Rick Yune

Rick Yune (born August 22, 1971 as Richard Yun)[1] is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, martial artist and former model. His most notable roles have been in the movies Snow Falling on Cedars, the first Fast and Furious film The Fast and the Furious, and in the James Bond movie Die Another Day. He was part of the main cast of the Netflix original series Marco Polo.

The native form of this personal name is Yun Seong-sik. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Rick Yune
Yune in 2007
Born
Richard Yune

(1971-08-22) August 22, 1971
Washington, D.C., United States
EducationOur Lady of Good Counsel High School
St. John's College High School
Alma materWharton School, University of Pennsylvania
OccupationActor, screenwriter, producer, former model
Years active1998—present
RelativesKarl Yune (brother)

Early life

Yune was born in Washington D.C. to mother Wonhui Park and father Taeho Yun,[1] who were both Korean.[1][2] His younger brother is actor Karl Yune.[3]

Yune was educated at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (Silver Spring, Maryland) and St. John's College High School. In 1994, he received his degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.[4] Yune was one of the original hedge fund traders for SAC Capital but left to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.[4][5]

Yune practices many forms of martial arts.[5][6] He changed the spelling of his last name from "Yun" to "Yune" for Screen Actors Guild (SAG) purposes.[5]

Career

While studying at Wharton, Rick Yune worked as an intern on Wall Street trading stocks during the mid-1992. During that time, he was "discovered" by a modeling agent and soon became the first Asian-American featured in advertisements for Versace and Ralph Lauren's Polo.[4][5][7]

Yune made his film debut in 1999, playing Kazuo Miyamoto, a Japanese-American war hero accused of killing a respected fisherman (played by Daniel von Bargen) in the close-knit community, in director Scott Hicks' film adaptation of David Guterson's post-World War II novel, Snow Falling on Cedars.[4][5][7]

Yune co-starred as Johnny Tran, the ruthless leader of a Vietnamese gang and the rival of Vin Diesel's character, in the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious.

In 2002 Yune portrayed James Bond villain Zao, opposite Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, in the James Bond Die Another Day.[8] That year Yune was voted one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive".[9]

Yune appeared in the 2004 video "Call U Sexy" by the band VS, as well as in Someone (1997) by SWV, featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs.

Yune appeared in two 2005 episodes of ABC's spy series Alias, playing a modern-day samurai Kazu Tamazaki who is hunted down by Jennifer Garner as Sydney. He also appeared as a guest in an episode of ABC's legal dramedy series Boston Legal and the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

In 2006 he provided his voice for the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours which was based the 1983 motion picture Scarface.

He produced, and starred as a Bangkok assassin in, the action/adventure movie The Fifth Commandment, directed by Jesse V. Johnson and also stars Keith David and Bokeem Woodbine.

Yune starred with Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu in the 2012 martial arts film, The Man with the Iron Fists.[10][11]

In 2013 Yune played villain Kang Yeonsak, in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, opposite Gerard Butler.[12]

In 2014, Yune took on the role of Kaidu, a Mongol Khan, in the historical drama series Marco Polo. Yune reprised his role in the second season, which was released in 2016.

Other work

Yune is a Board member of the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation[13] and an Ambassador for the Princess Charlene Foundation of Monaco.[14]

Filmography
List of film credits
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Nathan Grimm Extra
1999 Snow Falling on Cedars Kazuo Miyamoto
2001 The Fast and the Furious Johnny Tran Antagonist
The Fence Lucky Chang
2002 Die Another Day Zao Antagonist
2008 The Fifth Commandment Chance Templeton Protagonist
Alone in the Dark II Edward Carnby Protagonist
2009 Beyond Remedy Dr. Lee
Ninja Assassin Takeshi Antagonist
2011 Remigration Jonathan Park
China-Town Man
2012 The Man with the Iron Fists Zen Yi Protagonist
2013 Olympus Has Fallen Kang Yeonsak Antagonist
2019 Alita: Battle Angel Master Clive Lee Antagonist
2020 Jiu Jitsu Captain Sand
List of television credits
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Any Day Now Tuan 1 episode
2001 The Division 1 episode
2005 Alias Kazu Tamazaki 2 episodes
Boston Legal Troi Ran 1 episode
2006 CSI Hong Hsing 1 episode
2013 Hawaii Five-O Han Ji-Woon 1 episode
2014 Marco Polo Kaidu Main role
2017 Prison Break Ja Recurring role

References
  1. "Rick Yune". BiJog. 8 June 2016.
  2. "Coming Star, Rick Yune - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - art&ent". English.chosun.com. 1999-01-24. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  3. "'Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid' Los Angeles Screening - Red Carpet".
  4. "Rick Yune - In The Media". Rick Yune. Archived from the original on 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
  5. "Rick Yune - In The Media". Rick Yune. Archived from the original on 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
  6. Lesley Jackson. "Rick Yune Interview". Martialedge.net. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  7. "Rick Yune - In The Media". Rick Yune. Archived from the original on 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
  8. Patton, Phil (November 10, 2002). "The Spy Who Drove Me". The New York Times.
  9. "Sexiest Pop Sensation - Sexiest Man Alive, Enrique Iglesias". People.com. 2002-12-02. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  10. "The Man With The Iron Fists: Rick Yune On His Character". The New York Times. May 6, 2001.
  11. "Rick Yune Stars With Russell Crowe in Eli Roth's 'Man With an Iron Fists". thewrap.com. 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  12. Kit, Borys (July 10, 2012). "Melissa Leo and Rick Yune Joining 'Olympus Has Fallen'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. "CGDC: International Board". Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  14. "PCMFUSA: Ambassadors & advisors".
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