Gedde Watanabe
Watanabe in 2014
Born	Gary Watanabe (1955-06-26)June 26, 1955 (age 70) Ogden,Utah, U.S.
Education	American Conservatory Theater
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976–present

Gary "Gedde"Watanabe (/ˈɡɛdiˌwɑːtəˈnɑːbi/;^[1] born June 26, 1955) is an American actor.^[2] He is known for voicing the character ofLing in the animated filmMulan (1998) and its sequelMulan II (2004), as well as playingLong Duk Dong in the filmSixteen Candles (1984), Takahara "Kaz" Kazihiro inGung Ho (1986), and Nurse Yosh Takata in theNBC medical dramaER from 1997 to 2003. He was also an original cast member of theStephen Sondheim musicalPacific Overtures.

Watanabe was born and raised inOgden, Utah, in aJapanese-American family. His mother worked as a seamstress at the Utah Tailoring Company.^[3] He performed in several dramatic productions in high school, both acting and singing. After graduation, Watanabe relocated toSan Francisco, where he worked as a street musician while honing his acting skills.^[4]

In 1976, Watanabe's first role was as a member of the originalBroadway cast ofPacific Overtures, originating the roles of Priest, Girl, and The Boy. He has since appeared in a number of films and television series, the first of which wasThe Long Island Four in 1980.

Many of his roles are caricatured East Asians with heavy accents, though he himself does not speak Japanese.^[5]

Watanabe became well known for his role asLong Duk Dong in the filmSixteen Candles (1984). He had a starring role in both the filmGung Ho (1986) ^[2] and itstelevision spinoff.^[2] In the 1989 movieUHF ^[2] starring"Weird Al" Yankovic, Watanabe co-starred as Kuni, a karate instructor and abusive host of a TV game show calledWheel of Fish. He later reprised this role onThe Weird Al Show. Watanabe appeared onSesame Street from 1988 to 1991 as Hiroshi and had a recurring role as gay nurseYosh Takata on the television dramaER ^[2] from 1997 to 2003. During the nineties, Watanabe studied acting at Theater Theater in Hollywood, California, with Chris Aable, who introduced him to fellow actorsJon Cedar andSteve Burton. He voiced various Japanese characters on the animated television comedyThe Simpsons. In 1998, he voiced Ling in the Disney animated filmMulan and reprised the role for the 2004direct-to-video sequelMulan II and the 2005 video gameKingdom Hearts II.

While living as agay man and in a relationship since 1986, Watanabe did not speak much about his sexuality.^[6]

It was only until receiving his role in the 2020web seriesThe Disappointments that Watanabe spoke of his life as a gay man on the record in a conversation withDisappointments co-stars Trevor LaPaglia and Rich Burns.^[6]

• Media related toGedde Watanabe at Wikimedia Commons
• Gedde Watanabe atIMDb
• Gedde Watanabe at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1955 births
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• Living people
• American male film actors
• American male musical theatre actors
• American male television actors
• American male video game actors
• American male voice actors
• American comedians of Asian descent
• Male actors from Utah
• American male actors of Japanese descent
• People from Ogden, Utah
• American Conservatory Theater alumni
• American male comedians
• Comedians from Utah
• American gay actors
• American LGBTQ people of Asian descent

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