Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers were featured in a joint interview for WSJ. Magazine on May 28, 2026. The high-profile feature has prompted fellow comedy creators to reflect on how the Saturday Night Live star built his career. On the interview podcast SmartLess, the hosts skipped the usual industry shop talk to focus on his unlikely journey from pre-med student to late-night staple.
Co-host Sean Hayes introduced the star by recalling his early academic plans. Hayes noted that Yang "started college as a pre-med chemistry major because he was inspired by "Sandra Oh"'s character... on "Grey's Anatomy." Hayes tracked his global upbringing, noting that "He was born in Australia, moved to Quebec, then to Colorado when he was nine" before eventually landing on Saturday Night Live. While Hayes marveled at his rise, co-host Will Arnett wanted to dig deeper into his childhood moves, asking, "I wanna know why you, why, how and why you moved around and what happened."
The show closed with effusive praise from the hosts. Sean Hayes told him, "I think, Bo and Yang, you are brilliant. You are hilarious from the first time I saw you." With the high-profile WSJ. Magazine feature keeping Bowen Yang in the headlines, his star power is only continuing to rise.