Ken Leung

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For the Hong Kong accountant, see Kenneth Leung.
Ken Leung
Ken Leung 2019 (48072763286) cropped.jpg
Leung at the 2019 FedCon
Born (1970-01-21) January 21, 1970 (age 51)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materNew York University
OccupationActor
Years active1995–present

Kenneth Leung (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. His roles include Sang in Rush Hour, Miles Straume in Lost, Admiral Statura in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Detective Stephen Sing in Saw, and Quill (mistakenly credited as Kid Omega) in X-Men: The Last Stand. He portrayed the Marvel Comics character Karnak, a member of the Inhumans, on the ABC television series Inhumans, which ran from September to November 2017.

Early life[]

Leung was born in New York City, to Chinese parents, and was initially raised in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His family moved to Midwood, Brooklyn, where he grew up before finishing high school in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

Leung attended New York University as a University Scholar. He discovered acting in his junior year, studying with Catherine Russell and Nan Smithner,[citation needed] and then briefly with Anne Jackson at HB Studio.[citation needed] During this time he acted mostly in downtown spaces and black box theaters, working with groups such as the Ma-Yi Theater Company, New Perspectives, and STAR, a traveling group of actors-educators based at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Career[]

In 1997, Leung made his debut as the villainous henchman Sang opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. Ratner stated, "[Leung]'s a great actor. In my opinion, he's equivalent to Philip Seymour Hoffman as far as talent is concerned."[1] 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. According to The Washington Post, Norton said Leung's "showstopping performance...turned a throwaway scene into one of the film's best."[2] Impressed with his acting skills, Norton said that Leung would be appropriate for a role in Hamlet or Osborne's Look Back in Anger: "You sense hidden levels within him and he conveys an intensity of mind. I don't think anybody's tapped his full range yet."[3] Additionally, Leung has appeared in several independent and television films, as well as features, including four films with Brett Ratner and two with Spike Lee. 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 with Hayden Panettiere, and earned a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.[citation needed] That same year he guest-starred in the final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos. He followed this with the ABC drama Lost as Miles Straume from the series' fourth season through the rest of its run.

On September 29, 2017, ABC premiered Inhumans, an adaptation of the Marvel Comics race of Moon-dwelling superhumans whose abilities are derived from ancient genetic manipulation by the extraterrestrial Kree. Leung plays Karnak, a member of the Inhuman Royal Family, who can "see the fault in all things", allowing him to avoid errors, and who acts as the Royal Family's strategist and philosopher.[4]

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 the Deli Clerk
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 Inside Man Wing
X-Men: The Last Stand Kid Omega
2007 Year of the Fish Johnny
Shanghai Kiss Liam Liu Received a Special Mention at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for his breakthrough performance.
Falling for Grace Ming
2008 Saw V Detective Steven Sing Cameo
2009 Works of Art John Kim
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens Admiral Statura
2021 Old Jarin Carmichael
TBA Searching 2 Filming

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 Episodes: "The Contingency", "Critical", "Relevance", "All In"
2013 Zero Hour Father Reggie 8 episodes
Deception Donald Cheng Episodes: "Nothing's Free, Little Girl", "A Drop of Blood and a Microscope"
2014–2016[5] The Night Shift Topher Zia Main, Seasons 1–3, 35 episodes
2017 Inhumans Karnak
2019 High Maintenance Gene Episode: "Fingerbutt"
The Blacklist Michael Sima 6 episodes
2020 Industry Eric Tao 8 episodes

References[]

  1. ^ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself . . .", The Washington Post, May 25, 2008.
  2. ^ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung: Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. ^ Dawkins, Walter. "Ken Leung:Quiet Actor, Always Kept to Himself". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Petski, Denise (March 2, 2017). "'Marvel's Inhumans': Ken Leung To Play Karnak In ABC Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 22, 2016). "'The Night Shift': Ken Leung Not returning for Season 4". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2016.

External links[]

Interviews
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