About David Ury
The Japanese in David Ury's résumé is real. Born in Sonoma, California, he studied linguistics at Evergreen State College, spent time studying in Japan and came back fluent, and translating film, television and manga became the steady job underneath everything else. He moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to try stand-up.
That second language also fed his best-known comic creation. On YouTube he plays Ken Tanaka, a man adopted as a baby by Japanese parents who goes looking for his birth family, and he runs further character pieces there, among them Karaoke Steve.
As a screen actor he tends to be cast as the lowlife of the episode; the cartoonist Keith Knight summed up his parts as reprobates and sleazeballs, and a good number of those characters die before the credits roll. The most famous is Spooge, whom he played in the Breaking Bad episodes Breakage and Peekaboo in 2009 and brought back for Better Call Saul in 2022. His other credits include Heroes and Malcolm in the Middle.
Videos (92)
Videos 73 to 92 of 92.
5:25Naomi Grossman (Pepper) and me on the set of Fear Inc. (Mini Surfing Monkey)
813 views
3:01Cock in the ferry.
807 views
4:00Surfing Monkey Ep 2.2 Character Actor Vidcast with Blue Man Group's Tahmus Rounds
702 views
2:08Beard Vlog
658 views
1:39Angry Dirge
655 views
0:47Augustine: Horror film Trailer
639 views
2:47Karaoke Steve's guide to living, for the college man
618 views
3:43Surfing Monkey Character Actor Vidcast Tahmus Rounds, David Ury Raising Hope, Crazies
602 views
2:04The Bigelow Brothers @ Perform Now Chinatown Los Angeles 2011
589 views
6:11Surfing Monkey Show Sz 2 Ep 3 with Cullen Douglas, & Joseph Gatt at the gun range
542 views
4:52Surfing Monkey Show 2015 Character Actors in front of a fence
462 views
3:58The Surfing Monkey Show: The Animal Episode with Tahmus Rounds and David Ury
454 views
2:08Beard Vlog.
414 views
2:57Surfing Monkey Show Live at a Commercial Audition and Callback
359 views
2:44Surfing Monkey Ep 7 with Tahmus Rounds and David Ury
350 views
2:01Special Halloween Edition of Surfing Monkey with actors from The Crazies, Dark Ride, Revenant
298 views
5:54Surfing Monkey Character Actor show season 2 episode 6 Jungle Edition
290 views
4:41Surfing Monkey Character Actor show season 2 episode 5
285 views
0:52The Man Hunter
246 views
4:24David Ury at The Spot
118 viewsFrequently asked questions
Does David Ury speak Japanese?
Yes, David Ury studied in Japan and came back fluent, and translating film, television and manga became his steady job underneath the comedy.
Where is David Ury from?
David Ury was born in Sonoma, California, studied linguistics at Evergreen State College and moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to try stand-up.
Who is Ken Tanaka?
Ken Tanaka is David Ury's best-known YouTube character, a man raised by Japanese parents who goes looking for his birth family; his other characters there include Karaoke Steve.
Who did David Ury play in Breaking Bad?
Ury played Spooge in the Breaking Bad episodes Breakage and Peekaboo in 2009 and brought the character back for Better Call Saul in 2022.
What kind of roles does David Ury play?
As a screen actor he tends to be cast as the lowlife of the episode; the cartoonist Keith Knight summed up his parts as reprobates and sleazeballs.
What other TV shows has David Ury been in?
Besides Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, David Ury's credits include Heroes and Malcolm in the Middle.
