Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian actor and television host. He is best known for his roles as Randy Ko in the soap opera Train 48 (2003–2005) and as family patriarch Appa in play Kim's Convenience (2011) and its television adaptation (2016-21).

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Lee in 2017
Born (1972-08-16) August 16, 1972
Daejeon, South Korea
Nationality
Years active1995-present
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationYi Seon-hyeong
McCune–ReischauerYi Sŏnhyŏng

Lee has won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series four times for his role as Mr. Kim in Kim's Convenience (2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021), and has been nominated twice for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role, Large Theatre, for The Monster Under the Bed in 2010 and the stage version of Kim's Convenience in 2012.

Early life

When Lee was three months old, his parents immigrated from Daejeon, South Korea to Canada, living in London, Toronto and Calgary.[1] In 1990, he moved back to Toronto to attend the University of Toronto, where he attended but did not complete the drama program at University College.[2]

Career

He had a supporting role in the film Ice Princess (2005) playing Tiffany's father. Lee appeared in the horror film P2 and the thriller The Echo. In 2006, he took the role of Jung Park in the video game Rainbow Six: Vegas and its 2008 sequel Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.[3]

Lee was part of the main cast of the Global nightly improvised soap opera Train 48 in the role of Randy Ko for the entire run of the series from 2003 to 2005.[4]

In 2012, Lee won the Best Actor citation from the Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards for his portrayal of Kim Sang-il in Kim's Convenience.[5] He played the role of Appa on stage in several Toronto productions of Kim's Convenience and on a national tour with the Soulpepper theatre company, as well as at an Off Broadway staging of the play.[4] He brought the role of Appa to television in 2016 when the show was adapted as a television series.[4] In 2016, Lee played Zhang Lin in the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre/Canadian Stage production of Chimerica.[6] On January 11, 2017, he guest starred on an episode of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Lee has been nominated twice for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role, Large Theatre, for The Monster Under the Bed in 2010 and Kim's Convenience in 2012.[7] In the 5th, 6th, and 9th Canadian Screen Awards, he won the Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Appa in the Kim's Convenience television series.[8] Lee was selected to host the fourth season of the reality competition show Canada's Smartest Person, entitled Canada's Smartest Person Junior and featuring children as contestants.[9]

Lee is also a playwright, with his own play Dangling premiering at Toronto's fu-GEN theatre festival in 2010.[10]

In 2021 he appeared as a panelist on Canada Reads, championing Natalie Zina Walschots's novel Hench.[11] In the same year, Lee's five seasons on Kim's Convenience came to an abrupt end when the two show runners left the project.[12]

Lee is set to play Uncle Iroh in the Netflix live action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender.[13]

In 2022 he was announced as the host of Fandemonium, a factual series which will profile the internal cultures of various pop culture fandoms.[14] He is also set to make an appearance on The Kids in the Hall revival, releasing in May.[15]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1995Where's the Money Noreen?Gene KajikawaTelevision film
1996Harriet the SpyBruno Hung Fat
2001KhaledGrocer
2002Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback StoryDoctorTelevision film
2003Profoundly NormalDelivery DoctorTelevision film
2005Ice PrincessTiffany Lai's Dad
2006Between Truth and LiesD.A. LeeTelevision film
2006One WayHotel Receptionist
2007P2Man in Elevator
2015End of Days, Inc.[16]Mort
2020Kitty MammasDr. Han
2021Boyfriends of Christmas PastLeo KimTelevision film

