Tong Hoon Lee (born July 18, 1973) is an American stage, film and television actor, known for playing Job in the

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

original series ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is c ...

'' and the King in the Broadway revival of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', and voicing

Hamato Yoshi Splinter, often referred to as Master Splinter or Sensei by his students/sons, is a fictional character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics and all related media. A mutant rat, he is the grave and stoic sage of the Turtles, their ...

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

in the 2012 version of ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' and Shredder in ''

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (also known as ''Rise of the TMNT'' and ''ROTTMNT'') is an American animated television series developed and executive produced by Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, and based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turt ...

''.

Early life and career

Lee graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1994. He appeared in 2001 in the Broadway production of ''

Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, burea ...

''. He played many roles over the years until he was cast as Rosencrantz in a musical version of ''Hamlet''. In 2008, Lee won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for Distinguished Performance in ''Yellow Face''. In television, Lee got his first role as Dr. Mao in an episode of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'' in 2003. He also made guest appearances in ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'', ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

'', '' White Collar'', NCIS: New Orleans and other series. He also had small roles in movies such as '' Saving Face'', '' We Own the Night'', ''

Premium Rush ''Premium Rush'' is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Koepp and written by Koepp and John Kamps. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung. It follows a bicycle messenger chased around ...

'', and ''

The Oranges The Oranges are a group of four municipalities in Essex County, New Jersey, all of which have the word ''Orange'' in their name. The four municipalities are Orange, East Orange, South Orange and West Orange. All of these communities were name ...

''. In March 2012, he was cast in a starring role as Job, a crossdressing ultra-level computer hacker, in the television series ''

''. On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Lee will succeed Jose Llana in the role of the King of Siam in

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

's Tony-winning revival of ''

''. Lee formally joined the cast on September 29, 2015, playing the King until April 2016.

Personal life

Lee's parents are Jung Ja Lee and Moon Soo Lee, and his brother is Tony Lee, the renowned club volleyball coach at MIT (winning the 2014 nationals competition). Lee was born in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

. He married Sekiya Lavone Billman in October 2008. They met in 2001 while performing in a production of ''

Making Tracks ''Making Tracks'' is an Asian American musical theater production by Second Generation, a New York-based theater company, with music by Woody Pak, lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and concept and book by Welly Yang. ''Making Tracks'' tells the story of ...

'' at a benefit in

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, for Second Generation, an Asian-American theater company in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * *
Hoon Lee
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

Hoon Lee's Broadway Bio

Hoon Lee's aboutheartist Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hoon 1973 births Living people People from Plymouth, Massachusetts American male actors of Korean descent American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Harvard University alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Actors from Massachusetts Theatre World Award winners