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.
Ken Leung 梁振邦 | |
|---|---|
_cropped.jpg) Leung at the 2019 FedCon | |
| Born | January 21, 1970 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Children | 1[1] |
Early life
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
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
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
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pictures of Baby Jane Doe | Shopkeeper | |
| Welcome to the Dollhouse | Barry | ||
| 1997 | Red Corner | Peng | |
| Kundun | (voice) | ||
| 1998 | Fly | Jeremy Kim | |
| Rush Hour | Sang | ||
| 1999 | Man of the Century | Mike Ramsey | |
| 2000 | Keeping the Faith | Don | |
| Maze | Dr. Mikao | ||
| The Family Man | Sam Wong the Deli Clerk | ||
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Syatyoo-Sama | |
| Home Sweet Hoboken | |||
| Spy Game | Li | ||
| Vanilla Sky | Art Editor | ||
| 2002 | Face | Willie | |
| Red Dragon | Lloyd Bowman | ||
| 2004 | Saw | Detective Steven Sing | |
| 2005 | The Squid and the Whale | School Therapist | |
| 2006 | Inside Man | Wing | |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Quill | Incorrectly credited as Kid Omega[11] | |
| 2007 | Year of the Fish | Johnny | |
| Shanghai Kiss | Liam Liu | ||
| Falling for Grace | Ming | ||
| 2009 | Works of Art | John Kim | |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Admiral Statura | |
| 2021 | Old | Jarin | |
| 2023 | Missing | Kevin | |
| 2024 | Joker: Folie à Deux | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Last Days | TBA | Filming |
Television
| 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
External links
- Ken Leung at IMDb
- Ken Leung at the Internet Broadway Database
- Interviews
- Asia Pacific Arts - UCLA Asia Institute, May 30, 2008
- Hillis, Aaron. "Interview: Ken Leung on 'Year of the Fish'", IFC.com, August 27, 2008