His parents later divorced. He began training in taekwondo at the age of three and spent part of his youth teaching at his father’s school, Lee’s Taekwondo, in Napa, California. In 2013, he re-earned his black belt and documented the process in a three-part video series, Back to Black: The Training of Will Yun Lee, which also featured his father.[2]
Lee spent his youth moving across the United States and attended 23 schools.[3]
Lee’s parents divorced when he was four years old, and he spent much of his childhood moving between relatives and family friends before reuniting with his father in Hawaii at age ten.[5] During this time his father, one of the first taekwondo masters to immigrate to the United States, encouraged him to pursue a professional career, but Lee eventually chose to follow acting instead.[5] While he initially planned to study law, he decided in his mid-twenties to pursue acting after realizing the limitations of running martial arts schools. Without attending a formal drama program, he created a self-directed training routine, dedicating up to eight hours a day to acting classes, reading plays, watching films, and physical training.[5]
In 2002, People named Lee as one of their "50 Most Beautiful People", which quickly led to high-profile roles. In November 2007, he was named one of the 15 "Sexiest Men Alive".[8]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, opportunities for Asian American actors were limited. Lee has recalled competing with peers such as Daniel Dae Kim, John Cho, and Sung Kang for a narrow range of stereotyped roles, often gangsters or computer experts.[5] Because Asian actors were rarely called to audition, he created mock auditions for himself to practice and prepare.[5]
Reflecting on later work, Lee has described his role as Dr. Alex Park on The Good Doctor as a turning point, symbolizing a move away from stereotypes toward more professional and nuanced portrayals of Asian American characters.[5] He also cited his leading part in Netflix’s Altered Carbon as a rare moment when he experienced being treated as a lead in Hollywood, with large-scale production values and heroic framing typically reserved for white actors.[5]
Personal life
In October 2010, Lee married actress Jennifer Birmingham in Shreveport, Louisiana.[10] Their son, Cash, was born in June 2013.[11] Cash was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a rare disorder of the cerebral blood vessels, at the age of three.[3]
Since entering his fifties, Lee has emphasized balancing career with family responsibilities. He has noted that he now prioritizes caring for his parents and child, and chooses roles that allow him to tell meaningful stories while maintaining a fulfilling personal life.[5]
1 2 3 4 "Will Yun Lee (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 28, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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