Gedde watanabe biography channel

American actor

Gary "Gedde" Watanabe (;^[1] born June 26, ) is an American actor.^[2] He is known for voicing the character of Ling in the animated film Mulan () and its sequel Mulan II (), as well as playing Long Duk Dong in the film Sixteen Candles () and Takahara "Kaz" Kazihiro in Gung Ho (), and Nurse Yosh Takata in the NBC medical drama ER from to He was also an original cast member of the Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures.

Early life and education

Watanabe was born and raised in Ogden, Utah, in a Japanese-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 to San Francisco, where he worked as a street musician while honing his acting skills.^[4]

Career

In , Watanabe's first role was as a member of the original Broadway cast of Pacif