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Matthew Yang King
Matthew Yang King
Matthew Yang King
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Matt Yang King is an American actor. He appears in the Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender as Appa and Momo, in Pixar's Elemental and the Netflix series Not Quite Narwhal, as well as Riverdale, Powers, 24, Strong Medicine, and Numbers. He created the short films The World of Steam, The Duelist and has provided voiceover work for numerous television shows, video games, and commercials including Love, Death & Robots, Studio Ghibli's 25th Anniversary English dub of Only Yesterday with Daisy Ridley, the World of Warcraft franchise, Cyberpunk 2077, G.I. Joe: Renegades, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Fortnite, Supah Ninjas, and Marvel Heroes.

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

King studied acting at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and lived in New York until 1998, when he left to tour the United States with the musical Titanic, playing Quartermaster Robert Hichens and Bandsman Bricoux.[1] The tour began in Los Angeles.[2]

Career

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Voice acting

[edit]

King has provided numerous voices for television, film, and video games, from the voice of the Host in "The Witness" and Liang and Renshu in "Good Hunting". His work includes Father and Kozou in Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday, Illidan Stormrage in the World of Warcraft franchise, The Persuader in Bruce Timm's Justice League vs The Fatal Five, The Atom in Injustice 2, Eian in Batman Ninja, and the voices of Splinter and Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). King is the voice of Apple in numerous television ads and also voiced both Liu Kang and Fujin in Mortal Kombat 11 and also voiced Kung Lao in the animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.[3]

Additionally, King was one of the creators and hosts of the long-running podcast, GeeksOn,[4] with Aaron Hendricks, Donald Marshall, and Peter Gamble Robinson.

Film and television

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King has had recurring roles on Riverdale, Numbers, 24, and Strong Medicine. He starred opposite Danny Huston in the Bernard Rose film The Kreutzer Sonata, which also features King playing the violin.

Stage

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King's stage credits include the first Broadway touring production of Titanic: The Musical,[2] East West Players' Yankee Dawg You Die[5] as Bradley with Sab Shimono and The Tempest[6] as Caliban[7] with fellow NYU Tisch alumnus Daniel Dae Kim, and an NAACP award-winning hip-hop version of The Two Gentlemen of Verona called 2G's at Los Angeles' Sacred Fools Theater.[8]

Writing

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Frustrated with playing stereotypically Asian roles in the early-mid 2000s, King began writing to create roles for minority actors "that people felt they could wrap their brains around that were about being ethnic...[and] racism."[9] The Harrowing, his script with Peter Gamble featuring an African-American man as the lead in a horror film is in development.[citation needed]

Crowdfunding projects

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In 2017, King collaborated with cartoonist Ellipsis Stephens and fellow producers Phil LaMarr and Danielle Stephens to bring Stephen's webcomic, Goblins, to life as an animated series. The Goblins Animated campaign on Indiegogo was to produce a five-minute long mega-trailer/pilot that could be used to garner more interest in the project.[10] King himself voices one of the characters, Fumbles. Notable voice actors make up the rest of the cast, including Phil LaMarr as Complains of Names, Billy West as Minmax, Maurice LaMarche as Forgath, Jim Cummings as Thaco, Tara Strong as Saves a Fox, Matthew Mercer as Big Ears, Jennifer Hale as Kin, and Steve Blum as Kore. The mega-trailer is currently under production.

In 2012, King created a Kickstarter project for his steampunk webseries called The World of Steam.[11] Written, directed, and produced by King, the show is set in a Twilight Zone-type steampunk universe and featured Scott Folsom, Gail Folsom, Gina Torres, Mido Hamada, Karl E. Landler, Julian Curtis, Robin Atkin Downes, and King himself as the host, Mr. Liang.[citation needed] At the time, the series was the highest-grossing webseries ever on Kickstarter.[12] The first episode, The Clockwork Heart, was released as a webisode in 2013 and contains music by composer Bear McCreary. The remainder of the series is still in the works and is being developed for television.[9][13]

Steampunk work

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After the creation of the World of Steam webseries in 2012, King was seen as a leader in the Steampunk creative community.[14][15] As a result, he was invited to serve as one of the three judges on the first-ever network Steampunk-themed reality show, Game Show Network's Steampunk'd in 2015. King cites his Steampunk influces as H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, H.P. Lovecraft, K.W. Jeter,[12] Robert Howard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and China Mieville,[16] among others. He collaborated with Scott and Gail Folsom from the League of STEAM on the pilot episode for the World of Steam, "The Clockwork Heart,"[11] and was cited in the 2016 book, Like Clockwork: Steampunk Pasts, Presents, and Futures, edited by Rachel A. Bowser and Brian Croxall.[17] His Love, Death and Robots episode, "Good Hunting," is Asian-inspired Steampunk.[18] King has appeared at various Steampunk conventions as a presenter and judge, and is currently collaborating with Cheyenne Wright of Girl Genius on a new Steampunk project called The Cabinet of Curiosities.

