Ken Jeong began his professional career as a doctor, but he had a deeper interest in examining Hollywood. Jeong got his big break in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up playing, what else ... a doctor. After the success of that film, Jeong went on to a string of roles in hit comedies such as Pineapple Express, Role Models, and, most recently, Todd Phillips' The Hangover. The Old School director's newest film is about four guys who head to Vegas for a bachelor party, get trashed, wake up the next morning, and realize they've lost the groom. Oh, and none of them can remember anything from the night before. Jeong adds to the worst morning after, playing an Asian crime lord the guys find in the trunk of their car. With roles in upcoming films such as All About Steve, starring Sandra Bullock, and the Will Ferrell-produced The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, the scene-stealing MD proves he might just have what it takes to hack it in Hollywood. Now, open wide ...

Tell me about your background. I started out doing theater in college when I was premed at Duke undergrad. I got into med school and was also accepted into drama school. I was faced with a decision. I ended up not following through with drama because I wasn’t on scholarship, and I felt like I owed it to my parents to pick a profession that was a bit more stable. I also asked myself, “How many famous short, scrawny Asians are there?” When I got into med school, I started doing stand-up comedy. Doing stand-up was my outlet and kind of became a hobby of mine. I didn’t have any professional aspirations of doing it. I would do open mics about every three months. It was something that got my performing bug out of the way.

You were a doctor moonlighting as a stand-up comic. Did you consider yourself the Asian Patch Adams? When that movie came out, I did joke about it. I hated the cheesy aspect of laughter is the best medicine. I never subscribed to that. I didn’t see patients in a clown suit and say, “You got herpes, but I got your nose!” I remember when I did stand-up initially, I never joked about being in med school because I didn’t want to rely on that. I felt like I had too much dignity as a comic to do cheesy medical jokes. Instead, I did Asian small dick jokes.

Your first big break in movies was Knocked Up? Yes, Knocked Up was my biggest role I ever had as an actor. It kind of blended everything I wanted to do: acting, comedy, and medicine. It was serendipity to get the role. I remember it being a three-month search to cast it. I didn't know Judd or any of those guys before. I auditioned a few times and eventually got the part. It changed my life. Knocked Up was such a huge hit that I literally did about five movies in a row after filming it. I had no choice but to do acting full-time and not work in medicine anymore. When you left being a doctor to head into the stable career of acting full time, what did your wife think? My wife was pretty supportive of it. One of our first dates was me taking her to see one of my comedy shows. She’s the first doctor that I ever dated that really got me. She knew my medical side, and I was a good doctor. She also knew I was a good performer, and that was kind of what I was meant to do.

You definitely play an awesome nerd villain in Role Models. What was it like to play King Argotron? That was probably most difficult role because I didn't know anything about Dungeons & Dragons or LARPing [live action role-playing]. I prepared a lot for that role. The director David Wain gave me Darkon, which is a documentary about LARPing. I watched it about 12 times and studied it. I went online and did research on live action role-play, saw a lot of videos on YouTube, and went to a couple of events. It was the toughest role I ever had, but it made it that much more fulfilling. And it was great to work with the guy's from The State. When I was in college and med school, they were my role models. Tell me about your role in The Hangover. I play, Mr. Chow, an Asian crime lord who they meet along the way while they are looking for Doug the groom. It's a great set-up and a great movie in terms of the amount of mystery involved. You're automatically hooked by the opening scene, which is possibly one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Bradley is looking all beat up with the other guys in the background in the Vegas desert saying, "We lost Doug." They always say when you write a movie, you want to know what the movie is about in the first minute. Well, you have it right there. It goes straight into it and you're hooked. You had full frontal nudity in your first scene of The Hangover. That’s pretty ballsy (no pun intended). Was that uncomfortable for you to do? That was my idea, actually. But it wasn't by design. I meekly pitched it to wardrobe. They liked the idea, and they told executive producer Scott Budnick, and Scott told Todd, and he was like, genius. A few hours later, Budnick shows up at my hotel room with a nudity clause to sign my life away. It was like, get him before he changes his mind! Was your bachelor party at all relatable to what these four guys went through in the movie? I had my bachelor party in Vegas before I got married, and mine was much more tame. It was pretty standard. We all just got plastered. It’s realistic how they broke those guys down in The Hangover. I love Ed Helms’ character where he tells his girlfriend he is not going to Vegas, but he's going to Napa, instead. Do you have any favorite restaurants in Los Angeles? I’m Korean, and my wife and I go to Chosun Galbee. Galbee is Korean short ribs, and no one does galbee better than this restaurant. For my money, it’s the best Korean food in town.

Why should people go and see The Hangover? Honestly, I think it’s the best escape comedy of the summer. There can be no more escapist fare than this movie. It’s hardcore and lighthearted at the same time. Zach Galifianakis rocks it so hard in this movie. Ed Helms played it beautifully. And Bradley Cooper is such a great actor. People don’t realize how funny this guy is. I think a lot of ladies, and possibly some guys, will be jealous that my genitalia were on Bradley Cooper’s neck. Last question: What was your worst hangover ever? In college. I remember my roommates dragging me by my legs to my dorm room. That was seriously after three beers. I’m a lightweight drunk. You give me three or four beers, and I’m gone.