Will Yun Lee

Early life

Lee was born in Arlington, Virginia, to Korean parents: mother Jung Ja Lee and father Soo Woong Lee, a taekwondo grandmaster.

His parents later divorced. He began training in taekwondo at the age of three and spent part of his youth teaching at his father’s school, Lee’s Taekwondo, in Napa, California. In 2013, he re-earned his black belt and documented the process in a three-part video series, Back to Black: The Training of Will Yun Lee, which also featured his father.

Lee spent his youth moving across the United States and attended 23 schools.

Lee attended UC Berkeley with a full athletic scholarship to study political science and ethnic studies.

Lee’s parents divorced when he was four years old, and he spent much of his childhood moving between relatives and family friends before reuniting with his father in Hawaii at age ten. During this time his father, one of the first taekwondo masters to immigrate to the United States, encouraged him to pursue a professional career, but Lee eventually chose to follow acting instead. While he initially planned to study law, he decided in his mid-twenties to pursue acting after realizing the limitations of running martial arts schools. Without attending a formal drama program, he created a self-directed training routine, dedicating up to eight hours a day to acting classes, reading plays, watching films, and physical training.

Career

Lee had supporting roles in high-profile films such as Die Another Day, Torque, The King of Fighters, and Elektra. He has also acted on FX Network's miniseries Thief and ABC Family's miniseries Fallen. He guest starred in Hawaii Five-0 as recurring character Sang Min, and in True Blood as Mr. Gus. He also played Kenuichio Harada in James Mangold's The Wolverine (2013). In 2018, Lee appeared in the Netflix science fiction series Altered Carbon as the original body of protagonist Takeshi Kovacs.

Lee provides the voice of Wei Shen, the protagonist in Square Enix's Hong Kong open-world crime game Sleeping Dogs.

In 2002, People named Lee as one of their "50 Most Beautiful People", which quickly led to high-profile roles. In November 2007, he was named one of the 15 "Sexiest Men Alive".

Lee is among the actors, producers and directors interviewed in Jeff Adachi's 2006 documentary The Slanted Screen, about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood. He was featured in the music video of Mariah Carey's "Boy (I Need You)" as well as Ice Cube's "Roll Call . In February 2025 he was cast in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, opportunities for Asian American actors were limited. Lee has recalled competing with peers such as Daniel Dae Kim, John Cho, and Sung Kang for a narrow range of stereotyped roles, often gangsters or computer experts. Because Asian actors were rarely called to audition, he created mock auditions for himself to practice and prepare.

Reflecting on later work, Lee has described his role as Dr. Alex Park on The Good Doctor as a turning point, symbolizing a move away from stereotypes toward more professional and nuanced portrayals of Asian American characters. He also cited his leading part in Netflix’s Altered Carbon as a rare moment when he experienced being treated as a lead in Hollywood, with large-scale production values and heroic framing typically reserved for white actors.

Personal life

In October 2010, Lee married actress Jennifer Birmingham in Shreveport, Louisiana. Their son, Cash, was born in June 2013. Cash was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a rare disorder of the cerebral blood vessels, at the age of three.

Since entering his fifties, Lee has emphasized balancing career with family responsibilities. He has noted that he now prioritizes caring for his parents and child, and chooses roles that allow him to tell meaningful stories while maintaining a fulfilling personal life.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

References

1. Cha, John. (March 28, 2014). "March Issue: Something Worth Fighting For". [[KoreAm]].
2. Daswani, Kavita. (2020-03-14). "Actor Will Yun Lee reflects on the many meanings of his studio".
3. (December 17, 2019). "'The Good Doctor' Actor Will Yun Lee Sets The Caregiving Standard".
4. Turner, Miki. (November 25, 2000). "What's Cooking For Will Yun Lee?". [[Chicago Tribune]].
5. Korean American Story. (2025-03-07). "Breaking Asian Stereotypes and Becoming Heroes in Hollywood {{!}} Legacy Project Hollywood".
6. Eisenberg, Eric. (July 9, 2012). "The Wolverine Adds Will Yun Lee as Silver Samurai". CinemaBlend.
7. Wigler, Josh. (March 2, 2018). "'Altered Carbon' Star Will Yun Lee: "The Conversation is Changing"". The Hollywood Reporter.
8. (November 14, 2008). "Sexiest Man Alive 2007: Will Yun Lee". [[People (magazine).
9. https://deadline.com/2025/02/christopher-nolan-the-odyssey-jesse-garcia-will-yun-lee-1236282119/
10. Wihlborg, Ulrica. (October 31, 2010). "Nick Lachey Is Real-Life Wedding Singer". [[People (magazine).
11. (June 6, 2013). "Will Yun and Jennifer Birmingham Lee Welcome Son Cash". [[People (magazine).
12. "Will Yun Lee (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
13. Cordero, Rosy. (February 10, 2025). "Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Casts Jesse Garcia & Will Yun Lee".
14. Warren, Andrew. "A Tennessee tale: Dolly Parton's most famous story is coming to the screen". TV Media.
15. Mateo, Alex. (July 7, 2021). "Blade Runner: Black Lotus Anime Reveals English/Japanese Casts".
16. Brian Chard. (April 14, 2015). "Huge thanks to the stellar MKX voice actors: Troy @TroyBakerVA (Shinnok/EBlack/Fujin), Ronald M. Banks (Quan Chi); Ashly Burch (Cassie)...".
17. Brian Chard. (April 14, 2015). "...Nathan Hosner (Narrator); Kelly Hu (D'Vorah/Sindel/Frost); Phil LaMarr (Kotal Kahn); Will Yun Lee (Kung Lao); Patrick Seitz (Scorpion)...".