Convention appearances

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Date Convention Location Activity Notes
2009 VCON 34[19] Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada[20] Guest of Honor: GeeksOn podcast
2014 Midwest Media Expo (M2X)[21] Detroit, Michigan[22] Panel host/panelist: The World of Steam Inaugural year for this convention
2018 Clockwork Alchemy[23] Burlingame, California[24] Speaker and presenter

Filmography

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Live action roles

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Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Crossing Jordan Dr. Yeung Episode: "Blue Christmas"
2001 ER Rick Episode: "Four Corners"
2002 MDs 2nd Year Student Episode: "Time of Death"
2002 The West Wing Staffer Episode: "Hartsfield's Landing"
2002 Friends The Student Episode: "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel"
2003 Threat Matrix Broker #2 Episode: "Pilot"
2003 The Even Stevens Movie Scott TV movie
2003 Frasier Thad Episode: "Daphne Does Dinner"
2003–2006 Strong Medicine Dr. Matt Linn / First Year / First Year Medical Student 27 episodes
2004 It's All Relative Matthew Episode: "Our Sauce, It Is a Beauty"
2005 The New Partridge Family Benjamin TV movie
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Yak #2 Episode: "Snakes"
2005–2010 Numbers Matt Li / Technician / Crime Scene Tech / Tech / FBI Tech Agent / FBI Computer Tech #1 / FBI Tech Agent #2 14 episodes
2007 CSI: NY Kim Wey Episodes: "Child's Play"
2008 Eli Stone Tommy Woo 2 episodes
2009 Washington Field SA Mark Chen TV movie
2009 Bones Dr. Marcus Scheer Episode: "The Cinderella in the Cardboard"
2010 Hub Exclusive: G.I. Joe Renegades & Transformers Prime Himself / Interviewee TV short
2010 24 Agent King 4 episodes
2011 NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service Min Ho Kwon Episode: "A Man Walks Into a Bar..."
2012 Criminal Minds Detective Harrison Chen Episode: "Magnificent Light"
2013 Monday Mornings Tsung Mai Episode: "Communion"
2013–2015 The World of Steam Mr. Liang, Producer, Writer, Director, co-director, Executive Producer Webseries creator; Funded through Kickstarter
2015 Steampunk'd Himself - Judge 8 episodes
2015 Revenge Agent Lin Episode: "Bait"
2016 The Last Ship Zhou Episode: "Legacy"
2016 Powers THX 2 episodes
2016 Grimm Jin Akagi Episode: "Inugami"
2017 Lucifer Adrian Yates Episode: "Welcome Back, Charlotte Richards"
2017 Training Day Agent Lawrence Park Episode: "Faultlines"
2017 Rosewood Jason Hiyashi Episode: "Radiation & Rough Landings"
2017 Hashtag Awareness: The Webseries Todd Episode: The One Where Tim is a Creeper"
2018 Code Black Pilot Randy Woodman Episode: "Cabin Pressure"
2018 9-1-1 Actor Episode: "Next of Kin"
2018–2022 Riverdale Marty Mantle 7 episodes
2019 Cabinet of Curiosities Director, writer Episode: "The Secret Language of Flowers"

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Species III Specialist Robert Kelley
2005 Call Center Sam Short film
2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Stunts (motion capture)
2008 The Kreutzer Sonata Aiden
2010 Acts of Violence Bob
2011 How to Spot a Narcissist Narcissist Matt Short film
2012 Red Dawn North Korean Soldier
2013 Sid the Science Kid: The Movie Yang Yang
2016 Loveology Rev. James Short film
2016 The Short Sale The Gun Short film
2016 Garbage Day Director, executive producer, Writer Short film
2020 Sightless Doctor Katsuro
TBA Afterthoughts (in production) Detective Jay Vittidini Short film

Voice over roles

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Turok: Son of Stone Young Nashoba / Young Cliff Brave
2009 Trail of the Panda Scientist Uncredited; English dub
2012 Hipster Holocaust Narrator Short film
2012 Back to the Sea Dabao
2015 Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Stephen Shin
2016 Only Yesterday Father / Kazou 25th Anniversary; English dub
2016 TMNT: Don vs Raph Splinter / Shredder Short film
2018 Batman Ninja Eian English dub
2018 Sitting Duck John Short film
2019 Justice League vs. the Fatal Five Persuader
2021 Bright: Samurai Soul Koketsu Credited as Matt Yang King
2021 The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Luka Credited as Matt Yang King
2021 Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Kung Lao
2023 Elemental Alan Ripple / Lutz / Earth Pruner Credited as Matt Yang King
2023 Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match Concierge / Costumed Man [25]
2024 Inside Out 2 Additional Voices Credited as Matt Yang King

