Early life
Yi grew up in the South Bay area of Southern California. He enrolled at the University of Denver before transferring to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles to complete his studies.1 Over the course of his career he has lived and worked in four countries across three continents.1
Career
Yi built a substantial television resume during the 2000s and 2010s. His most sustained series role came on FX's The Shield (2002-2008), where he recurred as Detective Rodriguez across the gritty police drama's run.1 An early highlight was a small role on The West Wing (1999), during which he received career guidance from Martin Sheen.1 He followed that with guest appearances on Monk, Men of a Certain Age, The Office, and season four of Arrested Development.3
His most widely recognized television role is Rabbi Chang on NBC's Community (episode "Basic Genealogy," Season 1, 2010), the rabbi brother of Ken Jeong's Spanish teacher Señor Chang. He also appeared on The Big Bang Theory.3 Alongside episodic television, Yi has worked extensively in regional and national commercials throughout his career.1
In film, Yi has crossed genres from comedy to horror. His comedy credits include Senior Skip Day (2008), Bridesmaids (2011, directed by Paul Feig), and This Is 40 (2012, directed by Judd Apatow).3 He moved into darker territory with The Purge (2013), the James DeMonaco-directed science-fiction thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, in which he played a character named Mr. Cali.6
His more recent film appearances include Plus One (2019), the horror film Umma (2022), the romantic comedy Your Place or Mine (2023), and The Greatest Hits (2024), demonstrating continued range and activity well into the 2020s.3
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)
Yi appeared in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call in a small but distinctive role as the Flashed Man, a passerby caught in the path of the Flasher Ghost during the ghost-invasion sequence set in New York City.5 The film was directed by Paul Feig, with whom Yi had previously collaborated on Bridesmaids (2011).
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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Tom Yi, "Biography," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502541/bio/
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Tom Yi, IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502541/
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"Tom Yi," The Movie Database (TMDb), accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/305993-tom-yi
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"Ghostbusters (2016), Tom Yi as Flashed Man," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/characters/nm1502541
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"The Purge (2013), Tom Yi as Mr. Cali," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2184339/characters/nm1502541
