Bowen Yang has sealed his place in Emmy history as he landed his fourth acting nomination for “Saturday Night Live.”
Yang was nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his work on the late-night sketch comedy show. Other actors in the category include Ike Barinholtz (“The Studio”), Colman Domingo (“The Four Seasons”), Harrison Ford (“Shrinking”), Jeff Hiller (“Somebody Somewhere”), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”) and Michael Urie (“Shrinking”).
Yang is now the most-nominated Asian male performer. Actress Sandra Oh currently holds the record as the most-nominated Asian performer with 14 nominations and 1 win.
In 2018, Yang was hired as a staff writer for “SNL” and made history when he became the first Asian cast member to join the series. In 2021, he made history as the first “SNL” featured player to receive an Emmy nomination in an acting category.
Yang has had a great year on the show with some incredible sketches. Among the highlights were “Charades With Mom,” which saw him reunite with his “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande, “One Uppers” in which Yang and Jack Black play a pair of college friends who try to one-up each other while out to dinner. “Shrek the Musical” was another highlight, but perhaps Yang’s funniest moment was playing Moo Deng, the famous baby hippo.
This year, the show celebrated its 50th anniversary. Yang who was a part of the “SNL 50” specials, said, “I think getting to be a part of the ‘SNL 50’ specials this year was something I’ll reflect on for the rest of my life.”
The actor also landed on Variety’s Comedy Impact List for 2025. In addition to “SNL,” Yang co-hosts the Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers. He also starred in “Wicked,” appearing opposite Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum. In the Jon M. Chu-directed musical movie, Yang plays Pfannee, a loyal confidante to Glinda (Grande). The film marks the first installment of two big-screen adaptations of the Broadway musical. The sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” will be released on Nov. 21.
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From Variety US