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Naruto Sumaru 6 episodes; English dub
2010–2011 G.I. Joe: Renegades Tunnel Rat / Nicky Lee / Cobra Guard / Operations Tech / Pilot / Cobra Guard #1 / Torch / County Clerk / Technician / Cobra Trooper #3 25 episodes
2011–2013 Supah Ninjas Yamato 32 episodes
2014 Regular Show Surfer 2 / Merle / Yuji 2 episodes
2016–2017 Transformers: Robots in Disguise Simacore / Computer Voice 2 episodes
2016 New Looney Tunes Male Executive Episode: "Bugs of Steel"
2018–present Baki Tokugawa / Shibukawa 11 episodes; English dub
2019 The Lion Guard Bambun / Dughi / Old Civet 4 episodes
2019 Goblins Animated Fumbles / Producer Mega trailer
2019 Love, Death & Robots Adult Liang / Renshu / Young Man / Host 2 episodes; Credited as Matt Yang King
2021 Trese Captain Guerrero / Dominic
2021–2024 What If...? Additional Voices 3 episodes
2022 Robot Chicken Scorpion / Dogbert Episode: "May Cause a Squeakquel"
2023 Abominable and the Invisible City Mr. Lung Episode: Shack Attack
2024 Avatar: The Last Airbender Appa / Momo [26]
2024 Creature Commandos Liu Kang Episode: "The Iron Pot"; archival audio from Mortal Kombat 1
2024 Squid Game Player 230 (Choi Su-bong, "Thanos") English Dub

Voice dub for Choi Seung-hyun.

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Source
2002 Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Illidan Stormrage Named the #1 most iconic character Blizzard ever created by Comic Book Resources in 2018
2003 Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Illidan Stormrage Named the #1 most iconic character Blizzard ever created by Comic Book Resources in 2018
2004 Transformers Unicron
2007 Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Pirates #4
2008 Valkyria Chronicles Maximilian English dub
2008 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames The Allies - China
2009 The Saboteur Kwong / Louis / Franz
2009 Dragon Age: Origins Additional voices
2009 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Pirate
2009 Infamous Male Pedestrian
2010 Valkyria Chronicles II Maximilian English dub
2010 Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Actor
2010 Alpha Protocol Konstantin Brayko
2010 Dead to Rights: Retribution Tseng
2011 Final Fantasy XIII-2 Additional voices English dub
2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Additional voices
2011 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Pirate (Multiplayer)
2011 Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Tiger 1 English dub
2011 Nicktoons MLB Perch Perkins [27]
2011 Driver: San Francisco Additional voices
2011 Might & Magic Heroes VI Changbo
2012 Skylanders: Giants Actor
2012 XCOM: Enemy Unknown Soldier
2012 Resident Evil 6 Enemies [27]
2012 World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Pandaren Male Player Character
2012 Diablo III Additional voices
2013 Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Additional voices English dub
2013 Skylanders: SWAP Force Fright Rider
2013 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Shredder
2013 Marvel Heroes Human Torch / Deadpool
2013 BioShock Infinite Additional voices
2014 Skylanders: Trap Team Fright Rider / Molekin Miner Wispy / Kangarat 2
2014 BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Voice Acting Ensemble
2014 Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Additional voices
2014 Hearthstone Actor
2015 Fallout 4 Justin Ayo / Male Raiders
2015 Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Pirates Archive sound
2015 Skylanders: SuperChargers Fright Rider
2016 World of Warcraft: Legion Master Windstrong / Cato / Margrave Dhakar
2017 Agents of Mayhem Agent Oni (Masamune Senichi)
2017 Fortnite Merry Munchkin Gingerbread Pet
2017 Injustice 2 The Atom / Ryan Choi
2018 World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Actor
2019 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order Human Torch / Insectoids Shadow of Doom DLC
2019 Death Stranding Thomas Southerland Voice actor; motion capture by Edgar Wright
2019 Judgment Kazuya Ayabe English dub
2019–2020 Mortal Kombat 11 Liu Kang, Fujin Also in Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
2020 Cyberpunk 2077 Kerry Eurodyne Credited as Matt Yang King
2020 Ghost of Tsushima Additional voices English dub; Credited as Matt King
2020 XCOM: Chimera Squad Verge
2020 Final Fantasy VII Remake Additional voices English dub; Credited as Matt Yang King
2020 Warcraft III: Reforged Illidan Stormrage Named the #1 most iconic character Blizzard ever created by Comic Book Resources in 2018
2021 Lost Judgment Kazuki Soma English dub; Credited as Matt Y. King
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II KorTac Group 1 / Oroku "Shredder" Saki Credited as Matt King
2023 Mortal Kombat 1 Liu Kang, Akiro The Wizard [28]
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught Liu Kang, Fujin [29]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Pham "Enigma" Lan Minh
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate Oroku "Shredder" Saki [27]
2024 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Eric Tomizawa English dub [27]
2025 Dune Awakening Petyr, Vitor Azat, Ugo Firenze [27]
2026 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City Oroku "Shredder" Saki [27]
Rosewater Danny Luo, Apothecary [30]

