Newcomer Harry Shum Jr. can be seen as one of the stars of the most anticipated series of the fall 2009 season, \u201cGlee!\u201d Created and produced by Ryan Murphy (Nip\/Tuck), Glee is a one-hour musical comedy that follows an optimistic high school teacher, Mr. Schuster (Matthew Morrison) as he tries to transform a group of very unpopular, social misfits, known to everyone at school as the Glee Club, into national champions.
\nNewcomer Harry Shum Jr. can next be seen as one of the stars of the most anticipated series of the fall 2009 season, \u201cGlee!\u201d Created and produced by Ryan Murphy (Nip\/Tuck), Glee is a one-hour musical comedy that follows an optimistic high school teacher, Mr. Schuster (Matthew Morrison) as he tries to transform a group of very unpopular, social misfits, known to everyone at school as the Glee Club, into national champions. On the show, Harry plays \u201cMike Chang\u201d, a football player with dancing abilities that ends up joining the Glee Club despite the fact that it is social suicide. The show is co-created and executive produced by Ian Brennan and Brad Fulchuk and will premiere on Fox September 9 at 9pm ET\/PT. In addition to \u201cGlee,\u201d Harry will be reprising his character of tech guru \u201cCable\u201d for the third installment of the Step Up series, Step Up 3D, which will be released in 2010.<\/p>\n
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica and raised in both Northern and Southern California, Harry\u2019s entertainment career began in high school with dance and later, he discovered acting. While in high school, a friend dared him to join the school\u2019s dance team \u201cAGHS Dance Company.\u201d Harry had no formal training, but something in his gut was telling him he could do it. He tried out and made the team. Harry changed the face of the team with a new style and zest that no one had thought possible! Through this experience, Harry found a natural gift for choreography, which would prove to be helpful in his career.<\/p>\n
Harry could grab and captivate an audience on stage. It was at this moment that he became hooked and knew he wanted to be an entertainer in every sense of the word.<\/p>\n
After making the move to Los Angeles, things began to take off for him! He landed his first dance gig touring for Kaci and followed with world renowned artists such as Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Ashanti, T-Pain, Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez, and Raven just to name a few. On top of his extensive dance credits, Harry was cast as one of the original silhouettes in the highly successful Apple iPod commercial and print campaign. He also appeared in commercials for McDonalds, Joe Boxer (K-Mart) and Gap (Christmas). He is also featured on the very popular television and Internet campaign for Cingular-iTunes. <\/p>\n
In 2004, Harry landed his first acting job on the popular Fox series, \u201cBoston Public\u201d and followed that with a guest-starring role on such shows as \u201cZoey 101,\u201d ABC Family’s “Greek” and the hit TV movie \u201ciCarly: iGo to Japan\u201d as the arch nemesis \u201cYuki.\u201d Harry used his extraordinary dance skills to break into the motion picture arena and landed a featured dancer role in the hit teen movie You Got Served (2004). Next were roles in such hit movies as Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Stomp The Yard, Center Stage 2 and Bewitched. In 2008, he landed a role in the much anticipated sequel Step up 2: the Streets, in which he played the role of \u201cCable.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Harry isn\u2019t acting or dancing, he enjoys spending time with his dog Charlie, a Terrier-Schnauzer mix. He has a rescue dog that was found by his \u201cGlee\u201d co-star Lea Michele when they were shooting together. Harry says he was dirty, shaggy, very calm and shy. Besides hanging with Charlie, Harry LOVES to eat! So much so that his friends have nicknamed him \u201cFoodie\u2026\u201d because he is always trying new foods and always picking weird and exotic restaurants to explore. He recently joined a kickball team called WAKA and also enjoys golfing, cycling, and writing. He is a tech geek that loves gadgets and anything that has to do with technology.<\/p>\n
Harry was very personable during the interview. He was happy to talk about his childhood growing up in Costa Rica, along with the great strides he made since breaking the stereotypical mold of a tough guy.<\/p>\n
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Harry:<\/b> I didn\u2019t start acting and dancing until junior high and I did a one-man show in junior high that was a requirement to audition for a play. I didn\u2019t know if I would want to do it, but then I put my all into it. I did a one-minute rendition of Good Morning Vietnam and after I did that, the response was everyone cracking up and laughing. I held onto that. <\/p>\n
See Harry’s reel including his iPod commercial<\/b><\/p>\n