Ken Leung

Early life and education

Leung was born on January 21, 1970, in New York City, to Chinese parents, and was initially raised in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His family moved to Midwood, Brooklyn, where he grew up before finishing high school in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Leung had a brother, Kevin, who drowned in Thailand in 2013.

Leung attended New York University studying physical therapy. He discovered acting in his junior year, studying with Catherine Russell and Nan Smithner, and then briefly with Anne Jackson at HB Studio. 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.

Career

1998–2007: Early roles

In 1998, Leung made his debut as the villainous henchman Sang opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. 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. 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, with Hayden Panettiere and earned a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. That same year, Leung guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos.

2008–present: ''Lost'' and ''Industry''

From 2007, he starred as Miles Straume in 45 episodes of the ABC drama Lost, from the series' fourth season, through the rest of its run. From 2014, Leung starred as Topher Zia in the series The Night Shift. In 2020, Leung began playing a main role in HBO's Industry as Eric Tao, a Managing Director (MD) on the Cross Product Sales (CPS) desk at Pierpoint. In 2024, he played Commander Zhao in the Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Personal life

Leung understands Cantonese. He is married to Nancy Bulalacao, who is of Filipina descent. They have one son, born 2015.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

References

References

1. (27 November 2020). "Industry's Ken Leung delivers the breakout HBO performance of the year". The Globe and Mail.
2. Rose, Mike. (January 21, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 21, 2023 includes celebrities Luke Grimes, Geena Davis".
3. "Ken Leung: Movies, TV & Bio". amazon.com.
4. (17 June 2021). "The Water in May, Ken Leung on the Death of His Brother and the Journey to Bring Him Home". GQ.
5. Walter Dawkins. (May 25, 2008). "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". The Washington Post.
6. "Ken Leung Credits". tvguide.com.
7. Andreeva, Nellie. (November 22, 2016). "'The Night Shift': Ken Leung Not returning for Season 4".
8. William Goodman. (August 23, 2022). "Ken Leung Talks 'Industry' and Eric Tao's Big Episode".
9. "Industry - Eric".
10. "Ken Leung Wife: The Mystery Behind the Actor's Personal Life". Career Gear.
11. "NANCY A. BULALACAO-LEUNG". Filipino American Museum.
12. (2006). "Audio Commentary". 20th Century Fox.
13. Breznican, Anthony. (December 18, 2015). "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': A collection of cameos and Easter eggs: Lost Meets Star Wars".
14. Kroll, Justin. (June 22, 2020). "M. Night Shyamalan's Next Film Rounds Out Ensemble".
15. Kroll, Justin. (April 7, 2021). "Nia Long Joins Storm Reid In Next Installment Of Searching Franchise".
16. Sanders, Savannah. (January 11, 2024). "Joker 2 Cast: DC Announces 12 Main Actors In Sequel".
17. Grobar, Matt. (May 15, 2024). "Radhika Apte, Naveen Andrews & Ken Leung Join Justin Lin's Last Days".
18. Petski, Denise. (March 2, 2017). "Marvel's Inhumans: Ken Leung To Play Karnak In ABC Series".
19. (December 20, 2019). "Cast announced for new drama Industry coming soon to BBC and HBO".
20. Otterson, Joe. (November 16, 2021). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao".
21. Cordero, Rosy. (October 27, 2025). "Ken Leung To Star Opposite Lucy Liu In Peacock’s ‘Superfakes’ As Series Regular".
22. Eng, Alvin. (2022). "Our Laundry, Our Town: My Chinese American Life from Flushing to the Downtown Stage and Beyond". Empire State Editions, an imprint of Fordham University Press.
23. "Corpus Christie (1998)".
24. "Thoroughly Modern Millie (Broadway, 2002)".
25. "8 (Broadway, 2011)".
26. "Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (2022)".