Stage

[edit]
Year Title Role Company Notes
1999–2000 Titanic: A New Musical Quartermaster Robert Hichens, Bandsman Bricoux, 3rd Class Passenger Original Broadway National Tour
2000 2G's (The Two Gentlemen of Verona) Company Sacred Fools Theater Company Winner of 2 NAACP awards, nominated for 7
2001 Yankee Dawg You Die Bradley East West Players
2002 The Tempest Caliban East West Players
2005 Ten Thousand Years Yoshida El Portal Forum Theatre World premiere

Awards and nominations

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Year Award/Organization Award/Category Work Result Notes
2007 Words From Here Short Script Competition[31] 1st Place The Harrowing Won With Peter Gamble

Prize no longer awarded

2010 Scriptapalooza International Screenplay Competition[32] The Harrowing Runner Up[33] With Peter Gamble
2011 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Young Screenwriter's Award The Harrowing Won With Peter Gamble
2011 CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) Digital Marketing Initiative[34] CAPE New Writer's Award The Harrowing Won With Peter Gamble
2011 Behind the Voice Actors Awards[35] BTVA Television Voice Acting Award

Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series

G.I. Joe: Renegades (2010) Nominated
2014 Steampunk Chronicle Readers Choice Awards[36] Best Steampunk Script The Duelist Won
2016 Behind the Voice Actors Awards[37] BTVA Anime Dub Movie/Special Voice Acting Award

Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Feature Film/Special

Only Yesterday

(Omohide poro poro)

Nominated
2017 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting DownTown Semi-Finalist[38] / Top 50[39]
2018 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting The Life and Death of Edison Chen Semi-Finalist[38] / Top 25

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Matthew Yang King

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Matthew Yang King (born May 6, 1974, in New York City) is an American actor and voice actor whose career encompasses live-action television, animated series, feature films, and video games. King gained recognition for recurring live-action roles such as Marty Mantle, a music producer, in the CW series Riverdale (2018–2021) and Agent King in season 8 of the Fox series 24 (2010). In animation and voice work, he contributed to David Fincher and Tim Miller's Netflix anthology Love, Death & Robots (2019) and provided the voice of the sky bison Appa and lemur Momo in the live-action Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024). His video game credits include voicing Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), the rock star Kerry Eurodyne in Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), Illidan Stormrage in the Warcraft series, and Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles projects. King also appeared in Pixar's Elemental (2023), voicing supporting characters, and has credits in other media like Powers and G.I. Joe: Renegades.

Early Life and Background

Childhood and Family

Matthew Yang King was born on May 6, 1974, in , an urban setting that shaped his early exposure to structured activities. From age five, he undertook training, a pursuit that demanded consistent practice and likely contributed to developing discipline amid the demands of city life. At eight years old, King began studying , blending physical conditioning with principles of focus and control, which paralleled his musical regimen as foundational hobbies. These early endeavors, initiated in a New York household, served as precursors to performance-oriented interests without documented ties to formal familial artistic lineages. Publicly available information on King's immediate family remains sparse, with no verified details on parental professions or direct influences beyond facilitating his initial and engagements. This scarcity underscores a focus on empirical markers of upbringing rather than anecdotal narratives.

Early Artistic Influences

King developed an early affinity for , beginning lessons at age five, which cultivated foundational skills in performance and auditory expression that later informed his career. This self-directed engagement with instrumental arts emphasized individual practice and technical proficiency, aligning with merit-based skill progression rather than external accolades. At age eight, he commenced training in , instilling physical discipline, coordination, and controlled energy projection—qualities that bridged to performative physicality in theater and -infused roles. Complementing these pursuits was a documented lifelong enthusiasm for and , underscoring formative influences rooted in personal initiative. Participation in a junior high school play marked a pivotal moment, where the experience of embodying a character "bit him by the bug," solidifying his commitment to as a primary artistic outlet. These pre-professional endeavors, devoid of institutional framing, highlight causal pathways from hobbyist exploration to professional aptitude through consistent, unmediated effort.

