For the Malaysian badminton player, see Jimmy Wong (badminton). For other people, see Jimmy Wang (disambiguation).
Jimmy Wong
Birth nameJames Franklin Wong
Birth dateMarch 28, 1987 (age 39)
Birth placeSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Alma materMiddlebury College
OccupationActor · musician
Years active2010–present
Known forVideo Game High School
Notable works"Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song"
Spouse
Relatives

James Franklin Wong[1] (born March 28, 1987)[2][3] is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his 2011 music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" and for his role as Ted in the web series Video Game High School. In 2017, he and YouTuber Meghan Camarena co-hosted the video game themed variety show Polaris Primetime, which was created as part of Disney's "DXP" programming block on Disney XD.

Wong has appeared in feature films such as John Dies at the End, The Circle, and the live-action version of Mulan.

Early life

Wong grew up in Normandy Park, Washington.[4] He graduated from Middlebury College in 2009, where he majored in theater and drama.[4][1] After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to become an actor.[1]

Career

Wong garnered national news coverage in March 2011, when he uploaded his music video, "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" to YouTube. He created the video as a response to a UCLA student's vlog rant against Asian students using mobile phones in the UCLA library,[5][6] one which MSNBC qualified as "offensive."[7] NPR suggested that Wong's video response was one that "effectively turn[ed] the tables on the original rant," offering an alternative method of defense against cyberbullying.[8] Wong later said in an MSNBC interview that while he was initially frustrated by the video rant, he realized that humor offered a better response, as he hoped to "put a positive spin on all of it." Furthermore, he stated, an eye for an eye approach would only encourage "this behavior to continue."[7] "Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song" went viral and was covered nationally by the American media.[9][10][11][12]

That same year, he co-launched and co-hosted the YouTube cooking show Feast of Fiction with Ashley Adams.

Wong later portrayed Ted in the web series Video Game High School.[13] He was also invited by Lionsgate and Google to create the web series District Voices.[14] In 2014, Wong was ranked #73 on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels.[15]

Wong played Ling in Disney's 2020 live action remake of the 1998 Mulan animated movie.

Gaming

Wong is an avid player of Magic: The Gathering, specifically the Commander format. He hosts a podcast with co-hosts Josh Lee Kwai and Rachel Weeks called The Command Zone, where they discuss their experiences playing the Commander format. Wong is referred to by his co-hosts as "Jimmy the Red" due to fact that he often plays red decks when playing commander.[16] He has also been called upon by Wizards of the Coast to preview new sets at exhibitions and on their YouTube channel.[17] In 2021, he appeared in the podcast Dungeons & Daddies, where he played a demonic human-paladin character named Jodie Foster.[18][19][20]

Wong portrays himself in the hit 2022 physics based virtual reality game BONELAB.[21]

Personal life

His father is Chinese, from Canton, and his mother is of Chinese and Mongol ancestry.[4] He is the younger brother of filmmaker Freddie Wong.[22] Wong announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Rosanna Wang, in December of 2020. A few months later, the two married on February 28, 2021. The couple welcomed their first son, Mason, in February 2022.

Partial filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011"Ching Chong: Asians in the Library Song"Composer and singerYouTube music video
2012John Dies at the EndFred ChuFeature film
2012–2013MyMusicLeaderWeb series
2012–2014Video Game High SchoolTed WongWeb series
2014The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – District VoicesDistrict 9 VoiceTV mini-series
2015Dude Bro Party Massacre IIISizzlerFeature film
2016Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner PartyConstable JimmyYouTube series, 4 episodes
2017The CircleMitchFeature film
Polaris PrimetimeCo-hostwith Meghan Camarena, broadcast on Disney XD's "DXP" block[23]
2017–2018Parker PlaysRecurring guestTV series, 8 episodes
2020MulanLingFeature film[24]
2021Wish DragonDin SongFeature film[25]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Sydney (2011-05-05). "Interview with Jimmy Wong Of Alexandra Wallace Fame". Untemplater. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  2. ^ Wong, Jimmy (March 28, 2018). "For my birthday this year, I present my own personal Top 32 bracket for March. If you like it Twitter, yall know what to do.". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  3. ^ Wong, Jimmy (August 12, 2020). "also lol i'm 33, they wanted a 12-14 year old to play aang. so not really in the books for me anyway.". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  4. ^ Nguyen, Stacy (2011-04-07). "Hit singer Jimmy Wong on Alexandra Wallace and why angry responses are unproductive". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  5. ^ Zhan, Julie (July 7, 2011). "Never stop working. If you're doing something you love, then it shouldn't be a problem". The Other Asians. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  6. ^ Roderick, Kevin (March 24, 2011). "Jimmy Wong as Internet savior". LA Observed. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  7. ^ "Jimmy Wong makes 'ching chong' a love song". MSNBC. 2011-03-23. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  8. ^ Pell, Dave (2011-03-21). "Jimmy Wong Saves The Internet". NPR. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  9. ^ All Things Considered (2011-03-24). "A Racial Rant Inspires An Internet Balladeer". NPR. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  10. ^ Chansanchai, Athima (2011-03-18). "UCLA student's 'Asians' rant ignites YouTube responses". Today (U.S. TV program). Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  11. ^ Samuel, Sharon (2011-03-17). "'Ching Chong' Shot Heard Around Social Media World". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  12. ^ Walker, Rob (2012-06-28). "On YouTube, Amateur Is the New Pro". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  13. ^ Sun, Rebecca (2014-12-12). "THR's at-a-glance look at the week in representation news". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  14. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2014-10-20). "Jimmy Wong, Rob Czar and iJustine's Justine Ezarik made videos for Lionsgate and Google". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  15. ^ "The NMR Top 100 YouTube Channels: 75-51!". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Podcasts - RocketJump". RocketJump. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  17. ^ Magic: The Gathering (2016-06-20), "Access Magic: Eldritch Moon, Episode 1", archived 2021-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2017-06-13
  18. ^ "Ep. 48 - Carry On My Wayward Son". Acast. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "S2 Ep. 28 - King of the Hell". Dungeons and Daddies. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  20. ^ "S2 Ep. 29 - S.O.C.C.E.R.: Shadow Of Scorenogoal". Dungeons and Daddies. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  21. ^ Danielson, Matthew (2022-10-17). "Bonelab: Jimmy Wong Key Guide (Where to Get it & What it’s For)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
  22. ^ Austen, Ben (2011-12-16). "The YouTube Laugh Factory: A Studio System for Viral Video". Wired. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  23. ^ Lafayette, Jon (14 June 2017). "Disney XD Set to Launch Gamer Programming Block". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  24. ^ Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Casts Jimmy Wong & Doua Moua Deadline Hollywood, Retrieved August 14, 2018
  25. ^ Parkes, Douglas (June 11, 2021). "Netflix’s Wish Dragon is a Chinese take on Aladdin: star Jimmy Wong talks anti-Asian hate, Disney’s Mulan controversy – and why he idolises the film’s producer Jackie Chan". South China Morning Post
  26. ^ "Most videogame characters identified in one minute". Guinness World Records. June 27, 2017. Retrieved 2022-12-14.