Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Lee at the 2024 Phoenix Fan Fusion
Born (1972-08-16) August 16, 1972
Daejeon, Chungnam, South Korea
EducationUniversity of Toronto
OccupationActor
Years active1989–present
Korean name
Hangul
이선형
RRI Seonhyeong
MRI Sŏnhyŏng

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Korean: 이선형; born August 16, 1972) is a Korean Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Randy Ko in the soap opera Train 48 (2003–2005) and as family patriarch Appa in the play Kim's Convenience (2011) and its television adaptation (2016–2021).

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. He 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 emigrated from Daejeon, Chungnam, South Korea, to Canada. They lived successively in London, Toronto, and Calgary.[1]

In 1990, Lee moved back to Ontario to attend the University of Toronto. He studied in the drama program at University College.[2]

Career

Lee made his acting debut in 1989 in the television series Gideon Oliver.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[5] He brought the role of Appa to television in 2016 when the show was adapted as a television series.[5] In 2016, Lee played Zhang Lin in the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre/Canadian Stage production of Chimerica.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

Lee is also a playwright. His play Dangling premiered N8at Toronto's fu-GEN theatre festival in 2010.[11]

In 2020, he began portraying New Republic X-wing pilot Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian,[12][13][14] appearing in two episodes of Season 2 ("Chapter 10: The Passenger" and "Chapter 12: The Siege") and twice more in Season 3 ("Chapter 21: The Pirate" and "Chapter 24: The Return").[15] Lee continued to reprise the role in various Star Wars franchise-related media such as The Book of Boba Fett ("Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian") in 2022,[16] three episodes of Ahsoka Season 1 in 2023 ("Part Four: Fallen Jedi", "Part Five: Shadow Warrior", and "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness"), and in the 2026 feature film The Mandalorian and Grogu.

In 2021, Lee appeared as a panelist on Canada Reads, championing Natalie Zina Walschots's novel Hench.[17] 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.[18]

In 2022, he was announced as the host of Fandemonium, a factual series which will profile the internal cultures of various pop culture fandoms.[19] He also appeared on the 2022 revival of The Kids in the Hall.[20][21]

In 2024, he played Uncle Iroh in the Netflix live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.[22][23] On March 6, 2024, Netflix announced that the series was renewed for two additional seasons after garnering 21.2 million views in its first four days.[24][25] He also plays a new main character, Inspector Albert Choi, the new head of Station House No 4, in the eighteenth season of the CBC mystery series Murdoch Mysteries.[26]

Honours

In 2023, Lee received the National Arts Centre Award at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.[27][28]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1996Harriet the SpyBruno Hung Fat
2001KhaledGrocer
2005Ice PrincessTiffany Lai's Dad
2003One WayHotel Receptionist
2004P2Man in Elevator
2014RoboCopOmnicorp TechnicianRemoved in the final cut
2015End of Days, Inc.Mort[29]
2020Kitty MammasDr. Han
2024The SecondPhilipShort[30]
Night of the ZoopocalypseFelixVoice
2026The Mandalorian and GroguCaptain Carson Teva

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1989Gideon OliverDan WuEpisode: "Tongs"[3]
1995Where's the Money Noreen?Gene KajikawaTelevision film
1999Total Recall 2070WaiterEpisode: "Rough Whimper of Insanity"
2002Soul Food: The SeriesDan LeeEpisode: "A Taste of Justice"
2002DocOrderlyEpisode: "Complicated"
2002Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback StoryDoctorTelevision film
2003Profoundly NormalDelivery DoctorTelevision film
2003–2005Train 48Randy KoMain role
2004Kevin HillPhil StecklerEpisode: "The Good Life"
2005This Is WonderlandMr. PhanEpisode #2.9
20051-800-MissingDr. Winston NakanoEpisode: "Fugitive"
2006Billable HoursPaulEpisode: "The Handicapped Bathroom"
2006Between Truth and LiesD.A. LeeTelevision film
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"
2010Covert AffairsTheo Will2 episodes
2010–2011Degrassi: The Next GenerationJuan TongRecurring role, 6 episodes
2016–2021Kim's ConvenienceSang-Il Kim (Appa)Main role; 65 episodes
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 JuniorHimselfHost (season 4 of Smartest Person)
2019–2022Abby HatcherChef JeffRecurring voice role
2019The Bravest KnightThe Potion MakerRecurring voice role [31]
2020–2023The MandalorianCaptain Carson Teva4 episodes
2021Private EyesChef AndreEpisode: "The Perfect Storm"
2021Bakugan: Geogan RisingSpartillionRecurring voice role
2021 Boyfriends of Christmas Past Leo Kim Television film
2022 The Book of Boba Fett Captain Carson Teva Episode: "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian"
2022 The Kids in the Hall Mr. Lewis 1 episode
2023 Family Law Bert Choi Episode: “Revisionist History”
2023 Ahsoka Captain Carson Teva 3 episodes
2024–present Avatar: The Last Airbender Uncle Iroh Main role[32]
2024–2025 Go Togo Sparks Main voice role[33]
2024–2025 Murdoch Mysteries Inspector Albert Choi Season 18[26]
2025–present Paw Patrol Mr. Park Recurring voice role

