American actor
Ken Leung
梁振邦
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1970-01-21
)
January 21, 1970
(age 54)
|
---|
Alma mater
| New York University
|
---|
Occupation
| Actor
|
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Years active
| 1995?present
|
---|
Children
| 1
[1]
|
---|
Kenneth Leung
(born January 21, 1970)
[2]
is an American actor. His roles include Sang in
Rush Hour
,
Miles Straume
in
Lost
,
Admiral Statura
in
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
, and Eric Tao in HBO's
Industry
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Leung was born in
New York City
,
[3]
to
Chinese
parents, and was initially raised in the
Two Bridges
section of the
Lower East Side
of
Manhattan
.
[3]
His family moved to
Midwood
,
Brooklyn
,
[3]
where he grew up before finishing high school in
Old Bridge
,
New Jersey
.
[3]
Leung had a brother, Kevin, who drowned.
[4]
Leung attended
New York University
studying
physical therapy
.
[5]
He discovered acting in his
junior year
, studying with
Catherine Russell
and Nan Smithner,
[3]
and then briefly with
Anne Jackson
at
HB Studio
.
[3]
During this time, he acted mostly in downtown spaces and black box theaters, working with groups such as
Ma-Yi Theater Company
, New Perspectives, and STAR, a troupe of actors-educators based at
Mount Sinai Hospital
in 2002.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
In 1998, Leung made his debut as the villainous henchman Sang opposite
Jackie Chan
and
Chris Tucker
in
Brett Ratner
's
Rush Hour
.
[5]
He would later work with Ratner in the films
Red Dragon
,
The Family Man
, and
X-Men: The Last Stand
.
Edward Norton
cast Leung in his directorial debut
Keeping the Faith
in 2000.
[6]
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
, also appearing on the cast recording.
In 2007, he starred in the independent film
Shanghai Kiss
,
[6]
with
Hayden Panettiere
. That same year he guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series
The Sopranos
.
[6]
From 2007, he starred as
Miles Straume
in 45 episodes of the
ABC
drama
Lost
,
[6]
from the series' fourth season, through the rest of its run.
[6]
From 2014, Leung starred as Topher Zia in the series
The Night Shift
.
[7]
In 2022, Leung landed a main role playing Harper’s boss, Eric Tao in
HBO
's
Industry
.
[8]
In 2024, he plays Commander Zhao in the
Netflix
series
Avatar: The Last Airbender
.
[8]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Leung understands Cantonese. He is married to Nancy Bulalacao, who is of Filipina descent.
[9]
Leung and Bulalacao welcomed their son in 2015.
[10]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1995, 2000, 2002
|
Law & Order
|
Chung; Tommy Wong; Stephen Wong
|
4 episodes
|
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"
|
Strip Search
|
Liu Tsung-Yuan
|
Television film
|
Sucker Free City
|
Lincoln Ma
|
2005
|
Hate
|
Mo
|
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"
|
2012–2013
|
Person of Interest
|
Leon Tao
|
Episodes: "
The Contingency
", "
Critical
", "
Relevance
", "
All In
"
|
2013
|
Zero Hour
|
Father Reggie
|
8 episodes
|
2013
|
Deception
|
Donald Cheng
|
Episodes: "Nothing's Free, Little Girl", "A Drop of Blood and a Microscope"
|
2014–2016
|
The Night Shift
|
Topher Zia
|
Main, Seasons 1?3, 35 episodes
[7]
|
2017
|
Inhumans
|
Karnak
|
Main role, 8 episodes
|
2019
|
High Maintenance
|
Gene
|
Episode: "Fingerbutt"
|
2019
|
The Blacklist
|
Michael Sima
|
6 episodes
|
2020?present
|
Industry
|
Eric Tao
|
Main role
|
2022?2023
|
Pantheon
|
Bai Fu, Lieutenant, Protester, Triumvirate (voice)
|
4 episodes
|
2023?2024
|
Velma
|
Darren (voice)
|
-
|
2024
|
Avatar: The Last Airbender
|
Commander Zhao
|
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hertz, Barry (27 November 2020).
"Industry's Ken Leung delivers the breakout HBO performance of the year"
.
The Globe and Mail
.
- ^
Rose, Mike (January 21, 2023).
"Today's famous birthdays list for January 21, 2023 includes celebrities Luke Grimes, Geena Davis"
.
Cleveland.com
. Retrieved
January 21,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Ken Leung: Movies, TV & Bio"
.
amazon.com
. Retrieved
January 8,
2024
.
- ^
"The Water in May, Ken Leung on the Death of His Brother and the Journey to Bring Him Home"
. GQ.
- ^
a
b
Walter Dawkins (May 25, 2008).
"Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself"
.
The Washington Post
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Ken Leung Credits"
.
tvguide.com
. Retrieved
January 8,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Andreeva, Nellie (November 22, 2016).
"
'The Night Shift': Ken Leung Not returning for Season 4"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
November 22,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
William Goodman (August 23, 2022).
"Ken Leung Talks 'Industry' and Eric Tao's Big Episode"
.
complex.com
.
- ^
"Ken Leung Wife: The Mystery Behind the Actor's Personal Life"
. Career Gear.
- ^
"NANCY A. BULALACAO-LEUNG"
. Filipino American Museum.
- ^
Brett Ratner, Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn (2006).
Audio Commentary
(DVD). 20th Century Fox.
External links
[
edit
]
- Interviews