At the start of senior year, fantastic dancer Mike was assigned to run a Booty Camp to help the other members of New Directions improve their moves. But when Mike received an "Asian F" (an A-) on his chemistry test, his father demanded that he quit glee club and study with a tutor.
Encouraged by Tina, Mike skipped his tutoring session and auditioned for the part of Riff in "West Side Story." When he got the role, he admitted to his mother that performing was his life's passion, even as his father insisted that he quit the play. The night of the show, Mike's mom sat in the audience with an empty seat next to her.
But when Mike performed at sectionals, his father came to see him, and he finally understood that this was Mike's true calling; he even encouraged his son to apply to dance programs instead of pre-med schools. Right before graduation, Mike was accepted into a dance program in Chicago.
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, and raised both in northern and southern California, Harry Shum's entertainment career began in high school when a friend of his dared him to join the school's dance team, AGHS Dance Company. Despite having no formal training, he made the team and soon began dancing professionally, touring with Kaci and dancing for world renowned artists such as Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Ashanti, T-Pain, Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez and Raven.
In 2004, Shum landed his first acting job on the popular FOX series, "Boston Public." He followed that with guest-starring roles on "Zoey 101" and "Greek." He also starred in the hit TV movie "iCarly: iGo to Japan," as arch nemesis "Yuki."
Shum has danced in feature films such as "You Got Served," "Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift," "Stomp the Yard," "Center Stage 2" and "Bewitched." In 2008, he landed an acting part in "Step Up 2: the Streets." He reprised his role as "Cable" in "Step Up 3D."
Shum resides in Los Angeles.
