Ken Leung
American actor (born 1970)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Leung (born January 21, 1970)[2] is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has gained attention for playing Miles Straume in the ABC drama series Lost (2008–10) and Eric Tao in the HBO drama series Industry (2020–present).
Ken Leung | |||||||||||
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Portrait by Nick Strasburg, 2024 | |||||||||||
| Born | January 21, 1970 New York City, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | New York University | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Actor | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1995–present | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Nancy Bulalacao | ||||||||||
| Children | 1[1] | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 梁振邦 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 梁振邦 | ||||||||||
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Leung has had roles in television shows such as the CBS crime series Person of Interest (2012–13), the NBC medical series The Night Shift (2014–15), and the Marvel Television series Inhumans (2017) as well as notable guest roles on the HBO crime series The Sopranos (2007) and the CBS legal series The Good Wife (2011). He also played in supporting roles in Rush Hour (1998), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Red Dragon (2002), Saw (2004), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Inside Man (2006), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Old (2021).
On stage, Leung made his Broadway debut playing a Chinese immigrant in the musical revival Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002). He has also taken roles in the Terrence McNally play Corpus Christi (1998) and the Dustin Lance Black play 8 (2011).
Early life and education
Leung was born on January 21, 1970, 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
1998–2007: Early roles
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] Norton stated that Leung turned a tiny role into one of the movie's most hilarious moments - so much so that the filmmakers expanded the scene because audiences laughed so hard.[7]
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 and earned a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. That same year, Leung guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos.[6]
2008–present: Lost and Industry
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.[8] In 2020, Leung began playing a main role in HBO's Industry as Eric Tao, a Managing Director (MD) on the Cross Product Sales (CPS) desk at Pierpoint.[9][10] The show's creators stated that Leung is "one of the great actors of his generation, 100%...He’s out of this world.”[11]
In 2024, he played Commander Zhao in the Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender.[9]
Personal life
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 | ||
| 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 | Falling for Grace | Ming Tang | |
| Inside Man | Wing | ||
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Quill | Incorrectly credited as Kid Omega[14] | |
| 2007 | Year of the Fish | Johnny | |
| Shanghai Kiss | Liam Liu | ||
| 2009 | Works of Art | John Kim | |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Admiral Statura | [15] |
| 2021 | Old | Jarin | [16] |
| 2023 | Missing | Kevin | [17] |
| 2024 | Joker: Folie à Deux | Dr. Victor Liu | [18] |
| 2025 | Last Days | Patrick | [19] |
| 2026 | Project Hail Mary | Yáo Li-Jie |
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 | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Zero Hour | Father Reggie | 8 episodes |
| Deception | Donald Cheng | 2 episodes | |
| 2014–2016 | The Night Shift | Topher Zia | Main role (seasons 1–3); 35 episodes[8] |
| 2017 | Inhumans | Karnak | Main cast; 8 episodes[20] |
| 2019–2020 | High Maintenance | Gene | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The Blacklist | Michael Sima | 6 episodes |
| 2020–present | Industry | Eric Tao | Main role[21] |
| 2022–2023 | Pantheon | Bai Fu / additional voices | Voice; 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Strange Planet | Bartender | Voice; episode: "Careful Now" |
| 2023–2024 | Velma | Darren | Voice; 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Commander Zhao | 6 episodes[22] |
| TBA | Superfakes | Don | [23] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Goong Hay Kid | The Goong Hay Kid | Nuyorican Poets Café, Off-Broadway | [24] |
| 1998 | Corpus Christi | James | Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway | [25] |
| 2002 | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Ching Ho | Marquis Theatre, Broadway | [26] |
| 2011 | 8 | Dr. William Tam | Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway | [27] |
| 2022 | Evanston Salt Costs Climbing | Basil | Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway | [28] |
