NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ken Jeong wasn’t a real community college teacher – he just played one on TV. But he is a real medical doctor (and he’s played one on TV). He was also a guest at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) annual conference in Nashville.
Jeong, who played Spanish teacher Ben Chang on the NBC show “Community,” sat down with AACC Board Chair Sunny Cooke at Monday’s Hail & Farewell luncheon. And he wasn’t the only “Community” actor to grace AACC’s stage. Joel McHale, who played reluctant student Jeff Winger, talked with Cooke at Wednesday’s closing brunch.
The two actors shared with conference attendees their fondness for “Community” and how it lives on 10 years after it ended. They also had fun roasting each other.
The ‘Community’ story
“Community” was created by Dan Harmon, who attended Glendale Community College (California). The show revolved around a study group that featured characters not unfamiliar to anyone who works in a community college – and characters based loosely on those Harmon encountered at Glendale: a neurodivergent student (Harmon, himself, is on the autism spectrum), an older student, a parenting student, a Type A student with a drug addiction, and more.
The show was “all about second chances and reinvention,” Jeong said. It struck a “dark yet authentic” tone.
It also was a show that made him a better actor, he said. Around season five, Jeong asked in an email to Dan Harmon if his character – who was often over-the-top and antagonistic – could get a redemption arc.
The following week, a script had a monologue for Jeong that used his own words from the email he sent Harmon.
“I was moved by him trusting me,” Jeong said, getting a little choked up remembering it. That monologue was the first time he had to cry on camera – something he was able to nail just by thinking of Harmon’s consideration of him.
McHale played disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger who was returning to college.
“Everybody is a broken person,” but everybody is ultimately doing their best, McHale said of the characters.
He and Jeong have been good friends since their “Community” days – though they do poke fun of each other.
“Joel McHale, medically speaking, is ugly,” Jeong told the AACC Annual audience.
From doctor to actor
Jeong also talked about his circuitous route to comedy. He grew up in a very academic household and thought he’d have a career in academics. He opted for medicine, but decided to take an acting class in college “on a lark” and realized it was his calling.
He decided to continue studying medicine but did stand-up comedy as a hobby. Even after graduation, while working as a physician, he would go out at night to refine his routine. He eventually won a comedy competition and had the opportunity to perform at a famous comedy club in Los Angeles, where he ended up moving.
It took a while, but Jeong was eventually able to transition full-time into comedy and acting.
“The biggest talent I have is persistence,” he told the AACC audience.
Riding the wave
When asked about his experiences with school, McHale said he liked school … and he didn’t. He’s dyslexic and has ADHD, so he struggled, but he said he was “lucky I had great teachers.”
An eighth-grade teacher encouraged his acting and performing.
He went to University of Washington and “fell in love with history.” He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and went back to performing for graduate school. He has a master of fine arts degree.
Since then, he’s hosted myriad reality shows, acted in several television shows and movies. Because of his dyslexia, scripts and teleprompter work can be difficult for him. While hosting “The Soup,” it would sometimes take him four hours to get through 20 minutes of script.
And, despite his many projects, not all have been successful. He compared the ups and downs of show business to surfing: Some waves are great, and “some will slam you into the rocks.”
During his conversation with Cooke, McHale also talked about having an autistic son (he has two sons with wife Sarah Williams). Cooke asked him what advice he may give community college faculty and staff in better supporting neurodivergent students.
McHale said that one thing he’s learned is “the more talking I do, the less they’re learning.”
