Since
having starred as Lance Nguyen – the snakeskin-wearing,
motorcycle-riding, cold blooded killer – in Universal’s
high-octane blockbuster The Fast and the Furious, Reggie Lee
has been on his way to screen success. Now best known for his
role as Secret Service Agent Bill Kim on FOX’s hit show
Prison Break and for playing Chow Yun Fat’s right hand
man Tai Huang in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,
Lee next appears this summer in Paramount’s highly-anticipated
Tropic Thunder opposite Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and
Jack Black. He also recently finished filming Sam Raimi’s
Drag Me to Hell for Universal due in theatres in 2009. And later
this year, Lee stars in the independent feature Chinaman’s
Chance opposite Timothy Bottoms, Danny Trejo, Theresa Russell,
and Ernest Borgnine. “It’s an important story that
definitely needs to be told and humanized,” says Lee of
this film that is billed as a Western/ Drama. “Plus I
get to play pretend in the Old West. How great is that?!”
Online, Lee’s Prison Break
character was named “The Most Fascinating Asian Male Character
on Television” in 2006-07. Racialicious.com, a site about the
intersection of race and pop culture, states, “(Bill) Kim’s
ruthless efficiency is what makes him so menacing. And the fact that
he always has a half smile when he talks just makes it that much
creepier. I can’t get enough of Bill Kim. He’s a badass.” In
contrast, Lee starred as the gay romantic lead in the critically
acclaimed independent film Drift – a relationship drama that
the Los Angeles Times hailed and that LA Weekly proclaimed, “it’s
Reggie Lee’s performance that rivets”. “ I always
enjoy the opportunity to play roles that are the opposite of who
I really am because, for me, finding the character and playing pretend
is the real joy in all this,” says Lee. “It’s
what keeps me going.”
Lee has also appeared in the Sony
Pictures Classics release Masked and Anonymous with Bob Dylan, starred
in the Sci-Fi Channel thriller Frankenfish , and the indie X.C.U.
(Extreme Close-Up) with Sarah Chalke (NBC’s Scrubs).
In addition to his work in feature
films, Lee also played the role of Zhing Zhang in the FOX comedy
LUIS opposite Luis Guzman. He was Officer Jim Chang on Lifetime’s
The Division, Dr. Oliver Lee on CBS’ Judging Amy and Assistant
District Attorney Brian Chin on ABC’s Philly.
Lee’s commitment to the Asian
community and other minority groups transcends on-screen work and
takes him behind the scenes as well. He is currently developing scripts
targeting minorities in non-stereotypical roles for his own production
company.
Born in Quezon City, Philippines,
Lee is the oldest of three sons and in addition to English, continues
to speak Tagalog, his native language, as well as Cantonese. As a
child, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where Reggie graduated
from a Franciscan High School. The 1990’s found Lee relocating
to Los Angeles only to hit the road again and tour nationally in
the musical Heartstrings and later in Miss Saigon. With his tremendous
success on stage, it is no surprise that Broadway came calling when
he was cast in the original company of the Tony Award-winning musical,
Carousel. In 1997, he received a Dramalogue Critics Award for his
performance in F.O.B. at East West Players. With his critical acclaim,
Lee also starred in their production of Carry the Tiger to the Mountain.
With his success on stage, television
was Lee’s next goal. Over the past decade, he has guest-starred
on dozens of television shows including ER, Mad About You, Beverly
Hills 90210, Babylon 5, NCIS among countless others.
Away from the cameras, Lee is an
athlete at heart. From competitive tennis player to avid hiker, he
is a huge sports and fitness fanatic. It is the fitness enthusiast
in him that appreciates the same in a co-star. “I can spot
a good right hook when I see one,” recalls Lee of Michelle
Rodriguez’s punch that knocked him out in one of their scenes
from The Fast and the Furious. “That was definitely an excellent
right hook”.