Two years after 'The Walking Dead,' Steven Yeun's film career is 'Burning'

Steven Yeun is a master at playing nice.

But after six years portraying moral compass and emergent leader Glenn Rhee on AMC's long-running "The Walking Dead," the 34-year-old actor has embraced the opportunity to do something different.

"It's cool to be able to graduate from a show and experience such as 'The Walking Dead' and be able to constantly stretch myself and put myself to the test," he said. "I just hope I can continue to do that."

Yeun has found one of his meatiest roles to date with "Burning," Lee Chang-dong's haunting mystery drama and South Korea's official Oscar entry for foreign language film. He plays Ben, a handsome and wealthy Gatsby-type whose ceaseless pursuit of fun indicates a pervasive and gnawing ennui.

Times critic Justin Chang calls the film, which has been playing in limited release and is expanding to additional theaters Friday, "a romantic triangle, a crime thriller, a dark comedy