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
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. 1 2 Young, Liz (January 17, 2024). "Where You've Seen The Cast Of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Before". Looper. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (December 21, 2020). "The Mandalorian: Every Character and Celebrity Cameo So Far". IGN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, a former U of T drama student, stars in the CBC comedy 'Kim's Convenience'" Archived May 30, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. U of T News, October 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ Phan, Rachel (May 31, 2012). "Kim's Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". National Post. Retrieved April 15, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ Maga, Carly (April 1, 2016). "Chimerica has stimulating ideas but underwhelming dialogue: review". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Women on top; Crash, Penelopiad top Dora nominations". National Post, June 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (March 12, 2017). "'Orphan Black' Star Tatiana Maslany Dominates Canadian Screen Awards With Two Best Actress Wins". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  10. ↑ Liwanag, Robert (November 12, 2018). "15 Minutes with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee". Reader's Digest. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Hey, it's that guy from the IKEA ad and a TV show I never watched!". National Post. April 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ "'Kim's Convenience' star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee lands 'dream' role in 'The Mandalorian'". CTV News. The Canadian Press. November 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  13. ↑ Glasner, Eli; Weaver, Jackson (November 8, 2020). "How Kim's Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee arrived in The Mandalorian". CBC News. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ Dumaraog, Ana (November 20, 2020). "The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 4 Cast & Cameos Guide". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (March 29, 2023). "'The Mandalorian' Gets a Special 'SNL' Guest Star and Veers Off-Course". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Chong, Joshua (April 20, 2023). "Paul Sun-Hyung Lee could have larger role on 'The Mandalorian,' Star Wars spinoff series suggests in season finale". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is looking forward to 'making reading cool' on Canada Reads". CBC Books. January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  18. ↑ Volmers, Eric (March 19, 2021). "'It died from within': Two actors lament the untimely demise of Kim's Convenience". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  19. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (February 8, 2022). "'Kim's Convenience' Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to Host Fandom Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  20. ↑ White, James (April 13, 2022). "The Kids In The Hall Return For New Series – See The Trailer". Empire Online. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  21. ↑ Khanna, Vish (May 16, 2022). "'The Kids in the Hall' Continues to Push Boundaries with Uncompromising New Season". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  22. ↑ Yeo, Debra (February 21, 2024). "'I've got to pinch myself': Paul Sun-Hyung Lee on playing Iroh in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'". Toronto Star.
  23. ↑ Gomez, Dessi (February 24, 2024). "'How 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Brought Uncle Iroh to Life: 'I Did Not Take That Task Lightly'". The Wrap.
  24. ↑ The Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast React to Season 2 & 3 Renewal (Video). Netflix. March 4, 2024. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  25. ↑ Lund, Anthony (February 27, 2024). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Smashes One Piece Viewership with Netflix Debut". MovieWeb.
  26. 1 2 "'Murdoch Mysteries' Season 18 Casts Paul Sun-Hyung Lee—See Him on Set With Yannick Bisson (VIDEO)". TVInsider.com. July 23, 2024. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  27. ↑ Thompson, Oliver (May 4, 2023). "Paul Sun-Hyung Lee started acting because of Star Wars. Now, he's in Star Wars". CBC News. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  28. ↑ Volmers, Eric (February 23, 2023). "k.d. lang, Kim's Convenience actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to become Governor General laureates". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  29. ↑ "End of Days, Inc". Hollywood Suite. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  30. ↑ "THE SECOND". YouTube. Every Frame a Painting. January 13, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ Otterson, Joe (November 16, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  33. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (May 23, 2024). "CBC Greenlights Animatronics Pre-K Series 'Go Togo'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.