Sung Kang
Encyclopedia
Sung Kang is an American actor, known for his role as Han Seoul-Oh in the films Better Luck Tomorrow
, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
, Fast & Furious, and Fast Five.
, Georgia, to immigrants from South Korea
. His first major role was that of Han Seoul-Oh from Better Luck Tomorrow
, in which he played an aloof gang member. He reprised his role as Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
, Fast & Furious, and Fast Five
. He was one of the stars in The Motel
, in which he played Sam Kim. He also had a role in Jet Li
's film War playing an FBI agent, and was featured as a son of Genghis Khan, Doran, in the movie Forbidden Warrior
.
On MADtv
, Sung has played the recurring role of the narcissistic President Gin Kew Yun Chun Yew Nee in the Korean drama parody, "Tae Do (Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive)." Kang also had a small role in the action movie Live Free or Die Hard
.
Kang is featured in the music video "Lie" for the Korean band g.o.d.
.
He owns a restaurant called Saketini in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
. It offers a wide range of Pacific Rim foods and has Eun San Yi as head chef.
Kang says that before he was cast as Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
he was unaware of the drifting subculture that exists in Japan. It wasn't until he began researching for the part that he learned what a popular sport drifting is all over the world.
As an American actor, Kang says one of his biggest dislikes about Hollywood is the stereotypes East Asian actors face when being cast in a role.
Better Luck Tomorrow
Better Luck Tomorrow is a 2002 crime-drama film directed by Justin Lin. The movie is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess...
, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 street racing action film directed by Justin Lin. It is the third installment in the The Fast and the Furious film series and currently the sixth in terms of series chronology...
, Fast & Furious, and Fast Five.
Life and career
Kang was born in GainesvilleGainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
, Georgia, to immigrants from South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. His first major role was that of Han Seoul-Oh from Better Luck Tomorrow
Better Luck Tomorrow
Better Luck Tomorrow is a 2002 crime-drama film directed by Justin Lin. The movie is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess...
, in which he played an aloof gang member. He reprised his role as Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 street racing action film directed by Justin Lin. It is the third installment in the The Fast and the Furious film series and currently the sixth in terms of series chronology...
, Fast & Furious, and Fast Five
Fast Five (film)
Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011...
. He was one of the stars in The Motel
The Motel (film)
The Motel is the debut feature from director Michael Kang. The film won the Humanitas Prize in the Sundance Film Festival category, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature....
, in which he played Sam Kim. He also had a role in Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
's film War playing an FBI agent, and was featured as a son of Genghis Khan, Doran, in the movie Forbidden Warrior
Forbidden Warrior
Forbidden Warrior is a martial arts action/fantasy film, starring Marie Matiko, Sung Kang and Karl Yune. It was directed by Jimmy Nickerson, and produced by Glen Hartford and Daniel Toll....
.
On MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
, Sung has played the recurring role of the narcissistic President Gin Kew Yun Chun Yew Nee in the Korean drama parody, "Tae Do (Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive)." Kang also had a small role in the action movie Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard , is a 2007 American action film, and the fourth installment in the Die Hard series. The film was directed by Len Wiseman and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. The name was adapted from the state motto of New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die"...
.
Kang is featured in the music video "Lie" for the Korean band g.o.d.
G.o.d.
g.o.d. was a Korean pop music group. The name is an acronym for Groove Over Dose. Their name is lower cased to avoid confusion with God. The group was one of the few groups to have an album become a "million seller" in K-pop. The members have gone to solo careers after dis-forming.- Career:The...
.
He owns a restaurant called Saketini in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Brentwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. The district is located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, bounded by the San Diego Freeway on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, the Santa Monica city limits on the southwest, the border of Topanga State...
. It offers a wide range of Pacific Rim foods and has Eun San Yi as head chef.
