"The look in your eyes, dude!" marvels Ken Jeong, watching Sean Evans with disdain. "I feel empathy. but I can see that you're strong," replies Evan, a devilish grin on his face. By this point, Jeong has already bodied several of the Hot Ones selections. Rewind to his opening moments on the hit Complex series, and you almost feel a pang of sympathy for the zany and beloved actor. It's clear that he's afraid to partake, and yet, he trudges forward nonetheless. It's a beautiful thing, really. Everyone who has signed up for Hot Ones likely knows exactly what they're getting into, and yet, here they stand.
It doesn't take long for Ken Jeong to open up about his previous time in med school, balancing the grueling doctor lifestyle with the open-mic centric comedian's hustle. "I wasn't doing any Carlin-esque writing," reflects Jeong. "It was more therapy, it was a great outlet. It was my golf. I remember thinking that the whole time." When Evans praises Jeong's cautious approach to every bite, the wit comes through. "I'm a fucking doctor, dude," replies Jeong. "You gotta be careful with this stuff."
He also opens up about sharing a trailer with his former Community cast-mate Donald Glover, who played fan favorite Troy. "He'd be working on his early Childish Gambino albums," says Jeong. "I got to hear, through the walls, early tracks of 'Freaks and Geeks'. Whenever he wasn't working he was writing. I really respected that. That inspires me to this day." It wasn't all smooth sailing, however. "Having said that, the music got kind of loud," says Jeong. "I think I became a grumpy old man."