Professional Career

Initial Training and Entry

King majored in drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, receiving formal training that prepared him for a professional career. After completing his studies, King supported himself through diverse employment, including as a broker's assistant on and performing maintenance tasks such as sweeping mats at a , reflecting the competitive challenges and persistence required to break into . His initial professional breakthrough occurred in theater with a role in the national tour of Broadway's Titanic: The Musical, where he performed in 486 shows starting around 1998, after which he moved to Los Angeles to pursue further opportunities. This stage experience marked his entry into the industry, leading to early television guest appearances such as Rick on ER in 2001 and the Student on Friends in the episode "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel," aired January 10, 2002.

Voice Acting Career

Matthew Yang King has built a reputation in through roles emphasizing vocal versatility, including human protagonists, antagonists, and animal characters across video games, animation, and dubbing projects. His work often involves integration, requiring precise timing and emotional delivery to sync with animations. A pivotal early role came in 2002 with Entertainment's , where King voiced the demon hunter , employing a gravelly, resentful to convey the character's tormented ambition and otherworldly menace; he reprised the role in the 2003 expansion The Frozen Throne. This performance highlighted his capacity for sustained intensity in fantasy settings, contributing to the character's enduring fanbase. King's breakthrough in fighting games arrived in 2019 as in , developed by , where he delivered the Shaolin monk's disciplined heroism through motion-captured sessions, adapting to high-energy combat dialogue and narrative arcs. The role underscored his technical adaptability in fast-paced, lore-heavy productions secured via competitive auditions. Subsequent expansions included voicing rocker Kerry Eurodyne in CD Projekt Red's (2020), channeling a weathered, charismatic edge for the dystopian narrative's musical interludes and quests. In 2024, he provided animal vocalizations for Appa, the sky bison, and Momo, the winged lemur, in Netflix's live-action , focusing on expressive, non-verbal sounds to enhance CGI creature interactions. These roles demonstrate King's range in modulating pitch and texture for diverse media, from gritty simulations to fantastical ensembles, often praised for authenticity in fan communities despite occasional debates over recasting legacy voices.

Live-Action Roles

Matthew Yang King began accumulating live-action television credits in the early , often portraying supporting characters in procedural and drama series where his roles contributed to ensemble dynamics shaped by narrative demands rather than standalone prominence. In the Strong Medicine (2002–2005), he played Dr. Matt Lin across 27 episodes, supporting storylines centered on hospital operations and patient care in a format prioritizing episodic resolutions over deep character arcs. King's role as Agent Matt Li in Numb3rs (2005–2009) appeared in at least eight episodes, functioning as a technical FBI operative aiding mathematical investigations, with contributions limited by the series' focus on lead protagonists and formulaic case structures that relegated supporting agents to procedural functionality. He recurred in season 8 of 24 (2010) as Agent King, appearing in multiple episodes amid the show's high-stakes counterterrorism plotlines, where ensemble security personnel advanced real-time tension but were constrained by the rapid pacing and plot-driven scripting. In the superhero procedural Powers (2015–2016), King portrayed in two episodes, enhancing investigative team interactions in a production adapting comic elements to live-action but hampered by short season length and network cancellation after one full run, which curtailed role expansion. His most extended recent television stint was as Marty Mantle, Reggie Mantle's father, in seven episodes of Riverdale (2017–2023), where the character influenced family conflict subplots within the teen mystery ensemble, though depth was secondary to the series' serialized drama and visual style emphasizing youthful leads. In film, King had a minor on-screen part as a North Korean soldier in (2012), a with action sequences driving narratives, contributing to group scenes amid criticisms of the production's stereotypical portrayals and modest of $54.3 million against a $30 million budget. Earlier films included Specialist Robert Kelley in the (2004), supporting horror elements in a low-budget sequel reliant on creature effects over actor-driven performance.

