Will Yun Lee
| Will Yun Lee | |
|---|---|
 On the September 2007 cover of KoreAm |
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| Born | March 22, 1971 Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Spouse(s) | Jennifer Birmingham (2010-present) |
Will Yun Lee (Korean: 이윌윤; born March 22, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on TNT's supernatural drama series Witchblade as Danny Woo and as Jae Kim on NBC's science fiction television drama Bionic Woman. He played villain Colonel Tan-Sun Moon as the main antagonist in the James Bond film Die Another Day and Kirigi in Elektra, as well as The King of Fighters' anti-hero Iori Yagami. He will also be playing the role of Silver Samurai in James Mangold's upcoming The Wolverine.
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Early life [edit]
Lee was born in Arlington, Virginia, of Korean descent.[1] His parents are mother Jing Ja Lee and father Soo Wong Lee, a Taekwondo grandmaster. He spent a portion of his youth teaching at Lee's Tae Kwon Do, his family's business in Napa California. Lee attended UC Berkeley on an athletic scholarship for the Cal Taekwondo team.
Career [edit]
He had supporting roles on high profile films such as Die Another Day, Torque, The King of Fighters and Elektra. He has also acted on FX Network's mini-series Thief and ABC Family's TV movie Mini-series Fallen. He recently guest starred in the new Hawaii Five-0 as recurring character "Sang Min". He also will be playing the role of Kenuichio Harada aka The Silver Samurai in James Mangold's The Wolverine.[2] He also provides the voice of the protagonist "Wei Shen" in Square Enix's crime game, Sleeping Dogs.
Documentaries [edit]
Will Yun Lee is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in the documentary The Slanted Screen (2006), directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian American men in Hollywood. He was in the music video of Mariah Carey's "Boy (I Need You)" as well as Ice Cube's "Roll Call."
Honors [edit]
In 2002 he was named by People as one of their "50 Most Beautiful People" which quickly lead to high profile roles. In November 2007, he was again recognized by People, this time as one of the members of their list of the 15 "Sexiest Men Alive."[3]
Personal life [edit]
In October 2010, Lee married actress Jennifer Birmingham in Shreveport, LA. They are expecting their first child, a boy, in June of 2013.[4]
Filmography [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Nash Bridges | Quick | Episode: "Gun Play" |
| 1998 | Profiler | Andrew Young | Episode: "Ties That Bind" |
| 1998 | Brimstone | Roger | Episode: "Poem" |
| 1999 | V.I.P. | Episode: "Mao Better Blues" | |
| 2000 | Gung Fu: The New Dragon | Danny | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Jimmy Nguyen | |
| 2000 | The Disciples | Yoyo Lee | |
| 2000 | Witchblade | Danny Woo | |
| 2001 | The Agency | Sam | Episode: "The Year of Living Dangerously" |
| 2001–2002 | Witchblade | Detective Danny Woo | 23 episodes |
| 2002 | Face | Daniel | |
| 2002 | Four Reasons | Buddha | |
| 2002 | Die Another Day | Colonel Tan-Sun Moon | |
| 2003 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | Detective Danny Chang | Episode: "Let It Bleed" |
| 2004 | Torque | Val | |
| 2004 | Threat Matrix | Danny Roh | Episode: "PPX" |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Hiroji Yoshida | Episode: "Gaijin" |
| 2004 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | Detective Danny Chang | Episode: "Love Don't Love Nobody" |
| 2005 | Elektra | Kirigi | |
| 2006 | Thief | Vincent Chan | 6 episodes |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Dennis Kim | Episode: "Time of Your Death" |
| 2006 | Tsunami: The Aftermath | Chai | |
| 2007 | Hers | Lucas | |
| 2007 | Hustle | Shiro | Episode: "Conning the Artists" |
| 2007 | Fallen | Mazarin | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Bionic Woman | Jae Kim | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | 6th and Santa Fe | Short film | |
| 2008 | Finnegan | Taki | |
| 2010 | The King of Fighters | Iori Yagami | |
| 2010 | Boston's Finest | Eddie Lao | |
| 2010 | Five Star Day | Samuel Kim | |
| 2010–2013 | Hawaii Five-0 | Sang Min | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | Four Assassins | Marcus | |
| 2011 | Where the Road Meets the Sun | Takashi | |
| 2011 | Setup | Joey | |
| 2011 | Oka! | Yi | |
| 2011 | Saints Row: The Third | Various characters | Voice |
| 2012 | Total Recall | Marek | |
| 2012 | Sleeping Dogs | Wei Shen | Voice |
| 2012 | Red Dawn | Captain Cho | |
| 2012 | Bangkok Love Story | ||
| 2013 | Lost for Words | Stanford | |
| 2013 | The Wolverine | Silver Samurai | |
| 2013 | Make Your Move 3D | Kaz |
References [edit]
- ^ according to background database peoplefinders.com and Intelius.com
- ^ Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend, The Wolverine Adds Will Yun Lee as Silver Samurai, http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Wolverine-Adds-Yun-Lee-Villain-31786.html
- ^ "Sexiest Man Alive 2007: Will Yun Lee". People. 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20438286,00.html
External links [edit]
- Will Yun Lee at the Internet Movie Database
- 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards
- Interview about Will's life and work with www.mycoven.com Sept. 2011
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