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1999Total Recall 2070WaiterEpisode: "Rough Whimper of Insanity"
2002Soul Food: The SeriesDan LeeEpisode: "A Taste of Justice"
2002DocOrderlyEpisode: "Complicated"
2003–2005Train 48Randy KoMain role, 3 seasons
2004Kevin HillPhil StecklerEpisode: "The Good Life"
2005This Is WonderlandMr. PhanEpisode: "Episode #2.9"
20051-800-MissingDr. Winston NakanoEpisode: "Fugitive"
2006Billable HoursPaulEpisode: "The Handicapped Bathroom"
2007The Jane ShowE.R. DoctorEpisode: "Plastic Ono Jane"
2007MaydayCaptain Park Yong-chulEpisode: "Missed Approach" (Season 4, Episode 4)
2008Little Mosque on the PrairieAirport Security Guard ClaskEpisode: "Islam on Tap"
2010–2011Degrassi: The Next GenerationJuan Tong6 episodes
2016–2021Kim's ConvenienceAppaMain role, 5 seasons
Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, 5th (2017) and 6th (2018); nominated 8th (2020)
2017Dark MatterDr. BorsinEpisode: "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This"
2018Canada's Smartest Person JuniorHostSeason 4 of Smartest Person series
2019–presentAbby HatcherChef JeffVoice role
2019–presentThe Bravest KnightThe Potion MakerVoice role [17]
2020The MandalorianCaptain Carson Teva2 episodes[18][19][20]
2021Private EyesChef AndreEpisode: "The Perfect Storm"
2021Bakugan: Geogan RisingSpartillionVoice role
2022 The Book of Boba Fett Captain Carson Teva Episode: “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian”
2022 The Kids in the Hall TBA Episode TBA
TBAAvatar: The Last AirbenderUncle Iroh[21]

Video games
YearTitleRoleNotes
2006Rainbow Six: VegasJung Park
2008Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

References
  1. "Calgarian is ready to commute". Calgary Herald, June 2, 2003.
  2. "Hit play a homecoming for actor Sun-Hyung Lee". Calgary Herald, September 19, 2013.
  3. Schedeen, Jesse (December 21, 2020). "The Mandalorian: Every Character and Celebrity Cameo So Far". IGN. Retrieved August 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, a former U of T drama student, stars in the CBC comedy 'Kim's Convenience'". U of T News, October 24, 2016.
  5. Phan, Rachel (May 31, 2012). "Kim's Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". National Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  6. Maga, Carly (April 1, 2016). "Chimerica has stimulating ideas but underwhelming dialogue: review". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. "Women on top; Crash, Penelopiad top Dora nominations". National Post, June 6, 2012.
  8. Vlessing, Etan (March 12, 2017). "'Orphan Black' Star Tatiana Maslany Dominates Canadian Screen Awards With Two Best Actress Wins". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  9. Liwanag, Robert (November 12, 2018). "15 Minutes with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee". Reader's Digest. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  10. "Hey, it's that guy from the IKEA ad and a TV show I never watched!". National Post. April 28, 2010.
  11. "Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is looking forward to 'making reading cool' on Canada Reads". CBC Books. January 21, 2021.
  12. Volmers, Eric (March 19, 2021). "'It died from within': Two actors lament the untimely demise of Kim's Convenience". Calgary Herald.
  13. Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix Live Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso and Commander Zhao
  14. Ravindran, Manori (February 8, 2022). "'Kim's Convenience' Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to Host Fandom Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  15. "It's Head-Crushing Time! Prime Video Announces the Premiere Date and Trailer Release for Canadian Amazon Original Series The Kids in the Hall". newswire.ca. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  16. "End of Days, Inc". Hollywood Suite.
  17. Lee, Paul Sun-Hyung [@bitterasiandude] (April 10, 2018). "Thank you for letting me play today!!! So. Much. Fun. #okseeyou #bravestknight #animation" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. "'Kim's Convenience' star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee lands 'dream' role in 'The Mandalorian'". CTV News. The Canadian Press. November 9, 2020.
  19. Glasner, Eli; Weaver, Jackson (November 8, 2020). "How Kim's Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee arrived in The Mandalorian". CBC News.
  20. Dumaraog, Ana (November 20, 2020). "The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 4 Cast & Cameos Guide". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  21. Otterson, Joe (November 16, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
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