John Cho is famous for his role as Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar film franchise. Many may not know that he made history in the industry as the first Asian-American actor to headline a mainstream thriller film, and then he made history again when he starred as Henry Higgs in American sitcom Selfie, making him the first Asian American actor cast as a romantic lead.
Before breaking barrier, Cho earned a degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley, and coincidently, that’s also where his interest in acting sparked. Cho once recalled how it all started in an interview “I was in this writing group and this fellow in it was directing a play…He literally said, ‘How tall are you and what do you weigh?’ I think somebody got sick and he needed to know if I fit the costume. It was really like two lines.”
Rashida Jones: Comparative Religion
Being the daughter of two entertainment industry moguls: Peggy Lipton and Quincy Jones, Rashida Jones had big shoes to fill. Luckily for her, she inherited her parents' talent and intellect, and she has made a name for herself in her own right.
Before she became a hit in Parks and Recreation and The Office, she graduated from Harvard with a degree in comparative religion. She was quite an active member of her university, as she was a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club and also the musical director of an a cappella group called the Harvard Opportunes.
Uzo Aduba Has a Degree In Voice Performance
Uzo Aduba, better known as "Crazy Eyes" on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, received critical acclaim, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and if that wasn't impressive enough, she has two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.
Aduba obtained a degree in Voice Performance from Boston University’s School of Music, where she also ran on Track and Feild team. In 2017 she returned to her old college to give the commencement address saying, "It wasn’t so long ago that I was waking up at 7:50 in the morning in West Campus and making my way down to [the College of Fine Arts] for an 8 a.m. ear training and sight-reading class." What an inspiration!
Connie Britton Has a Degree in Asian Studies
Connie Britton, the American actress, singer, and producer, majored in Asian studies with a focus in Chinese at Dartmouth College. She even did a summer semester at the Beijing Normal University during her freshman year.
Coincidently, her roommates with Kirsten Gillibrand, who is now a New York senator.
Dr. Shaquille O’Neal
The retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal received a doctorate in education from Barry University in Florida. His degree focused on organizational learning and leadership; for his thesis, he studied how CEO’s and business leaders integrate humor with the work environment.
Upon receiving his degree he credited his parents for always pushing him to put education before basketball. Many may not know that O’Neal has a B.A. from Louisiana State University, and an MBA online from the University of Phoenix.