Reggie Lee (actor)

Infobox actor
name = Reggie Lee


caption = Lee as Agent Kim in "Prison Break"
birthdate =
birthplace = Quezon City, Philippines

Reggie Lee is an American actor who played William Kim on the show "Prison Break" and also appeared in two "" films, as well as "The Fast and the Furious".

Biography

Early life

Born of Filipino-Chinese descent, Lee, the oldest of three sons, was born in Quezon City, Philippines to Zenaida Telmo and Dr. Jesus Espiritu Valdez, a retired Ob-Gyn. [ [http://www.philstar.com/index.php?p=49&type=2&sec=31&aid=3799 Philippine Star - Articles ] ] He continues to speak Tagalog, his native language, as well as Cantonese. As a child, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where Reggie graduated from a Franciscan High School. The 1990s found Lee relocating to Los Angeles only to hit the road again and tour nationally in the musical "Heartstrings" and later in "Miss Saigon". With his tremendous success on stage, it is no surprise that Broadway came calling when he was cast in the original company of the Tony Award-winning musical, "Carousel". In 1997, he received a Dramalogue Critics Award for his performance in "F.O.B." at East West Players. With his critical acclaim, Lee also starred in their production of "Carry the Tiger to the Mountain".

Career

Since having starred as Lance Nguyen – the snakeskin-wearing, motorcycle-riding, cold-blooded killer – in Universal’s high-octane blockbuster "The Fast and the Furious", Lee has been on his way to screen success. He recently finished filming a supporting lead role in the highly anticipated "", the third installment to Disney’s incredibly successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. Lee also plays Special Secret Service Agent Bill Kim in the popular FOX drama "Prison Break" - a character he describes as "a guilty pleasure to play – wonderfully complex and devious". And later this year, Lee stars in the independent feature Chinaman's Chance opposite Timothy Bottoms, Danny Trejo, Theresa Russell, and Ernest Borgnine. “It’s an important story that definitely needs to be told and humanized,” says Lee of this film that is billed as a Western/ Drama. “Plus I get to play pretend in the Old West. How great is that?!”

"In "The Fast and the Furious", Rick Yune (of "Die Another Day") and I played the leaders of a gang that rivaled Vin Diesel’s character.” In contrast, that same year Lee starred as the gay romantic lead in the critically acclaimed independent film Drift – a relationship drama that the Los Angeles Times hailed and that LA Weekly proclaimed, "it’s Reggie Lee’s performance that rivets". "I always enjoy the opportunity to play roles that are the opposite of who I really am because, for me, finding the character and playing pretend is the real joy in all this," says Lee of "The Fast and the Furious" danger-boy role, the ultra-vulnerable character of Ryan that he plays in Drift, and the young man that comes of age through seemingly insurmountable obstacles that he gets to play in Chinaman’s Chance. "It’s what keeps me going."

Lee has also appeared in the Sony Pictures Classics release Masked and Anonymous with Bob Dylan, starred in the Sci-Fi Channel thriller Frankenfish , and the indie X.C.U. (Extreme Close-Up) with Sarah Chalke (NBC’s Scrubs). In addition to his work in feature films, Lee also played the role of Zhing Zhang in the FOX comedy LUIS opposite Luis Guzman. He was Officer Jim Chang on Lifetime’s The Division, Dr. Oliver Lee on CBS’ Judging Amy and Assistant District Attorney Brian Chin on ABC’s Philly.

Lee’s commitment to the Asian community and other minority groups transcends on-screen work and takes him behind the scenes as well. He is currently developing scripts targeting minorities in non-stereotypical roles for his own production company.

With his success on stage, television was Lee’s next goal. Over the past decade, he has guest-starred in dozens of television shows including "ER", "Ellen Again", "Strong Medicine", "Mad About You", "Walker Texas Ranger", "Diagnosis Murder", "Chicago Hope", "Beverly Hills 90210", "Babylon 5", "Party of Five", "Blind Justice", and "Night Stalker", among others.

Away from the cameras, Lee is an athlete at heart. From competitive tennis player to avid hiker, he is a huge sports and fitness fanatic. It is the fitness enthusiast in him that appreciates the same in a co-star. "I can spot a good right hook when I see one," recalls Lee of Michelle Rodriguez’s punch that knocked him out in one of their scenes from "The Fast and the Furious". "That was definitely an excellent right hook."

Filmography

Actor

#Tropic Thunder (2008) ....Byong
# (2007) .... Tai Huang
#Chinaman's Chance (2007) .... Sing
#Prison Break .... Secret Service Special Agent William 'Bill' Kim / ... (15 episodes, 2006-2007)
# (2006) .... Headless
#Night Stalker .... Stanley Kim (1 episode, 2006)
#Dimples (2006) .... Dr. Ross Hammer
#Amateur (2005/II) .... Ron Harper
#Blind Justice .... Don Yun (1 episode, 2005)
#Frankenfish (2004) .... Anton
#Coming In (2004) .... Duke
#Luis (2003) TV Series .... Zhing Zhang (unknown episodes)
#The Division .... Officer Jim Chang (4 episodes, 2001-2003)
#Net Games (2003) .... Laurence
#Masked and Anonymous (2003) .... Armed Man
#Strong Medicine .... Dr. Nakashima (1 episode, 2002)
#Judging Amy .... Dr. Oliver Lee (2 episodes, 2001-2002)
#The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002) .... Suit
#Philly .... Brian Chin (2 episodes, 2001-2002)
#Reality School (2002) .... Student
#Black Hole (2002) .... Justin
#The Parlor (2001) .... Slappy Sue
#The Ellen Show .... Kwan (1 episode, 2001)
#The Fast and the Furious (2001) .... Lance Nguyen
# (2001) .... Nuey Phan
#Drift (2000/I) (as R.T. Lee) .... Ryan
#Chicago Hope .... Sam (1 episode, 2000)
#Walker, Texas Ranger .... Chan (1 episode, 2000)
#Psycho Beach Party (2000) .... Dancer
#Southstreet Lullaby (2000) .... Mahler Greeter
#Sons of Thunder .... Bad Guy (1 episode, 1999)
#Two of a Kind .... Waiter (1 episode, 1999)
#The Big Blind (1999)
#Beverly Hills, 90210 .... Richard (1 episode, 1998)
#Seven Days .... Duncan (1 episode, 1998)
#Mad About You .... Gardner's Assistant (1 episode, 1998)
#Hyperion Bay .... Lives-on-Pizza (1 episode, 1998)
#Sister, Sister .... Lawson Hicks (1 episode, 1998)
#ER .... Christian (1 episode, 1998)
#The Wayans Bros. .... Reporter #2 (1 episode, 1998)
#Babylon 5 .... Chen Hikaru (1 episode, 1998)
#The Journey of Allen Strange (1997) TV Series .... Zero (unknown episodes)
#Moloney .... Ramon (1 episode, 1997)
#Dangerous Minds .... Student (1 episode, 1997)
#Diagnosis Murder .... Kim Ho (1 episode, 1996)

Miscellaneous crew

*"Psycho Beach Party" (2000) (choreographer) (dancer)

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0498046|name=Reggie Lee
* [http://www.reggie-lee.com Reggie Lee's website]