Jonathon, a Los Angeles native, was raised by two Korean parents who never saw acting in his future. As a shy, awkward kid with glasses, he spent his days playing video games and watching cartoons. Though stage fright kept him out of theater, he fell in love with performance through music, playing clarinet, saxophone, guitar, and piano in various bands. After studying film and working as a video editor in the Kpop industry, he decided to dive into acting and voiceover.
Now, he’s grateful to be part of a fun, supportive community of fellow nerds and geeks. His goal? To keep collaborating with amazing people, growing as an actor, and sharing the stage with his heroes.
Q: What’s one physical thing you absolutely can’t live without on your career or journey?
The people! This crazy adventure wouldn’t mean anything if it wasn’t for the community of friends, mentors, and peers we have all around us. Our little corner of the industry is something I believe is a gift, and I’d be lying if I said that my success wasn’t in many ways a direct result of my friends and I reciprocating a genuine desire to see each other succeed. It really is all about ✨the friends we made along the way✨, huh?
Q: What’s something that happened this year that you’re really proud of?
This year was actually my first year as a professional actor, and I came into 2024 with the goal of going into ANY studio for ANY kind of voiceover session 10 times. Yet as of writing this, I’ve been in over 40 sessions. It’s something I could have never imagined would happen especially in my first year, and it feels incredible to know that the multiple years I spent training, grinding, and meeting the right people are starting to pay off. And through the work I’ve done so far, I’m MOST proud to say that I’m almost done paying off my car! Woohoo!
Q: What’s one of your major takeaways from participating in THNEA classes?
I’ve taken lots of classes with Halp, and I think my biggest takeaway is that every one of these people who teach and help run these classes is… human! Everyone’s just doing their best and hoping to have a good time with their peers, which alleviates a lot of the pressure that we can sometimes feel to “be perfect”—whatever that means. I also feel incredibly fortunate to even call some of these people my dear friends. 🙂
Q: If you can give your past self one piece of advice at the start of your journey, what would it be?
My answer is something I’ve actually been thinking about a lot lately; it’s that this journey is in many ways like a good retirement fund (I promise I’m not a finance snob, just please stick with me on this). Starting out is INCREDIBLY hard—you have no idea where to go, you don’t know who to talk to, you feel like you’re not doing anything right, and lots of other sentences with “no” and “not” in them. But if you simply trust the process, consistently do great work that you believe in, and feel deep in your bones that you love this and that it’s going to pay off, then—much like how the money in a retirement fund will eventually grow exponentially thanks to a little principle called ✨cOmPoUnD iNtErEsT✨—you’ll see things pay enormous dividends in the long run. Time and the compounding of your momentum from the effort you continue to invest is such a huge part of this career, and thinking long-term (I’m talking 1, 5, even 10+ years ahead) will serve you in more ways than you can imagine. Chances are, this little adventure you’re embarking on is going to last literal DECADES. So enjoy the process and learn to ride the wave. There’s no rush!
You can learn more about Jonathon on his website or IMDB!
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