Kang says that before he was cast as Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 street racing action film directed by Justin Lin. It is the third installment in the The Fast and the Furious film series and currently the sixth in terms of series chronology...
he was unaware of the drifting subculture that exists in Japan. It wasn't until he began researching for the part that he learned what a popular sport drifting is all over the world.
As an American actor, Kang says one of his biggest dislikes about Hollywood is the stereotypes East Asian actors face when being cast in a role.
Filmography
- Pearl HarborPearl Harbor (film)Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
(2001) - Better Luck TomorrowBetter Luck TomorrowBetter Luck Tomorrow is a 2002 crime-drama film directed by Justin Lin. The movie is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess...
(2002) (Also Associate Producer) - Spin CitySpin CitySpin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
(2002) - Antwone FisherAntwone Fisher (film)Antwone Fisher is a 2002 American drama film directed by Denzel Washington, marking his directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome Davenport, alongside Hollywood newcomer Derek Luke, who plays the title role , and ex-model Joy Bryant, as Fisher's girlfriend.The film is...
(2002) - The Shield (2003)
- Forbidden WarriorForbidden WarriorForbidden Warrior is a martial arts action/fantasy film, starring Marie Matiko, Sung Kang and Karl Yune. It was directed by Jimmy Nickerson, and produced by Glen Hartford and Daniel Toll....
(2004) - Threat MatrixThreat MatrixThreat Matrix is a 2003 American drama television series. It lasted 16 episodes. The plot consisted of the events in a United States Homeland Security anti-terrorism unit, led by Special agent John Kilmer....
(2004) - Cold Case (2004)
- The MotelThe Motel (film)The Motel is the debut feature from director Michael Kang. The film won the Humanitas Prize in the Sundance Film Festival category, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature....
(2005) - MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
(2005) - The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo DriftThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo DriftThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 street racing action film directed by Justin Lin. It is the third installment in the The Fast and the Furious film series and currently the sixth in terms of series chronology...
(2006) - UndoingUndoing (film)Undoing is a 2006 neo-noir drama directed by Chris Chan Lee. The movie is set in the streets of Los Angeles' Koreatown and follows the story of Samuel Kim who returns after a mysterious one-year absence to find redemption from his past...
(2006) - StandoffStandoff (TV series)Standoff is an American drama series that premiered on the Fox network on September 5, 2006. Created by Craig Silverstein, the series focused on an FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit whose members negotiated hostage situations and shared relationships. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television...
(2006) - CSI: MiamiCSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
(2006) - War (2007)
- Live Free or Die HardLive Free or Die HardLive Free or Die Hard , is a 2007 American action film, and the fourth installment in the Die Hard series. The film was directed by Len Wiseman and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. The name was adapted from the state motto of New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die"...
(2007) (FBI Central) - UndoingUndoing (film)Undoing is a 2006 neo-noir drama directed by Chris Chan Lee. The movie is set in the streets of Los Angeles' Koreatown and follows the story of Samuel Kim who returns after a mysterious one-year absence to find redemption from his past...
(2007) (Producer) - Samurai Girl (2008)
- Knight RiderKnight Rider (2008 TV series)Knight Rider was a 2008 series that follows the 1982 TV series of the same title and the 2008 television movie. The series stars Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur, the estranged son of Michael Knight. The series also stars Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman, Traceur's former girlfriend and love interest....
(2008) - CSI (2008)
- Fast & Furious (2009)
- Ninja AssassinNinja AssassinNinja Assassin is a 2009 American martial arts film directed by James McTeigue. The story was written by Matthew Sand, with a screenplay penned by J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5. The film stars South Korean pop musician Rain as a disillusioned assassin looking for retribution against his...
(2009) - Helium (2009)
- Clap Clap (Film 2010)
- Fast FiveFast Five (film)Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011...
(2011) - KnotsKnots (film)Knots is a comedy film written by Greg Lombardo and Neil Turitz. Directed by Lombardo, the film was screened at the Gen Art Film Festival in 2004 and premiered on cable television in 2005...
(2011) - Bullet to the Head (2012)