BWW Blog: How Kurt Yue Went from Computer Science to Marvel Studios' BLACK WIDOW

Professional actor and YouTube personality Kurt Yue made his acting debut as the rear end of a horse in his 4th grade school play.

As the story usually goes, a young person is bit by the "acting bug" and knows immediately what they want to do for their career. For Yue, not so much. His life was an acting drought until he turned 26.

After displaying a talent for math and science in high school, he went on to get a college degree in computer science and engineering. After graduating in 2008, he worked in the corporate world as a software engineer.

Yue and his best friend from high school both pursued a 9 to 5 grind in Cleveland, Ohio, and frequently met up for post-work happy hours. "After a while, that [happy hours] got old. We were just looking for something to do that wasn't simply hanging out and getting a beer." He tells me in our recent interview.

One day, after happy hour, they happened by the Houde School of Acting. On the window, there was a sign that offered a free trial class. The school's deal was that anyone who enjoyed that class could enroll and take more.

Following their first Meisner class, Yue and his friend signed up to continue classes at the Houde school as a fun way to decompress after work. After a year of taking classes, a classmate asked Yue if he would consider getting an agent. "She said, 'My agent is actually looking for an Asian actor for a specific role right now, so would you want to talk to him?' And I said, okay, I'll talk to him."

Yue auditioned and didn't book the role, but through his audition he was able to get representation. For the next few years, he continued to work his corporate day job while acting on the side on small market gigs like commercials and corporate training videos. "If I got an audition from my agency, I would take a long lunch hour, drive over to my agent's office, do the audition, and then go back to work. If I booked anything, I would take a day off."

In 2015, he decided to take the plunge and pursue acting full time. He moved to Atlanta and hasn't looked back. He has since landed roles in Cobra Kai, Dynasty, Safety, Paradise Lost, The Hate U Give, Venom, and more.

Most recently, Yue was in Marvel Studios' Black Widow as Ross Lieutenant. "When I first started classes in 2008, Iron Man came out in theaters at the same time. When I saw it, I never thought I could be in a movie like that one day."

Yue currently manages his own YouTube Channel, Acting Career Center, featuring everything you need to help grow your aspirations of becoming a professional actor. Find his channel here, and hear more about his Black Widow experience in his video "My Experience Working on BLACK WIDOW (in London) | How I Auditioned for a Marvel Movie and Booked It".

Kurt Yue is still in the dawn of a promising career; I am excited to see where this talented actor goes next!