Stage and Theater Work

Matthew Yang King's stage career encompasses ensemble roles in musicals and dramatic productions, primarily in regional Los Angeles theaters and national tours, showcasing his versatility in live performance environments that demand real-time adaptation to audiences and co-actors. His work highlights the immediacy of theater, where and physical presence enhance character delivery, distinct from pre-recorded media. Early in his professional trajectory, King participated in the first national tour of Titanic: The Musical, which launched on January 5, 1999, and concluded on September 10, 2000, performing across multiple U.S. cities. He portrayed ensemble members including Quartermaster Robert Hichens and Bandsman Bricoux, contributing to the production's large-scale depiction of the RMS Titanic's voyage and sinking, which required sustained vocal and physical demands over dozens of venues. In 2000, King appeared in Sacred Fools Theater Company's hip-hop adaptation 2G's, a reimagining of Shakespeare's set in a Milanese club, running in around May. As part of the ensemble, he supported the production's innovative fusion of Elizabethan dialogue with rap, which earned NAACP Theater Award nominations and wins for direction and ensemble energy, emphasizing rhythmic delivery and group dynamics in intimate black-box settings. King took on the role of Bradley in Philip Kan Gotanda's Dawg You Die at ' Theater from May 17 to June 17, 2001, opposite as Vincent Chang. The play explores interracial tensions and identity through two aspiring Asian American actors, allowing King to demonstrate nuanced dramatic interplay in a culturally specific that critiques Hollywood stereotypes via direct audience confrontation. In 2005, he originated the role of Yoshida in the world premiere of by , directed by Kipp Shiotani, staged February 5 to March 3 at the El Portal in North Hollywood. This debut performance underscored his ability to anchor new works with original character interpretation in limited-run experimental theater. Later that year, from November 13, King played Momo in Nilo Cruz's adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings at Center Theatre Group's , portraying a villager's son amid magical realism elements that relied on ensemble reactions to fantastical staging for live immersion. These credits reflect King's engagement with diverse theatrical scales—from touring spectacles to intimate regional premieres—prioritizing raw performative skills over mass mediation, though often in productions with attendance constrained by venue size compared to his screen endeavors.

Writing, Directing, and Other Creative Pursuits

King co-wrote the horror screenplay The Harrowing with Peter Gamble, earning the CAPE/Hollywood Foreign Press Young Screenwriters Award in 2011. The script placed as runner-up in the 2010 Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition, served as a finalist in the Tribeca Film Festival's Words From Here contest for emerging writers, and advanced to semi-finalist status in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. As of recent updates, The Harrowing remains in development, demonstrating persistence in pitching original material outside major studio pipelines. In directing, King spearheaded the anthology web series The World of Steam from 2013 to 2015, handling writing, production, and direction for its steampunk-themed episodes. He specifically wrote and directed the 2013 installment "The Clockwork Heart," which explored mechanical and Victorian-inspired narratives through self-financed episodic storytelling. This project highlighted his initiative in , prioritizing creator-led execution over commissioned work. King directed the 2016 short Prey, centering on a clash between a and a , with and Alastair Duncan in lead roles. The film reached the top 15 semi-finalist round in the You Offend Me You Offend My Family Short Film Festival, reflecting modest independent circuit traction for its low-budget supernatural premise. These efforts underscore King's focus on authoring and helming speculative content, often rooted in horror and fantasy, with limited but verifiable outputs emphasizing personal creative control.

Crowdfunding and Independent Projects

In 2012, Matthew Yang King launched a Kickstarter campaign for The World of Steam, a web series project he wrote, directed, and produced independently to explore speculative storytelling in a historical-futuristic setting. The campaign attracted 1,877 backers who pledged $116,431, surpassing its funding goal and unlocking stretch objectives for additional content production. This success demonstrated viability through demonstrated fan interest in King's creative vision, as evidenced by the backer volume and overfunding, rather than reliance on pre-existing hype from major studio backing; the project's fulfillment included completing the pilot episode "The Clockwork Heart" and subsequent shorts like "The Duelist," distributed as rewards such as DVDs and exclusive merchandise. While crowdfunding enabled King to bypass traditional gatekeepers and realize self-funded independent endeavors, the model carries inherent risks in the indie space, including potential delays or unfulfilled promises common to creator-driven campaigns without institutional oversight. In this case, however, verifiable updates and delivered outputs mitigated such concerns, with backers receiving tangible results that validated the approach's merit-based appeal over speculative promotion. No further major crowdfunding initiatives directly under King's leadership have been documented, though he has supported related independent efforts through promotion.

Steampunk and Genre Enthusiasms

Matthew Yang King created The World of Steam, a initiated in 2009 that fuses Victorian-era aesthetics with 19th-century Imperial Chinese influences, set against an alternate-history backdrop of the in 1860s . The project draws from literary inspirations including , , and , emphasizing steam-powered technology, intricate world-building, and themes of cultural heritage and technological hubris. King served as writer, director, producer, and executive producer, personally funding the pilot episode The Clockwork Heart through , which became the platform's highest-funded pilot at the time, enabling production of subsequent episodes released between 2013 and 2015. In the series, King portrayed the character Mr. Liang across two episodes, blending narrative innovation with high production values atypical for in the niche genre. This creative endeavor represents a personal outlet for King's enthusiasm for speculative genres, particularly steampunk's retro-futuristic appeal, though its limited distribution confined its reach to dedicated subcultural audiences rather than broader mainstream viewership. The series' unique East-West synthesis highlights steampunk's potential for cultural specificity, distinguishing it from predominantly Western-centric works in the genre. King extended his steampunk involvement by judging the reality competition Steampunk'd on in 2015, evaluating contestants' designs in costumes, carpentry, and mechanics alongside experts Thomas Willeford and Kato. He appeared as a special guest at the Clockwork Alchemy steampunk convention in 2018, engaging with attendees on production and design aspects of his work. These activities underscore King's active role in steampunk subculture, fostering community while leveraging his multimedia expertise, yet the genre's esoteric focus limits its commercial viability compared to his voice acting pursuits in fantasy and sci-fi properties like Cyberpunk 2077.

