Entertainment’s New Jack-of-All-Trades
January 19, 2007
Actor. Model. Host. Singer. Young and charismatic Vietnamese and French American John Wynn is a jack-of-all-trades in the entertainment industry.
In the past four years, the up-and-coming pop cultural phenomenon has modeled in national television commercials and print ads for Kohl’s, Verizon Wireless and recently Chevrolet. He has appeared on such television shows as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, American Dreams, 7th Heaven and General Hospital. He starred in the horror film, Ring of Darkness, and played a supporting role in the Sci-Fi Channel film They Are Among Us.
Wynn is slated to star in the feature film Beyond the Mat and will make his feature film debut this year as the comic lead in X’s and O’s.
Currently, the 25 year old, is the co-host of DirecTV’s highly rated and worldwide syndicated music program CD USA, which is in its second season. The show airs in over 97 countries and is a weekly hourlong showcase of live concert performances by chart-topping artists. Past performers include John Mayer, Nelly Furtado, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Busta Rhymes. He just hosted a Las Vegas New Year’s Eve special edition of CD USA, in which All-American Rejects, Rockstar: SuperNova, Smash Mouth, OK Go and Chicago performed.
“My job as host of CD USA is such a blast and leaves me feeling like I’m 10 years old in a candy store,” said Wynn, who has met celebrities like Christina Aguilera and Natasha Bedingfield. “On the outside, I’m mellow and I might not come off as a raving lunatic fan, but on the inside, I’m like, ‘YES! She just touched my shoulder!’”
“John is very driven, intelligent, self-possessed and funny. I think whatever level of success John is enjoying at the moment, he’s going to be on a lot more people’s radars in the coming years,” said actress and friend Camille Mana. “My one concern is if he is doing all these careers at once, that it might confuse audiences or slow down his rise, but I think with focus and a good team behind him, he will tackle each career medium strategically and experience success in all of them.”
Represented by Tim Kessler of Brady, Brannon & Rich, Bonnie Liedtke of TalentWorks Agency and managed by Peter Kluge of Impact Artists Group, Wynn plans on releasing his solo debut this year.
“The album will be combining trip hop, ambient songs, and will be a combination of all my musical influences like Pearl Jam, Damien Rice and Ben Harper,” said Wynn.
“As a musician and singer John is quite easy to work with,” said Johnny Lee of the band Frequency 5. “We’ve been recording in my studio for a few months now and I must say he has a lot to bring to the table. Not only can he sing, play the guitar and piano, but he writes meaningful lyrics as well.”
TAKING A RISK
Born in Chesterfield, Va., Wynn, who speaks a little Vietnamese and French, grew up singing and playing piano, but never really considered pursing a career in entertainment.
“It was just something I did for fun. It was never emphasized,” said Wynn. “Asian kids are not generally encouraged to be entertainers. It is not what we are normally expected to do in America.”
Young Wynn was actually more intent on pursuing a career in medicine, but not because of parental pressure.
“It was something that I wanted to do,” said Wynn, whose mom is Vietnamese and dad is half French and half Vietnamese. “As a child, I definitely looked up to and admired my grandfather, who was a doctor, and in many ways I wanted to be like him.”
But during his freshman year at the University of Virginia, things changed when he fell in love with the guitar.
“My roommate in college was an incredible guitar player. He was the one who motivated me to learn how to play, and pretty soon I was practicing 24 hours a day and writing songs,” recalls Wynn, who majored in biology and chemistry. “You hardly ever saw me without a guitar at that point.”
Wynn was 21 years old and in his second year of graduate school at the Medical College of Virginia, when he made a life-changing decision. He opted to leave a highly promising career as a doctor and pursue his love of music.
“I started wondering when I’m 50, am I going to look back and say I did everything I wanted to do with my life” Not that saving lives isn’t fulfilling, but I felt like creatively I wasn’t 100 percent satisfied,” said Wynn. “Before I went down the path where there was no turning back, I wanted to just take a year off and play music.”
“My mom and dad were not happy. I think they weren’t upset that I wasn’t going to be a doctor, but because I was leaving behind a stable and respectful lifestyle for the unknown. My perspective on the whole situation was if you don’t gamble big, you don’t win big. Sure, I could end up homeless on Venice Beach, but I figured I’d never know what success was out there if I didn’t at least try,” said Wynn.
“I love and respect my parents and their wishes, but it was something I had to do at the time for me. To this day, they still ask me to go back to med school, but that time has passed for me. I’m out here [in California] doing what I want to do and the desire to finish med school just to say I did is not there.”
After leaving Virginia and medical school in 2003, Wynn drove cross-country to Nashville, Tenn., where he played solo shows at the Gibson Guitar Gallery and Café and the Bluebird Café before departing for Los Angeles.
In L.A., he played at spots like the Rainbow Bar and Grill, Whiskey A Go-Go and Silverlake Lounge. Six months later, he was signed to a label deal fronting the indie rock band Agent Sands, which eventually broke up in 2005.
WYNN’S BIG BREAK
During one of his music gigs with the band, Wynn had his big break and was discovered and signed on the spot by a modeling agent.
Two weeks later, he shot his first national television commercial for Pizza Hut.
“After I found out that I booked my first commercial, I was completely in shock. My friends were at my apartment and I just jumped up and down and ran through the hallway, probably looking like the biggest fool on the planet,” said Wynn. “I never believed that this was something I was going to do. I left so I could pursue music, not become an actor or model. I’ve been very fortunate and lucky.”
During this time in 2004, Wynn continued to work as a waiter and bartender so he could continue to play music when he could. He also went on modeling and acting auditions at the prodding of his agent. This same year, he landed his first acting role on 7th Heaven. He played a 15-year-old Korean student who gets into a political debate with another classmate.
“I wasn’t offended that I was cast to play a Korean student, I was just happy that they were including an Asian aspect to their show,” said Wynn.
“Today, there are more Asian Americans on TV than ever before, and I think it’s great that the public is opening up to the concept that we can do more than math and science. I look at the show [CD USA] as an opportunity to show anyone who watches that you don’t have to stereotype us as one way,” said Wynn. “With me, hopefully they’ll see that I’m just a normal guy and us Asian Americans are just like anybody else,” said Wynn, who’s currently single.
“I was recently in a great relationship with an incredible woman, but we decided to break it off before it became too intense,” said Wynn. “So right now, I’m single and loving it.”
Wynn’s CD USA co-host Becky Baeling says, “His intellect, talent, expertise and cute face and bod add up to make him so appealing and successful. I have truly enjoyed my experience working with him. He has been an incredible role model for not only the young Asian American community, but for all youth.”
“He has great things in store for himself in the future, whether his next endeavor takes him back to his music, further into movies or with more hosting, he will find success in all he does. Because that is what John does,” Baeling continued. “John has what it takes to continue to do great things in this industry of entertainment.”
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