Brian Tee
Brian Tee | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 15, 1977 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Brian Tee (born March 15, 1977) is an Asian American actor, best known for his role as D.K. (a.k.a. The Drift King) in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Early life
Tee was born in Okinawa, of Japanese and Korean descents.[1] At the age of two, he moved to Hacienda Heights, California, and was raised there ever since. He attended Glen A. Wilson High School where he was ASB president[clarification needed] and captain of the football team. While in high school, he worked at Blackjack Pizza. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Theater/Performance Arts.[2] In his spare time, he enjoys working out, playing sports, and practicing martial arts. He speaks fluent Korean, Japanese, and English.
Career
Tee also played Kazu, the owner of Sushi Rox, on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101. He played Eddie Choi in Crash.[3] He also starred as Akira Kimura on Grimm and Takeda on Burn Notice. He also appeared in the season 4 episode "The Girl in the Mask" as Ken Nakamura on the show Bones. He has also played Dwayne Archimedes in the indie Feature film Roswell FM. Tee has also appeared in an episode in the first season of the television show Dark Blue as a Korean criminal. He also had a short part in Austin Powers Goldmember as a Japanese pedestrian ("Run! It's Goldzilla!"; "Still we should run like it is Godzilla!"). Brian can also be seen on an episode of Hollywood Squares presented by Tom Bergeron playing in 1999 against a woman named Heidi.
Tee was also in the music video "Dance Like Michael Jackson" by Far East Movement.
In James Mangold's The Wolverine (2013), starring Hugh Jackman, Tee played Noburo Mori, a minister of justice arranged to marry the daughter of Yakuza Boss Shingen Yashida (Hiroyuki Sanada).[4]
Tee took on the role of Liu Kang in the YouTube series Mortal Kombat Legacy.[5]
Tee finished work on the tentatively titled made for television movie The Gabby Douglas Story on October 18th, 2013, where he plays the role of her coach Liang Chow, which is set to air sometime in 2014 on Lifetime.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | We Were Soldiers | Pfc. Jimmy Nakayama | |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | Japanese Pedestrian | ||
| 2004 | Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation | Cpl. Thom Kobe | Direct-to-video |
| Tiger Cruise | MA2 Chan | Made for TV | |
| 2005 | Fun with Dick and Jane | Sushi Chef | |
| 2006 | All In | Rosenbloom Player 2 | |
| The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | D.K. | ||
| 2007 | Pandemic | Danny | Miniseries |
| Finishing the Game | Mac Chang | ||
| 2008 | The Trade | Mr. Cho | |
| 2009 | Deadland | Jax | |
| Chain Letter | Brian Yee | ||
| Wedding Palace | Jason | ||
| 2013 | The Wolverine | Noburo Mori | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Episode(s) |
| 2000 | The Pretender | Male Agent | "The Agent of Year Zero" |
| 2000 | The Invisible Man | Mallon | "The Value of Secrets" |
| 2000 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Intern | "Family" |
| 2001 | Family Law | DEA Agent | "Liar's Club: Part 1" |
| 2001 | 18 Wheels of Justice | Host | "The Game" |
| 2001 | The Chronicle | Neo | "Here There Be Dragons" |
| 2002 | Flipside | Lance | "Pilot" |
| 2003 | JAG | North Korean Soldier | "Close Quarters" |
| 2004 | Passions | Young Asian Man | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Cracking Up | Frat Guy #1 | "Daddy's Home" |
| 2004 | Monk | James Lu | "Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather" |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Kirk | "Transitions" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Jin-Lee Park | "Rubbing One Out" |
| 2006 | The Unit | Rebel Leader | "200th Hour" |
| 2006 | Entourage | Fukijama's Bodyguard | "What About Bob?" |
| 2005–2006 | Zoey 101 | Kazu | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Andy | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Jericho | Cheung | "Patriots and Tyrants" |
| 2008 | Crash | Eddie Choi | |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Han Yong-Dae | "Love Always" |
| 2009 | Bones | Ken Nakamura | "The Girl in the Mask" |
| 2009 | Dark Blue | Kang | "K-Town" |
| 2010 | Sym-Bionic Titan | Mike Chan | "Roar of the White Dragon" |
| 2011 | Burn Notice | Takeda | "Bloodlines" |
| 2011–2012 | Grimm | Akira Kimura | |
| 2012 | Shake It Up | Concierge | "Made in Japan" |
| 2013 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Liu Kang | |
| Video game | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Saints Row 2 | Jyunichi | |
| Music video | |||
| Year | Artist and song | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Far East Movement – "Dance Like Michael Jackson" | Himself | Intro appearance |
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0974575/
- ^ Half-Korean.com Interview with Brian Tee, http://www.halfkorean.com/?page_id=381
- ^ http://www.starz.com/originals/CRASH
- ^ indieWire, Brian Tee Joins 'The Wolverine,' http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/brian-tee-joins-the-wolverine-cole-hauser-declares-olympus-has-fallen-patrick-schwarzenegger-is-all-grown-ups-2-20120710
- ^ "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
http://k-popped.com/2008/12/k-popped-interviews-brian-tee-of-crash.html