Oscars: Walking Dead Vet Steven Yeun Snags Historic Lead Actor Nomination

Authored by tvline.com and submitted by chanma50

Glenn Rhee is having the Best. Afterlife. Ever.

Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun snagged an Oscar nomination on Monday for his performance in Minari. The actor’s nod was an historic one: Yeun becomes the first Asian-American performer to ever be recognized in the in the Lead Actor category. (View complete nominations list here.) The Walking Dead's 25 Best Characters, Ranked

Shortly after getting killed off Walking Dead in 2016, Yeun opened up about the professional frustration he experienced during his six-year run on the AMC zombie drama, telling Slate he “felt beige with Glenn,” adding, “That was a little bit of the frustration that I could never explain to the wider society, to fans of the show… It’s like: nice guy, dependable, supportive, benign — beige. And as a Korean man, I am not beige.”

Yeun was quick to note that he was nonetheless “incredibly grateful” for his time on Walking Dead. “Did I have a wonderful time on that show? Yeah!” he maintained. “I wouldn’t take that experience back at all. I made lifelong friendships. I got to learn so much. But I will say that I felt cramped. I felt like there wasn’t space for me to fully spread all of who I was, and that was partly due to me, too, because when I started, all I was trying to do was to work within the parameters that they were giving me. And then, over time, I just outgrew it.”

TheJohnny346 on March 15th, 2021 at 13:04 UTC »

Damn, he made a huge upward trajectory after leaving Walking Dead. Super happy for him and honestly I hope he wins Best Lead Actor.

TeachBig7706 on March 15th, 2021 at 12:53 UTC »

My man Yeun so deserving

bjkman on March 15th, 2021 at 12:46 UTC »

The amount of love for Minari was wonderful