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Ken Leung

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For the Hong Kong accountant, see Kenneth Leung.
Ken Leung
梁振邦
Leung at the 2019 FedCon
Born (1970-01-21) January 21, 1970 (age 54)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materNew York University
OccupationActor
Years active1995–present
Children1[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

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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 in Thailand in 2013.[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

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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

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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

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Film

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Hertz, Barry (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". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Ken Leung: Movies, TV & Bio". amazon.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "The Water in May, Ken Leung on the Death of His Brother and the Journey to Bring Him Home". GQ.
  5. ^ a b Walter Dawkins (May 25, 2008). "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Ken Leung Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 22, 2016). "'The Night Shift': Ken Leung Not returning for Season 4". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  8. ^ a b William Goodman (August 23, 2022). "Ken Leung Talks 'Industry' and Eric Tao's Big Episode". complex.com.
  9. ^ "Ken Leung Wife: The Mystery Behind the Actor's Personal Life". Career Gear.
  10. ^ "NANCY A. BULALACAO-LEUNG". Filipino American Museum.
  11. ^ Brett Ratner, Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn (2006). Audio Commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
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Interviews
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