish and Cantonese. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Cantonese and English."[3][4] He later stated that he has not spoken Spanish fluently since the age of 6.[5][6]

Shum spent most of his schooling years in San Luis Obispo County, California and graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2000.[7] Initially, he had been more interested in theater and sports but found a passion for dance after auditioning for his high school dance team on a dare.[7][8][9] Shum attended San Francisco State University for a year, before dropping out to pursue a dance career. In an interview, he said that his earliest motivations to dance were from watching Ginuwine, Dru Hill, and Usher, before becoming influenced by dancers like Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson.[8]

Career

2002–07: Dancer beginnings

Shum began his dance career in Los Angeles.[10] As a 18-year-old, he was spotted by choreographers Rosero McCoy and Jamal Sims to go on a UK tour with the singer Kaci.[11] He steadily built his career, appearing as the only male dancer on BET's Comic View,[3] and starred in a series of Apple iPod advertisements as dancing silhouettes.[12][13] He joined Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Missy Elliott in their co-headlining tour Ladies First in 2004,[14][15] while working as a backup dancer for artists including Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, and Mariah Carey.[16] He appeared in several music videos of songs including Lose My Breath by Destiny's Child and It's Like That by Mariah Carey.[17] Shum also worked as a dance instructor.[18]

2008–14: Turn to acting, Glee, The LXD

Since 2008, Shum was given roles in Step Up 2 and later Step Up 3D,[19] both directed by Jon M. Chu. From 2009 until 2015, he portrayed the role of Mike Chang, a dancer who joins the glee club, on the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee.[20] Known for a while as "Other Asian" on Glee, he was given very few lines during the show's first season. Partly due to the enthusiasm from fans during his appearances on the live tour taking place after the first season concluded, Shum's character was given storylines in the second season, mostly involving his relationship with fellow glee club member Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz).[21] He subsequently gave performances of "Make 'Em Laugh" in "The Substitute", "Sing" from A Chorus Line in "Duets", "Valerie" in "Special Education", and the show's first dance solo in "A Night of Neglect". He was promoted from guest star to series regular for the third season.[22] He was given a major storyline in the third episode of the season, "Asian F", and performed "Cool" from West Side Story, his first solo song. On June 28, 2013, it was reported that Shum would not return as regular on Glee's fifth season, but would be a recurring guest star.[23]

Shum worked as both a choreographer and a dancer for the dance group The LXD.[24][25] Along with Chrisopher Scott, Harry choreographed performances during the Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show, the 82nd Academy Awards and So You Think You Can Dance.[26] The LXD also worked as the opening act for the Glee Live! In Concert! tour starting in May 2010. A mini web series of the same name and starring The LXD was created by Jon M. Chu, with Shum again taking the position of the choreographer and portrayed Elliot, while also writing the script for one of the episodes.[27]

Shum has been featured in many productions of Wong Fu Productions.[28] In 2011, Shum starred in a short action film, 3 Minutes, directed by Ross Ching and produced by Don Le and George Wang. In 2012 he starred in White Frog, a comedy-drama film directed by Quentin Lee. Subsequently, Shum was cast in the role of the Kuai Liang (the younger Sub-Zero) in the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy.[29] Harry had a major role in crime drama film Revenge of the Green Dragons, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese.[30] Shum was also the judge on the reality competition television series Face Off.[31]

2015–18: Shadowhunters and other films

In 2016, Shum appeared as the character Wei-Fang in the Netflix American–Chinese martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny,[32][33] a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (1999). Shum was also cast as the male lead, Peter Ma, in Single By 30, a YouTube Red original series from Wong Fu Productions and New Form Digital after starring in the original pilot in 2015. The first season of the series premiered on August 24, 2016, on Wong Fu Productions' Channel.[34]

Shum scored a primary role in the Freeform series, Shadowhunters, and portrayed the centuries-old warlock Magnus Bane between 2016 and 2019. The show was based on Cassandra Clare's best-selling young adult fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments.[35] His portrayal of Bane, a bisexual man of color, helped Shadowhunters win the 2017 GLAAD media award for an "Outstanding Drama Series", which he accepted with his co-star Matthew Daddario.[36] Shum also received the Bisexual Representation Award (BiRA) for "Best Bisexual Representation of a Supporting Character" in both 2017 and 2018 hosted by FluidStyleCo.[37] Shum won the award for The Male TV Star of 2018 in the E! People's Choice Awards for his role as Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters.[38]

Alongside his work in Shadowhunters, he received supporting roles in films including Escape Plan: The Extractors and Burn. In 2018, Shum was cast as Charlie Wu in Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians,[39] and despite most of his scenes being cut due to the desire to focus on one romantic pairing, he appears briefly in a mid-credits scene, hinting at a romantic link to one of the characters, Astrid Leong-Teo.[40]

2019–present

In 2019, Shum appeared in 4 episodes of Tell Me a Story which premiered in December 2019. In March 2020, Shum guest starred in an episode of Comedy Central's Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. On December 4, the romantic drama All My Life was released in US theaters, followed by a premium video-on-demand release on December 23, and a streaming release on HBO Max on August 7, 2021.

Conspiracy thriller Broadcast Signal Intrusion, in which Shum starred and served as an executive producer,[41] premiered to critical acclaim at South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2021[42] and was released On Demand and in select theaters on October 22, 2021. Shum appeared in Netflix's holiday romantic comedy Love Hard which was released on November 5, 2021.[43] In the film, the actor played Jimmy O. Yang's character's brother, Owen Lin, and was praised by the audience for his comic timing.

