Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (born August 16, 1972) is a Korean Canadian actor and television host. He is best known for his roles as Randy Ko in the soap opera Train 48 (2003–2005) and as family patriarch Appa in the 2011 play Kim's Convenience, and particularly its television adaptation, with five seasons having been filmed.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee | |
---|---|
Lee in 2018 | |
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian, South Korean |
Years active | 2005-present |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Revised Romanization | Yi Seon-hyeong |
McCune–Reischauer | Yi Sŏnhyŏng |
Lee has been nominated twice for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role, Large Theatre, for The Monster Under the Bed in 2010 and Kim's Convenience in 2012. He Won Best Leading Actor in a Comedy Series in the 2017 and 2018 Canadian Screen Awards.
Early life
When Lee was three months old, his parents immigrated from South Korea to Canada, living in London, Toronto and Calgary.[1] In 1990, he moved back to Toronto to attend the University of Toronto, where he attended but did not complete the drama programme at University College.[2]
Career
He had a supporting role in the film Ice Princess (2005) playing Tiffany's father. Lee appeared in the horror film P2 and the thriller The Echo. In 2006, he took the role of Jung Park in the videogame Rainbow Six: Vegas and its 2008 sequel Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.
Lee was part of the main cast of the Global Television nightly improvised soap opera Train 48 in the role of Randy Ko for the entire run of the series from 2003 to 2005.[3]
In 2012, Lee won the Best Actor citation from the Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards for his portrayal of Kim Sang-il in Kim's Convenience.[4] He played the role of Appa on stage in several Toronto productions of Kim's Convenience and on a national tour with the Soulpepper theatre company, as well as at an Off Broadway staging of the play.[3] He brought the role of Appa to television in 2016 when the show was adapted as a television series.[3] In 2016, Lee played Zhang Lin in the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre/Canadian Stage production of Chimerica.[5] On January 11, 2017, he guest starred on an episode of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Lee has been nominated twice for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role, Large Theatre, for The Monster Under the Bed in 2010 and Kim's Convenience in 2012.[6] In the 5th Canadian Screen Awards (held in 2017) and 6th Canadian Screen Awards (held in 2018), he won the Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Appa in the Kim's Convenience television series.[7] Lee was selected to host the fourth season of the reality competition show Canada's Smartest Person, entitled Canada's Smartest Person Junior and featuring children as contestants.[8]
Lee is also a playwright, with his own play Dangling premiering at Toronto's fu-GEN theatre festival in 2010.[9]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Where's the Money Noreen? | Gene Kajikawa | Television film |
1996 | Harriet the Spy | Bruno Hung Fat | |
2001 | Khaled | Grocer | |
2002 | Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback Story | Doctor | Television film |
2003 | Profoundly Normal | Delivery Doctor | Television film |
2005 | Ice Princess | Tiffany Lai's Dad | |
2006 | Between Truth and Lies | D.A. Lee | Television film |
2006 | One Way | Hotel Receptionist | |
2007 | P2 | Man in Elevator | |
2015 | End of Days, Inc.[10] | Mort | |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Total Recall 2070 | Waiter | Episode: "Rough Whimper of Insanity" |
2002 | Soul Food: The Series | Dan Lee | Episode: "A Taste of Justice" |
2002 | Doc | Orderly | Episode: "Complicated" |
2003–2005 | Train 48 | Randy Ko | Main role, 3 seasons |
2004 | Kevin Hill | Phil Steckler | Episode: "The Good Life" |
2005 | This Is Wonderland | Mr. Phan | Episode: "Episode #2.9" |
2005 | 1-800-Missing | Dr. Winston Nakano | Episode: "Fugitive" |
2006 | Billable Hours | Paul | Episode: "The Handicapped Bathroom" |
2007 | The Jane Show | E.R. Doctor | Episode: "Plastic Ono Jane" |
2010–2011 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Juan Tong | 6 episodes |
2016–present | Kim's Convenience | Appa | Main role, 5 seasons Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, 5th (2017) and 6th (2018); nominated 8th (2020) |
2017 | Dark Matter | Dr. Borsin | Episode: "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This" |
2018 | Canada's Smartest Person Junior | Host | Season 4 of Smartest Person series |
2019–present | Abby Hatcher | Chef Jeff | Voice role |
2019-present | The Bravest Knight | The Potion Maker | Voice role [11] |
2020 | The Mandalorian | Captain Carson Teva | one episode[12][13] |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Rainbow Six: Vegas | Jung Park | |
2008 | Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 |
References
- "Calgarian is ready to commute". Calgary Herald, June 2, 2003.
- "Hit play a homecoming for actor Sun-Hyung Lee". Calgary Herald, September 19, 2013.
- "Actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, a former U of T drama student, stars in the CBC comedy 'Kim's Convenience'". U of T News, October 24, 2016.
- Phan, Rachel (May 31, 2012). "Kim's Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". National Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
- Maga, Carly (April 1, 2016). "Chimerica has stimulating ideas but underwhelming dialogue: review". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- "Women on top; Crash, Penelopiad top Dora nominations". National Post, June 6, 2012.
- "'Orphan Black' Star Tatiana Maslany Dominates Canadian Screen Awards With Two Best Actress Wins". The Hollywood Reporter, March 12, 2017.
- Liwanag, Robert (November 12, 2018). "15 Minutes with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee". Reader's Digest. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- "Hey, it's that guy from the IKEA ad and a TV show I never watched!". National Post, April 28, 2010.
- "End of Days, Inc". Hollywood Suite.
- Lee, Paul Sun-Hyung [@bitterasiandude] (April 10, 2018). "Thank you for letting me play today!!! So. Much. Fun. #okseeyou #bravestknight #animation" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via Twitter.
- "'Kim's Convenience' star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee lands 'dream' role in 'The Mandalorian'". CTV News. The Canadian Press. November 9, 2020.
- Glasner, Eli; Weaver, Jackson (November 8, 2020). "How Kim's Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee arrived in The Mandalorian". CBC News.