Biography
While not initially interested in acting, it was his good friends, and fellow Canadians, Cameron Mathison ("All My Children's" 'Ryan Lavery'), Andrew Walker ("CSI: NY") and Adam MacDonald ("Being Erica") that convinced him he had the raw talent to be on-screen. Upon securing representation, Yan was fast at work on several projects. His first exposure to acting came on the set of Eddie's Murphy's "Pluto Nash," where Yan was a stand-in actor for Eddie Murphy and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. Yan followed up with the Lifetime television movie "The Other Woman," directed and starring Jason Priestly, and then Yan was in the Gemini Award-winning miniseries "Burn Up," starring Neve Campbell and Bradley Whitford for GlobalTV and BBC. Select additional credits include the Lifetime movie "High Noon," starring Cybill Shepherd and "Lost's" Emilie De Ravin. Yan is a member of ACTRA in Canada and SAG in the United States, so he has the coveted luxury of acting and working in both countries.
While at Dawson College, Yan played basketball for their team. Yan tried out for Montreal Matrix in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and Edmonton Energy in the International Basketball League (IBL), but a lower back injury prematurely cut short his extremely promising career. However, Yan found a different way to use his talents and is now a basketball official and will be attending the Frontier Conference summer camp for officials in Great Falls, Montana to further his craft. Yan credits his mentor, John Weiland, for helping him transition from player to official. Weiland is widely regarded as one of the best ever basketball officials in Canada and is a true builder of the sport, and Yan considers him a close friend. Additionally, Yan has lent his talents at Richard Avery's Pro Sports Group, where he helps to place players in North American and International Basketball leagues. And Yan still keeps in touch with college friend, Joel Anthony, of the Miami Heat and buddy Kris Joseph from the Boston Celtics.
When Yan is not acting or officiating basketball, you can find him hosting Women's Shows across Western Canada. And recently, Yan got into the music business by helping to promote for various artist like friend Ricky J in various parts of Canada, particularly in Western Canada, and also his hometown of Montreal.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Yan is fluent in French and English. Yan graduated from Dawson College in Montreal, majoring in Electro Tech/Social Science. Yan now calls Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver home.
