Aaron Takahashi is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as the "male nurse" Lee in the film '' Yes Man'' (2008), one of the fake groomsmen in '' The Wedding Ringer'' (2015), as Troy in the film ''

Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in Octobe ...

'' (2013), and his various roles on the talk show ''Conan'' on TBS, with

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' ( ...

. Takahashi has appeared in over 50 national commercials since 2004.

Early life

Takahashi graduated from North Torrance High School. Takahashi worked at Meiji supermarket while attending the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC). He graduated with a degree in English and an emphasis on creative writing. After graduation, he became the manager of the store. After the store closed, Takahashi pursued acting full time.

Career

Film

Takahashi has appeared as the character "Takashi" in

Justin Lin Justin Lin (, born October 11, 1971) is a Taiwanese-American film director. His films have grossed US$2.3 billion worldwide as of March 2017. He is best known for his directorial work on '' Better Luck Tomorrow'' (2002), the '' Fast & Furious'' ...

's directorial debut, ''

Better Luck Tomorrow ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' is a 2002 American crime-drama film directed by Justin Lin. The film is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess. ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' i ...

'' (2002). He also appeared in the film ''

Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and w ...

'' (2005) as a Rickshaw Runner, and in

Lane Nishikawa Lane Nishikawa is a Japanese American actor, filmmaker, playwright and performance artist who was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii and is ''Sansei'' (third generation Japanese American).Kim, Esther. (2006). His work often deals with Asian American histo ...

's film '' Only the Brave'' (2006) as one of the 442 2nd Squad soldiers. Takahashi has additionally appeared as the male nurse character "Lee" in

Peyton Reed Peyton Tucker Reed (born July 3, 1964) is an American television and film director. He directed the comedy films '' Bring It On'', '' Down with Love'', '' The Break-Up'', and '' Yes Man'', as well as the superhero film ''Ant-Man'' and its sequel ...

's '' Yes Man'' opposite

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

. In 2013, Takahashi appeared as "Troy" in Rob Meltzer's ''

'' (2013) opposite

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the ag ...

. In 2015, Takahashi appeared as Endo/Rambis (named after the coach Kurt Rambis), one of

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...

's character's "fake groomsmen" in

Jeremy Garelick Jeremy Garelick (born November 30, 1975) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Early life Garelick was born in New York City. He attended Yale University and graduated with degrees in Film and Theater. He is of Jewish background. ...

's '' The Wedding Ringer'', starring

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

and

. In addition to ''Better Luck Tomorrow'', Takahashi has appeared in independent films such as Kiyong Kim's ''Ku Klux Korena'' (2007) (as Jin), Teruhisa Yoshida's ''Robert Hearts Miss Ing'' (2008), Tom Huang's ''Why Am I Doing This?'' (2009)(as Sung), James Huang's ''Starting From Scratch'' (2013) (as Jim), Peter O'Melia's ''The Grounds'' (2014) (as Applicant #4), and as Aaron, a fictionalized version of himself, in ''Awesome Asian Bad Guys'' (2013-2014), directed by Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco. Takahashi has also appeared in various short films such as Mike Nojun Park's ''Re: Your Balls'' (2009) (as Matt), James Huang's ''Represent'' (2010) (as Aaron), and Roman Cortez's ''My Best Friend Bigfoot Ep.1 & 2.'' (2010) (as Scott).

Television

Takahashi has appeared in a number of TV series, including ''Asia Street Comedy'' (2004-2005) (various characters), ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Ro ...

'' (as a Thai Delivery Man and a Storeowner), ''

The Bill Engvall Show ''The Bill Engvall Show'' is a sitcom which ran on TBS from July 17, 2007 to September 5, 2009. The series starred comedian Bill Engvall and was written and created by Engvall and Michael Leeson. The series was canceled on September 25, 2009. ...

'' (2009) (as a Driver), ''Whacked'' (as a Korean Shopkeeper), ''

Traffic Light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

'' (as a Nerdy Dad), '' Mr. Sunshine'' (as Jerry), ''ACME Saturday Night'' (as various characters), ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

'' (as the Math Club Leader in the episode "A Fistful of Paintballs" Dir. Joe Russo), ''The Mentalist'' (as Tai Nguyen), ''

Ben and Kate ''Ben and Kate'' is an American single-camera sitcom television series that ran on Fox from September 25, 2012, to January 22, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television season. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin En ...

'' (as Shawn), '' Sullivan & Son'' (as Dr. Park), ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'' (as a scientist), '' The Millers'' (as Kevin), '' Conan'' (as various characters), ''Drunk History'' (as a guest) and ''Dog Park'' (as Neal). Takahashi currently has recurring roles in both the

Yahoo! Screen The company Yahoo! ran several similar video services. Yahoo! Video, a video hosting service, was established in 2006. Later, the ability to upload videos was removed, changing it to a more pure video on demand service; the website became a p ...

original series '' Sin City Saints'' (as social media guru Henry), and the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

series ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression and dissociati ...

'' (as Allsafe Security employee Lloyd).

Advertisement & other work

Takahashi has appeared in over 50 national ad campaigns for brands such as Snapple, the NFL,

Esurance Esurance Insurance Services, Inc. is an American insurance company. It sells auto, home, motorcycle, and renters insurance direct to consumers online and by phone. Founded in 1999, the company was acquired by Allstate in 2011. History Esuranc ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

, and Amp'd Mobile (where he plays a worker that raps the song " U and Dat" (featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl) out loud in a bathroom before another employee notice him). Takahashi also provides the voice of "Paul Tard" in the videogame ''Slumber Party Slaughterhouse: The Game'' (2008). Takahashi has also appeared on stage in Paul Kikuchi's ''Slice'', at the Fremont Theater in Pasadena. He has been trained at

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give v ...

, where he currently teaches the annual "On-Camera Commercial and Audition Class." He has also been a writer and performing member of the ACME Comedy Theater, and is also currently a workshop instructor and core performing member of the improv group Cold Tofu. He was an honoree at East West Players 2019 Night Market for "advancing the visibility of Asian Americans nationally" through his work.

External links

*
Actor Aaron Takahashi's Greatest Hits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Aaron American male actors of Japanese descent American male film actors American male television actors American film actors of Asian descent Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Year of birth missing (living people)