Ken Kirby is a Canadian actor and screenwriter. He has played the recurring characters Dr. John Shen on HBO Max's The Pitt, Ben on Freeform's Good Trouble, Evan Tate in The CW series Dynasty, and Lenjamin McButtons in the LGBTQ web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. Kirby has also appeared in the independent film Straight Up, Fox's The Gifted, and Freeform's Famous in Love.

Early life and education

Kirby was born in Vancouver to a British father and a Chinese mother. He grew up between Canada, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Kirby studied business in college.

Kirby, who has a passion for comedy, decided that he wanted to entertain people professionally after 1100 people attended his one-man show at the Vancouver Comedy Festival in 2010. After completing formal training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and The Groundlings, Kirby entered CBS's Diversity Showcase in 2015 and then signed with The Gersh Agency.

Career

Kirby had a minor speaking role in the 2006 comedy film She's the Man, and voiced Kenji in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon the same year.

In 2016, Kirby played Lenjamin McButtons in the LGBTQ web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, and portrayed Bryan in Freeform's Famous in Love in 2018.

In 2019, Kirby appeared as Byron in Grand Hotel, began playing Ben in Freeform's Good Trouble, and Evan Tate in season three and season four of The CW series Dynasty.

Kirby has also appeared as Craig in the independent film Straight Up (2019), and as Noah in Fox's The Gifted (2018).

Personal life

Kirby resides in Los Angeles. He hopes to utilize comedy as a way to bring Asian American stories "to the forefront in both TV and film."

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006She's the ManAnnouncer
2019Straight UpCraig
2022They Live in the GreyPeter Yang

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012SupernaturalEvanEpisode: "Bitten"
2015Chasing LifeBrianEpisode: "As Long as We Both Shall Live"
2016The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb GalloLenjaminWeb series; main role
2018Famous in LoveBryan3 episodes
2018Drunk HistoryEpisode: "The Middle Ages"
2018The GiftedNoah2 episodes
2019–2020Good TroubleBen15 episodes
2019Grand HotelByron3 episodes
2019Liza on DemandHendricksEpisode: "The Art of Settling"
2019–2021DynastyEvan Tate6 episodes
2020Magnum P.I.Eli SungEpisode: "Desperate Measures"
20209-1-1: Lone StarJTEpisode: "Yee-Haw"
2022Home EconomicsPoker buddyEpisode: "Poker Game, $800 Buy-In"
2022The ConnersSteveEpisode: "Driving, Dating and Deceit"
2023MinxKevinEpisode: "I thought the bed was gonna fly"
2024English TeacherPashaEpisode: "Convention"
2025–presentThe PittDr. John Shen9 episodes
2025BallardJoey LucasEpisode: "BYOB"

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006Need for Speed: CarbonKenji

External links