Ken Leung
Ken Leung | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kenneth Leung January 21, 1970 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Kenneth "Ken" Leung (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.
Early life
Ken Leung was born in New York City and initially raised in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[citation needed] His family moved to Midwood, Brooklyn where he grew up before finishing high school in Old Bridge, New Jersey.[citation needed]
Leung later attended New York University (NYU) as a University Scholar and discovered acting in his junior year, when he studied acting with Catherine Russell and Nan Smithner,[citation needed] and then briefly with Anne Jackson at HB Studio.[citation needed] During this time he acted mostly in downtown spaces and black box theaters, working with groups such as the Ma-Yi Theater Company,[citation needed] New Perspectives,[citation needed] and STAR, a traveling group of actors-educators based in Mount Sinai Hospital.[citation needed]
Career
In 1997, Leung made his debut in Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. Ratner stated, "[Ken]'s a great actor. In my opinion, he's equivalent to Philip Seymour Hoffman as far as talent is concerned."[1] He would later work with Ratner in the films Red Dragon, The Family Man, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Edward Norton cast him in his directorial debut Keeping the Faith in 2000. Since then Leung has appeared in several independent and television films, as well as features, including four films with Brett Ratner and two with Spike Lee. In 1998, he played James the Less and God in Terrence McNally's passion play, Corpus Christi, and in 2002 made his Broadway debut in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (and appears on the cast recording).
In 2007, he starred in the independent film Shanghai Kiss with Hayden Panettiere, and earned a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.[citation needed] That same year he guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos. He followed this with the ABC drama Lost as Miles Straume from the series' fourth season through the rest of its run. Leung in rumored to star in the pilot for the television adaption of the comic book Chew as the title character Tony Chu.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pictures of Baby Jane Doe | Shopkeeper | |
| Welcome to the Dollhouse | Barry | ||
| 1997 | Red Corner | Peng | |
| Kundun | (voice) | ||
| 1998 | Fly | Jeremy Kim | |
| Rush Hour | Sang | ||
| 1999 | Man of the Century | Mike Ramsey | |
| 2000 | Keeping the Faith | Don | |
| Maze | Dr. Mikao | ||
| The Family Man | Sam Wong the Deli Clerk | ||
| 2001 | Artificial Intelligence: A.I. | Syatyoo-Sama | |
| Home Sweet Hoboken | |||
| Spy Game | Li | ||
| Vanilla Sky | Art Editor | ||
| 2002 | Face | Willie | |
| Red Dragon | Lloyd Bowman | ||
| 2004 | Saw | Detective Steven Sing | |
| Strip Search | Liu Tsung-Yuan | television film | |
| Sucker Free City | Lincoln Ma | ||
| 2005 | Hate | Mo | |
| The Squid and the Whale | School Therapist | ||
| 2006 | Inside Man | Wing | |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Kid Omega | ||
| 2007 | Year of the Fish | Johnny | |
| Shanghai Kiss | Liam Liu | Received a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for his breakthrough performance. | |
| Falling for Grace | Ming | ||
| 2009 | Saw V | Detective Steven Sing | Cameo |
| 2009 | Works of Art | John Kim |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 2000 2002 |
Law & Order | Chung; Tommy Wong; Stephen Wong | |
| 1997 | New York Undercover | David Kwan | Episode: Vendetta |
| 2000 | Wonderland | Episode: Spell Check | |
| Deadline | Fung | Episode: Pilot | |
| 2001 | Oz | Bian Yixue | Episode: Conversions |
| 2004 | The Jury | Ken Arata | Episode: Memories |
| Whoopi | Terrence | Episode: Identity Crisis | |
| 2007 | The Sopranos | Carter Chong | Episode: Remember When |
| 2008–2010 | Lost | Miles Straume | Series Regular; 45 episodes |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Shen Yuan | Episode: Great Firewall |
References
- ^ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself . . .", The Washington Post, May 25, 2008
External links
- Interviews
- Asia Pacific Arts - UCLA Asia Institute, May 30, 2008
- Hillis, Aaron. "Interview: Ken Leung on 'Year of the Fish'", IFC.com, August 27, 2008
Template:Persondata Category:American people of Chinese descent[citation needed]