Ken Leung

For the Hong Kong accountant, see Kenneth Leung.
Ken Leung
Born Kenneth Leung
January 21, 1970
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater New York University
Occupation Actor
Years active 1995–present
Home town Two Bridges, Manhattan
Midwood, Brooklyn
Old Bridge, New Jersey

Kenneth "Ken" Leung (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor who is best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.

Early life

Ken Leung was born in New York City and 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 later attended New York University (NYU) as a University Scholar. He discovered acting in his junior year, when he studied acting 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 the Ma-Yi Theater Company, New Perspectives, and STAR, a traveling group of actors-educators based at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Career

In 1997, Leung made his debut in Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. Ratner stated, "[Leung]'s a great actor. In my opinion, he's equivalent to Philip Seymour Hoffman as far as talent is concerned."[1] 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. According to The Washington Post, Norton said Leung's "showstopping performance...turned a throwaway scene into one of the film's best."[2] Impressed with his acting skills, Norton said that Leung would be appropriate for a role in Hamlet or Osborne's Look Back in Anger: "You sense hidden levels within him and he conveys an intensity of mind. I don't think anybody's tapped his full range yet."[3] Additionally, Leung has appeared in several independent and television films, as well as features, including four films with Brett Ratner and two with Spike Lee. 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 he guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos. He followed this with the ABC drama Lost as Miles Straume from the series' fourth season through the rest of its run.

Filmography

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 Artificial Intelligence: A.I. Syatyoo-Sama
Home Sweet Hoboken
Spy Game Li
Vanilla Sky Art Editor
2002 Face Willie
Red Dragon Lloyd Bowman
2004 Saw Detective Steven Sing
Strip Search Liu Tsung-Yuan television film
Sucker Free City Lincoln Ma
2005 Hate Mo
The Squid and the Whale School Therapist
2006 Inside Man Wing
X-Men: The Last Stand Kid Omega
2007 Year of the Fish Johnny
Shanghai Kiss Liam Liu Received a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for his breakthrough performance.
Falling for Grace Ming
2008 Saw V Detective Steven Sing Cameo
2009 Works of Art John Kim

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995, 2000, 2002 Law & Order Chung; Tommy Wong; Stephen Wong
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"
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 Recurring character: Episodes "The Contingency," "Critical," "Relevance," "All In"
2013 Zero Hour Father Reggie
Deception Donald Cheng Recurring character: Episodes "Nothing's Free, Little Girl," "A Drop of Blood and a Microscope"|
2014 The Night Shift Topher Zia

References

  1. ↑ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself . . .", The Washington Post, May 25, 2008.
  2. ↑ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". Washingtonpost.com. Washington Post Co. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung:Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". Washingtonpost.com. Washington Post Co. Retrieved January 17, 2015.

External links

Interviews