Convention Appearances and Fan Engagement

Matthew Yang King regularly appears at fan conventions to discuss his roles in video games and animation, often participating in panels and autograph sessions that draw crowds interested in franchises like and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In March 2024, he attended Fanboy Expo in , signing autographs and engaging with attendees on his performance as in the series. During the event, King moderated a panel with original 1995 cast members, delivering informative commentary on the game's evolution that fans described as highly entertaining. His convention presence extends to larger gatherings such as in August 2024, where he interacted with enthusiasts of genre media, focusing on contributions to animated projects. These appearances reflect audience-driven interest earned through authentic performances in competitive voice roles, as opposed to promotional orchestration, with direct feedback from attendees highlighting appreciation for his range in characters like Shredder. Looking ahead to 2025, King is listed for Transformers voice actor events tied to EarthSpark, including early-year conventions that facilitate fan meetups. He has also signaled a return to LA Comic-Con for Mortal Kombat-themed signings, building on prior franchise momentum to sustain ongoing engagement. Beyond live events, King fosters fan connections via platforms like (@mattyangking) and (@mattyangking), posting project updates and responding to community queries, which amplifies merit-based loyalty from roles in enduring series. This approach yields unfiltered audience responses, prioritizing substantive interaction over superficial metrics.

Notable Roles and Contributions

Video Games

Matthew Yang King has provided for numerous video games, often portraying complex antagonists and charismatic figures whose performances enhance narrative depth and player immersion. His credits span franchises emphasizing , dystopias, and fantasy epics, where vocal delivery contributes to character memorability amid . In (2019), King voiced , the Earthrealm champion and revenant, delivering lines that convey both heroic resolve and undead torment, as heard in cutscenes where the character grapples with fate and redemption. Released on April 23, 2019, for , , and PC, the game featured King's performance alongside Fujin, earning fan appreciation for its authenticity in capturing the fighter's disciplined intensity during kombat sequences and story modes. Players noted the voice's role in amplifying replayability through emotional authenticity in versus matches and tower challenges. King portrayed Shredder (Oroku Saki) in several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles titles, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2013) and TMNT: Splintered Fate (2023), infusing the villain with a menacing authority suited to boss encounters and warfare narratives. In Out of the Shadows, released for and , his voicing emphasized Shredder's ruthless command over minions, contributing to tense rooftop and sewer battles. The 2023 mobile Splintered Fate extended this with dynamic audio cues during procedural runs, where Shredder's taunts heightened adversarial replay value. As Kerry Eurodyne in (2020), King lent his voice to the aging rockerboy and former frontman, whose gravelly and emotional range shine in romance arcs, heists, and phantom liberty expansions. Launched December 10, 2020, for PC, , and , the role involved singing approximations and introspective dialogues that players encountered in Night City quests, fostering attachment through authentic rock-star vulnerability amid high-stakes gameplay. King discussed modulating his delivery to evoke weariness from fame's toll, enhancing side-story immersion and multiple playthrough incentives. King originated Illidan Stormrage in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002) and The Frozen Throne expansion (2003), voicing the demon hunter's brooding rage and -fueled monologues during campaigns of betrayal and skull-splitting combat. These titles, foundational to the universe, featured his performance in pivotal cinematics, where Illidan's snarls and whispers drove player investment in fel-corrupted lore across expansions. Fans later advocated for King's reprisal in remasters, citing the original's resonant bitterness as integral to the character's enduring antagonism in raids and lore retellings.

Animated and Voice-Over Projects

In Pixar's Elemental (2023), King voiced multiple supporting characters, including Alan Ripple—a water element family member and airball enthusiast—Lutz, and Earth Pruner, contributing to the film's depiction of elemental interactions in a diverse urban setting. His performances emphasized distinct vocal textures for fluid, non-humanoid forms, aligning with the production's technical demands for elemental sound design. King provided creature vocal effects for Appa, the sky bison, and Momo, the winged lemur, in Netflix's 2024 live-action series Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the animals appear via practical effects augmented by voice work to convey emotional range without dialogue. This role highlighted his expertise in animalistic voicing, drawing on layered grunts, bellows, and chirps to differentiate the characters' personalities amid the series' hybrid format. In the Netflix anthology Love, Death & Robots, King delivered voices across segments, including the enigmatic Host in "The Witness" (2019) and Adult Liang, Renshu, and Young Man in "Good Hunting" (2019), episodes that blend surreal animation with themes of transformation and pursuit. These roles demonstrated his adaptability to short-form, stylistically varied animation, where vocal nuance drives narrative ambiguity without reliance on visual cues alone. Additional animated credits include voicing characters in the Netflix series Not Quite Narwhal (2023), where he supported the underwater fantasy elements, and the animated film Green Snake (2021), providing roles like 4th and additional voices in its mythological action sequences. King's work in these projects underscores a consistent focus on fantastical and inorganic voicing techniques, often involving phonetic experimentation to evoke otherworldly essences.

