Why Amy Lau From Netflix's Beef Looks So Familiar
It's time to add another title to your watchlist as Netflix has just dropped a new 10-episode series, "Beef," which features two strangers who get into a road-rage incident, propelling both of their lives in a new direction. The show's creator, Lee Sung Jin, sets his sights on the continuing anger and anxiety issues that seem to be spreading throughout society while zeroing in on how one isolated moment can consume just about anyone. The two main characters in "Beef" take a simple bad day to new emotional levels, revealing what they unknowingly had growing inside of them all along.
Right off the bat, TV fans will probably recognize one of the main characters as Steven Yeun, who played Glenn Rhee in AMC's "The Walking Dead." In "Beef," Yeun portrays Danny Cho, one of the unfortunate participants in this overblown car incident. Already irritated about not being able to return items to a store, a tame moment of road rage catapults the situation into a full-out chase scene. The other half of this bitter clash is Amy Lau, played by Ali Wong. And if you feel like you may recognize Wong from previous work, there's a good chance you have.
Ali Wong was an American Housewife
In the first half of the 2010s, Ali Wong popped up in different series and films but got major attention when she snagged a main role on the sitcom "American Housewife." Wong graced the small screen in this series for 103 episodes, spanning five seasons. The series focused on Katie Otto (Katy Mixon), who has moved her family to Westport, Connecticut, a place filled with pretentious, wealthy housewives and their snobby kids. Compared to the mansions surrounding them, the Ottos have rented one of the area's smaller homes. The ABC series zeroed in on the different women Katie encounters, including Ali Wong's hilarious Doris.
Doris, along with another housewife, Angela (Carly Hughes), regularly meets up with Katie at a local restaurant. Wong gives this character a hilarious quirky quality that separates her from the other housewives. Her strict parental methods are under constant surveillance by both Katie and Angela, both wondering if Doris's children will one day murder her. The character was a mainstay of the series, however, in the last season, Wong only appeared via Skype calls, which was probably acceptable by audiences since it was aired right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She didn't let Keanu Reeves stand in the way of true love
If there was a feature film that the talented actor truly shined in, many would point to the 2019 rom-com, "Always Be My Maybe," co-written by Wong, herself. Starring opposite Randall Park, the film follows the two leads who were childhood friends that had fallen out of touch after a short teenage romance that ended on bad terms. Later in life, Wong's character, Sasha is a famous chef who returns back home to San Francisco to open up a restaurant. That's when a reconnection with Marcus (Park) splits her focus between her career and love life. Wong described the movie to the New Yorker as "our version of 'When Harry Met Sally.'"
"Always Be My Maybe" also includes an interesting cameo from Keanu Reeves. The possible reigniting of the old flames' spark turns complicated when Sasha begins dating Reeves, who plays himself in the film. This plot-turning romantic connection comes right at the point when Marcus is about to express his true feelings for Sasha, causing his plans to go off the rails. It's highly entertaining to watch Keanu Reeves play a hilarious (highly-fictionalized) version of himself, standing between the film's two love interests and stealing every scene he's in. Wong's own performance highlights her comedy chops (and impressive writing skills) in a movie that's definitely worth checking out on Netflix.
She was a powerful ex in the DC world
Wong surely got on comic book fans' radar when she appeared in 2020's "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)." In this installment of the DC Universe, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), is enjoying her independence from her ex, The Joker (Jared Leto), while she leads a team of anti-heroes on a mission to take on a criminal empire. As an ensemble film, there are a lot of new characters, including Ali Wong as Ellen Yee.
In "Birds of Prey," Wong's Ellen Yee is the District Attorney of Gotham City and also ex-girlfriend to Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), a tough-talking law enforcement agent. Despite her past relationship with the district attorney, Ellen eventually suspends Renee from the GCPD, essentially catapulting Perez's character into becoming a vigilante on Harley Quinn's team. Wong's character only appeared in the film a few times, but there's always a chance we will see the likes of Ellen Yee again in future DC projects.
Ali Wong shines in her stand-up specials
There are plenty of Ali Wong fans out there who only really know her from her stand-up career. Wong's 2016 stand-up special "Baby Cobra" on Netflix made the comic a star, iconically appearing on stage over seven months pregnant. That bold visual was enough to rope in plenty of new viewers, but her honesty and viewpoints within her hilarious material locked in plenty of fans for life. That was apparent when she dropped her next Netflix special, "Hard Knock Wife," where she also appears heavily pregnant, which solidified the comedian as not just a one-hit-wonder.
Wong took her personal honesty to the next level with her most recent Netflix special, "Ali Wong: Don Wong," which was released on Valentine's Day 2022. As time has passed since the previous specials, Wong zeros in on her marriage and family life, further developing a relatable through line that speaks to a wide spectrum of audiences. From bits about undying love to her fantasizing about having an affair (material that has aged a little uncomfortably in light of the news of their divorce), the latest comedy special from this talented actor/comedian is just as hilarious as her previous two installments.