MANILA, Philippines ? Sandra Bullock?s latest starrer, ?All About Steve,? is generally a letdown, but we?re glad we watched it, because it introduced us to the comedic talents of two character actors cast as the TV news team colleagues of the film?s male lead character, played by Bradley Cooper. Their roles may not have been stellar, but Thomas Haden Church and Ken Jeong were able to make them special through sheer dint of comedic creativity.

As the news team?s self-centered on-cam reporter, Hartman Hughes, Church fills the screen with his character?s brash and bumptious personality. He may not have much between his ears, but the reporter thinks he?s God?s gift to CNN (except that the news network isn?t all that aware of the great, unsung communicator it has in its ranks).

Performance

Coming across like a deeply tanned Charlton Heston and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Church was first noticed by moviegoers in ?Sideways? (2004). In 2006, he won the Emmy award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his performance in ?Broken Trail.?

In 2007, Sam Raimi tapped Church to play the lead villain, Flint Marko/Sandman, in ?Spider-Man 3.? Aside from acting, Church runs cattle ranches and a commercial beef operation. His upcoming movies include ?The Last Horseman,? ?Big Eyes? and ?Easy A.?

For his part, Ken Jeong plays the news team?s submissive and harassed producer in ?All About Steve,? and he, too, is able to turn his supporting role into a memorable thespic feat. Asian actors take Jeong?s success in Hollywood as a sign that the world?s entertainment capital is now more open to non-Caucasian performers.

Truth to tell, Jeong?s character could have been played by an American actor, but Jeong was tapped for the part, possibly because US films now have a more international market, so a greater variety of ethnic types is being welcomed by viewers in different parts of the globe, adding to new movies? accessibility to viewers everywhere.

It turns out that Jeong is now one of the film-TV world?s most successful character actors. ?All About Steve? may not be a blockbuster, but Jeong has just come from a recent hit, ?The Hangover,? where he played Mr. Chow.

People are surprised to learn that Jeong is a doctor. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine while developing a following in cult comedy. While in New Orleans, Ken won the Big Easy Laugh-Off. Moving to LA, he performed regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory. Soon, he appeared on ?The View,? where he was dubbed ?The Funniest Doctor in America.?

On TV, Ken has appeared in ?The Office,? ?Two and a Half Men? and ?Curb Your Enthusiasm.? He made his feature film debut in ?Knocked Up,? and will reteam with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen in ?The Pineapple Express.?