Live-Action Television and Film

King portrayed Marty Mantle, Reggie Mantle's father and a tough used car salesman, in recurring appearances on the series Riverdale from its 2017 premiere through 2023, contributing to subplots centered on familial conflicts and economic pressures in the show's Riverdale setting, with notable episodes including "Chapter Forty-One: Manhunter" () and "Chapter Forty-Seven: Bizarrodale" (2019). In the series 24's eighth season, aired January to May 2010, he appeared as Agent King in four episodes (3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.), depicting a CTU operative aiding in real-time crisis response against nuclear threats, emphasizing procedural tension through on-the-ground fieldwork. King held a recurring role as Dr. Matt Lin across 27 episodes of the Lifetime medical drama from 2003 to 2006, portraying a compassionate ER physician navigating ethical dilemmas, patient diagnoses, and interpersonal conflicts in episodes spanning seasons 4 through 6. He played THX, a shape-shifting hacker with facial implants, in season 2 of the series Powers (2016), appearing in multiple episodes to drive investigative arcs involving powered individuals and corporate espionage, culminating in hardware failure that heightened stakes in the finale. In film, King starred as Aiden, the violinist whose performances fuel jealousy in a modern adaptation of Tolstoy's novella, in Bernard Rose's (2008), released June 18, 2008, where he executed live violin playing opposite and , underscoring themes of obsession through musical interludes integral to the narrative.

Recognition and Legacy

Awards and Nominations

Matthew Yang King won the Hollywood Foreign Press Young Screenwriters Award for the horror script The Harrowing, co-written with Peter Gamble. The Harrowing also placed as a finalist in Scriptapalooza. He received the Tribeca Words From Here Contest award for the horror short . King advanced to semi-finalist status in the Nicholl Fellowship competition for the screenplay The Life and Death of Ernest P. Fantastic. In voice acting, King earned a 2012 nomination for the Behind The Voice Actors Television Voice Acting Award in the Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series category for his role as Nicky "Tunnel Rat" Lee in G.I. Joe: Renegades. He received a further nomination in 2017 for Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Feature Film/Special at the BTVA Anime Dub Awards for Only Yesterday. No major industry awards have been documented for his video game performances, including roles in the Mortal Kombat series.

Industry Influence and Reception

Matthew Yang King's influence within the voice acting industry stems from his public discussions on professional challenges, including compensation disputes and performance techniques, as evidenced by his 2022 Reddit commentary responding to the voice actor controversy, where he highlighted the realities of union rates and project negotiations for mid-tier roles. In interviews, such as his 2025 panel, King has elaborated on the evolution of motion-capture integration in gaming voice work post-2010, crediting technical advancements for enabling more nuanced character portrayals in titles like and , thereby setting exemplars for skill-based diversity in casting rather than quota-driven selections. These contributions have resonated with peers and fans, as seen in his recurring convention engagements, which foster direct knowledge transfer on sustaining careers amid industry consolidation influenced by corporate funding shifts. Reception of King's work emphasizes his across genres, with acclaim for episodes like "" in , which earned an Emmy nomination in 2019 for its voice , underscoring his ability to deliver emotive depth in animated sci-fi. Behind The Voice Actors nominations, including a 2017 BTVA Dub Movie/Special award nod for Only Yesterday, reflect peer recognition for contributions in international dubs, prioritizing technical proficiency over mainstream visibility. While his portfolio thrives in niche —evidenced by roles in high-profile games amassing millions of players—critiques occasionally note limited crossover to blockbuster live-action, attributing this to the specialized demands of rather than broader market dynamics. Empirical metrics of fan and industry engagement include over 31,000 followers tracking his convention updates and role announcements, alongside 2025 appearances at events like , where panels drew audiences interested in gaming voice trends. His trajectory demonstrates causal success through iterative role accumulation in franchises like and , where repeat casting correlates with performance data from player feedback loops, rather than external sociopolitical narratives. King's legacy thus lies in bolstering professional standards for voice actors navigating digital media's rise, with verifiable impacts via sustained project involvement and educational outreach at fan-driven events.

References

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