In March 2022, Shum appeared in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed Academy Award-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once.[44][45] Michelle Yeoh called Shum "the most incredible physical comedian ever", referring to his performance in the film.[46] On May 6, 2022, Deadline reported that a Crazy Rich Asians spinoff is in early development at Warner Bros. and is set to focus on the relationship between Astrid Leong-Teo and Charlie Wu, played respectively by Gemma Chan and Shum.[47] Starting October 2022, Shum joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy season 19 as surgical intern Dr. Benson "Blue" Kwan.

Shum also turned to voiceover work. He made a guest appearance in Audible's fiction podcast Christmas Delivery,[48] as well as in the Paramount+ animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, voicing the character of Rawda.[49] In 2022, Shum starred in and executive produced Realm's fiction podcast series Echo Park, which was nominated for Best Fiction Podcast at the iHeart Podcast Awards.[50][51] In 2023, Shum voiced Brainiac 5 in DC's animated film set in the Tomorrowverse, Legion of Super-Heroes.[52] Also, in 2023, he narrated the PBS Nature documentary The Hummingbird Effect.

Personal life

Shum began a relationship with actress and dancer Shelby Rabara in 2006.[53] The two were engaged in October 2013 while on vacation in Hawaii[54] and were married on November 22, 2015, in Costa Rica.[55][9] They have a daughter.[56]

Shum has stated that he identifies as being somewhat Latino. He said, "It's strange that I am full Chinese and born in a Latin country, but I love the fact that I was immersed in that culture at birth while maintaining my Chinese roots."[57]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 You Got Served Dancer
2007 Stomp the Yard Crew dancer
2008 The Onion Movie "Lollipop Love" dancer
Step Up 2: The Streets Cable
Center Stage: Turn It Up Club dancer
2010 Our Family Wedding Harry
The LXD: The Uprising Begins Elliot Hoo
Step Up 3D Cable
2011 3 Minutes Harry - Hunter #1 Short film
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie Mike Chang Concert film
2012 White Frog Chaz Young
2014 Moms' Night Out Joey
Revenge of the Green Dragons Paul Wong
2015 Fire City: End of Days Frank
2016 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny Wei-Fang
2018 Crazy Rich Asians Charlie Wu
2019 Escape Plan: The Extractors Bao Yung
Burn Officer Liu
2020 All My Life Solomon Chau
2021 Broadcast Signal Intrusion James
Love Hard Owen Lin
2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once Chad
2023 Legion of Super-Heroes Brainiac 5 Voice[58]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Boston Public Fletcher Episode: "Chapter Sixty"
2005 Committed Chinese Delivery Guy Episode: "The Apartment Episode"
2007 High School Musical 2 Dance-Along Dancer Television film; uncredited
Viva Laughlin Construction Dancer Episode: Pilot
2008 Zoey 101 Roy Episode: "Trading Places"
Rita Rocks Zack Episode: "Flirting with Disaster"
Greek Omega Chi Brother 3 episodes
iCarly Yûki Episode: "IGo to Japan"
2009–2015 Glee Mike Chang Recurring role (seasons 1–2, 5–6); main role (seasons 3–4)
2010–2011 The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers Elliot Hoo Miniseries
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kuai Liang / Sub-Zero Web series; guest role
The Eric Andre Show Himself 1 episode
2014 Fake Off Himself Judge (season 2)
Caper Luke Washington Web series; main role
2016 Single by 30 Peter Ma Web series; main role
2016–2019 Shadowhunters Magnus Bane Main role
2019–2020 Tell Me a Story Brendan 4 episodes
2020 Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens Doc Hottie Episode: "Grandma & Chill"
2022 Step Into... The Movies Himself TV special; "Beauty and the Beast" dance sequence
2022–present Grey's Anatomy Dr. Benson "Blue" Kwan Main role (season 19)[59]
2022 Star Trek: Lower Decks Rawda Voice, episode: "A Mathematically Perfect Redemption"
2023 Station 19 Dr. Benson "Blue" Kwan Episode: "We Build Then We Break"

Other

Year Title Role Notes
2016 ReCore Kai Brehn Video game[58]
2021 Christmas Delivery Felix Podcast series
2022 Echo Park James/Terrance Podcast series

Awards and nominations

Year Work Award Category Result
2010 Glee Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Music: Group (with cast) Nominated
Lesbian/Bi People's Choice Awards Favorite Music Duo or Group (with cast) Nominated
Gay People's Choice Awards Favorite Music Duo or Group (with cast) Won
2011 Glee Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Music: Group (with cast) Nominated
Himself East West Players Visionary Awards Breakout Performance Award Won
2012 Glee Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
2013 Glee Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
Himself Hawaii International Film Festival Rising Star of the Year Won
Remixed Streamy Awards Best Choreography Nominated
2016 Shadowhunters TV Scoop Awards TV Breakout Star – Male Won
MTV Fandom Awards Ship of the Year (shared with Matthew Daddario) Nominated
2017 Shadowhunters Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Summer Actor Nominated
Choice TV: Ship (shared with Matthew Daddario) Nominated
Choice TV: LipLock (shared with Matthew Daddario) Nominated
Bisexual Representation Award Best Bisexual Representation by a Supporting Character Male Won
2018 Shadowhunters TV Scoop Awards TV Best Drama Actor Nominated
TV Best Couple (shared with Matthew Daddario) Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Ship (shared with Matthew Daddario) Nominated
Bisexual Representation Award Best Bisexual Representation by a Supporting Character Male Won
People's Choice Award The Male TV Star of 2018 Won
2019 Shadowhunters Teen Choice Awards Choice Sci-Fi Fantasy TV Actor Nominated
TV Scoop Awards Best Performance Nominated
2023 Echo Park iHeart Podcast Awards Best Fiction Podcast Pending
Everything Everywhere All at Once Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Won

Discography

References

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