Keone Joseph Young (born September 6, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Dr. Michael Kwan in Kay O'Brien (1986), Mr. Wu in Deadwood (2004–06) and as the dual roles of Judge Robert Chong and Mr. Wan in The Young and the Restless (2007–10). His voice-over roles include Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Kaz in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, Super Ninja in Karate Kommandos, and Luong Lao Shi in American Dragon: Jake Long.
Early life Young was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a Chinese father and Japanese mother, who were immigrant parents. His acting mentor was Mako.
Career He has been prolific in his character work and has made numerous guest appearances on such varied television series as Head of the Class, Diff'rent Strokes, The Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Family Matters, Samurai Jack, Futurama, The Simpsons, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Cheers, Alias, JAG, Justice League, The Steve Harvey Show, Zeke and Luther, Shake It Up: Made In Japan and on the daytime soaps The Young and the Restless and Generations. He also portrayed the bodyguard of the Ancient One (Keye Luke) during the Asian Quarter storyline on General Hospital.
Young played Dr. Michael Kwan on the short-lived multi-ethnic medical drama Kay O'Brien, which aired in the fall of 1986 on CBS. Despite the fact that the network had high hopes for the series, just 9 of 13 episodes were aired. He was also a semi-regular on the HBO series Deadwood as Mr. Wu and played Henry Lin's Uncle on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. He also played Mr. Wu, unrelated to the Deadwood character, in the film Men in Black 3, and played the role of Ellison Onizuka In the TV film Challenger.
Young has many voice-over credits as well, including Kaz in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and Luong Lao Shi in American Dragon: Jake Long.
Young also has several Star Trek links: he played Buck Bokai, a famous baseball player in the 24th century in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "If Wishes Were Horses". He also played Hoshi Sato's father in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Vanishing Point". Young appeared as Governor Ho in the film North starring Elijah Wood.
In theatre, Young has had a long history with the Asian-American theatre company, East West Players, in Los Angeles, where he not only performed but often served as producer.
In 2013, Young joined the cast of HBO's True Blood as Dr. Hido Takahashi, the man responsible for inventing the titular blood substitute.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role NotesSource 1976 Baby Blue Marine Katsu 1980 Private Benjamin Kim Osaka 1981 Eyewitness Mr. Long's Son 1982 Frances Chinese Doctor 1984 The Wild Life Japanese Bowler 1988 Alien Nation Winter 1989 Lost Angels Atty. Victor Eng Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers Don Ho Black Rain Karaoke Singer 1990 Fear Detective William Wu 1991 Shanghai 1920 Ming 1992 Honeymoon in Vegas Eddie Wong 1993 Surf Ninjas Baba Ram 1994 Golden Gate Benny Ying My Girl 2 Daryl Tanaka North Governor Ho 1995 The Brady Bunch Movie Mr. Watanabe 1996 Striptease Ling Jack Dr. Lin 1997 Bad Day on the Block Ron the Repairman Playing God Mr. Ksi 1998 At Sachem Farm Mr. Tang 2000 Dude, Where's My Car? Mr. Lee the Chinese Tailor 2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Bee Voice 2003 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Committee Clerk 2004The Tao of PongLao TzuShort film 2005 Mulan II Lord Qin, additional voices Voice, direct-to-video 2006 Crank Don Kim Return to Halloweentown Silas Sinister Television film 2006 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Commander Uehara Daizo, Saico-Tek, Sushi Shop Owner Voice, direct-to-video 2009 Why Am I Doing This? Ming Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Matsuhiro Voice, direct-to-video Crank: High Voltage Don Kim 2012 Men in Black 3 Mr. Wu Stand Up Guys Song 2020 Night in Paradise Kuto Voice, English dub 2021 Bright: Samurai Soul Tsukuyomi 2022Inu-OhTeiichi2023 Wish Mountain Climber, Tall Man Tourist, Guard #1 Voice2024 Ultraman: Rising Dr. Onda 2026 Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Avatar Roku
Television