Fan-Favorite Horror Star Delivers Perfect Performance In Netflix Dramedy Series

By Douglas Helm | Updated

steven yeun
Steven Yeun in Beef

Ever since his breakout role in The Walking Dead in 2010, Steven Yeun has been on a hot streak of critically acclaimed projects, and his Netflix series Beef is no exception. The series hit Netflix back in April and got a ton of attention, so you’re missing out if you haven’t watched it yet. If you’re a fan of Yeun or just good shows in general, you should head over to Netflix and binge it as soon as possible.

Steven Yeun is joined by comedian Ali Wong in Beef, one of this year’s biggest hits on Netflix.

Beef stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two strangers who become entangled through a road rage incident, causing a prolonged feud between the two. Along with Yeun and Wong, the cast includes Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake. While everyone turns in great performances, Wong and Yeun are both outstanding in their roles, with each of them nabbing Emmy nominations.

Steven Yeun and Ali Wong were nominated for Oustanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie, respectively, for Beef. However, Yeun and Wong weren’t even the only ones nominated, as Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, and Maria Bello were all nominated for supporting roles. The series also nabbed nominations for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, along with directing and writing awards for Lee Sung Jin and Jake Schreier.

Beef

Beef, which was created by Lee Sung Jin, is a great watch for fans of black comedy and dramedies. The series has a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, with both audiences and critics loving it. It will almost surely nab some Emmys this year, and it was definitely one of Netflix’s biggest surprise hits of 2023.

Although Beef was the only project that we’ve seen from Steven Yeun so far in 2023, he’s coming off a strong couple of years. Just last year, he starred in Jordan Peele’s latest film Nope, and he got his first Oscar nomination the year before for his performance in the fantastic Minari. It also doesn’t seem like his streak of quality projects will be slowing down anytime soon.

Steven Yeun was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Anthology Series for his role in Beef.

Although Beef was the first new show we’ve seen from Steven Yeun in 2023, it won’t be the last. The long-awaited and highly-anticipated second season of his hit animated show Invincible will be hitting Amazon Prime Video in November. We did get the great hour-long Atom Eve special back in July to hold us over, but fans are certainly waiting to see what’s next for Yeun’s Mark Grayson after the tragic events of the first season finale.

Invincible, which is adapted from the Robert Kirkman comic of the same name, will also introduce the villain Angstrom Levy, played by Sterling K. Brown. If the second season can live up to the lofty highs of the first season, then Steven Yeun will have had an incredible 2023 with both Invincible and Beef on his resume. But surprisingly, Yeun somehow will be having an even bigger 2024.

Steven Yeun is Joining The MCU

steven yeun
Steven Yeun in The Walking Dead

In 2024, Steven Yeun will team up with Beef director Jake Schreier once again for the Marvel film Thunderbolts, with Yeun officially making his MCU debut. The film follows the titular team of anti-heroes that includes Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Wyatt Russell’s US Agent, and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes. Harrison Ford is also along for the ride as Thaddeus Ross, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus also reprising her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Steven Yeun and Edo Edbiri’s roles have yet to be revealed for Thunderbolts, but we’ll surely find out when the film hits theaters on December 20, 2024. Yeun will also be starring in the next big film from Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, titled Mickey 17, which also stars Robert Pattinson. Perhaps we could see another Oscar nomination for Steven Yeun in the future, alongside his Emmy nomination for Beef.

It will undoubtedly be interesting to see Yeun’s performances in Thunderbolts and Mickey 17, but we’ll have to wait until next year for that. In the meantime, you definitely won’t regret heading over to Netflix to stream Beef to see one of his best performances yet. You can also look forward to hearing Yeun in Invincible when it premieres on Amazon Prime Video on November 3.