Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

{{Infobox person

| name = Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

| image = Paul Sun-Hyung Lee by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption = Lee at the 2024 Phoenix Fan Fusion

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|8|16}}

| birth_place = Daejeon, Chungnam, South Korea

| nationality = Canadian

| years_active = 1995–present

| module = {{Infobox Korean name

| hangul = 이선형

| hanja =

| rr = I Seonhyeong

| mr = I Sŏnhyŏng

| child = yes}}

}}

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee ({{Korean|hangul=이선형}}; born August 16, 1972) is a South Korean-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 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, 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 emigrated from Daejeon, Chungnam to Canada, living in London, Toronto and Calgary."Calgarian is ready to commute". Calgary Herald, June 2, 2003. In 1990, he moved back to Toronto to attend the University of Toronto, where he attended the drama program at University College."Hit play a homecoming for actor Sun-Hyung Lee". Calgary Herald, September 19, 2013.

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.{{Cite web|last=Schedeen|first=Jesse|date=2020-12-21|title=The Mandalorian: Every Character and Celebrity Cameo So Far|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-mandalorian-cast-cameos-celebrity-who-was-in-episode|access-date=2021-08-13|website=IGN}}

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.

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.{{cite news|last=Phan|first=Rachel|title=Kim's Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards|url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/kims-convenience-gets-five-thumbs-up-at-toronto-theatre-critics-awards|access-date=April 15, 2022|newspaper=National Post|date=May 31, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129130022/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/05/31/kims-convenience-gets-five-thumbs-up-at-toronto-theatre-critics-awards/|archive-date=January 29, 2013|url-status=live}} 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. He brought the role of Appa to television in 2016 when the show was adapted as a television series.[https://www.utoronto.ca/news/actor-paul-sun-hyung-lee-former-u-t-drama-student-stars-cbc-comedy-kim-s-convenience "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. In 2016, Lee played Zhang Lin in the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre/Canadian Stage production of Chimerica.{{Cite web |last=Maga|first=Carly|date=April 1, 2016|title=Chimerica has stimulating ideas but underwhelming dialogue: review|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2016/04/01/chimerica-has-stimulating-ideas-but-underwhelming-dialogue-review.html|access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=Toronto Star}} 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."Women on top; Crash, Penelopiad top Dora nominations". National Post, June 6, 2012. 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/orphan-black-star-tatiana-maslany-dominates-canadian-screen-awards-two-best-actress-wins-985464/ |title='Orphan Black' Star Tatiana Maslany Dominates Canadian Screen Awards With Two Best Actress Wins |first=Etan |last=Vlessing |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 12, 2017|access-date=April 15, 2022}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Liwanag |first1=Robert |title=15 Minutes with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee |url=https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/paul-sun-hyung-lee-interview/ |access-date=December 4, 2018 |work=Reader's Digest |date=November 12, 2018}}

Lee is also a playwright, with his own play Dangling premiering at Toronto's fu-GEN theatre festival in 2010.{{Cite news |title=Hey, it's that guy from the IKEA ad and a TV show I never watched! |newspaper=National Post |date=April 28, 2010}}

In 2020, he appeared as New Republic X-wing pilot Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian.{{cite news |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/kim-s-convenience-star-paul-sun-hyung-lee-lands-dream-role-in-the-mandalorian-1.5180572|title='Kim's Convenience' star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee lands 'dream' role in 'The Mandalorian' |date=November 9, 2020 |work=CTV News |agency=The Canadian Press}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/paul-sun-hyung-lee-mandalorian-1.5792631 |title=How Kim's Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee arrived in The Mandalorian |work=CBC News |last1=Glasner |first1=Eli |last2=Weaver |first2=Jackson |date=November 8, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://screenrant.com/mandalorian-season-2-episode-4-cast-cameos-characters/ |title=The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 4 Cast & Cameos Guide |last=Dumaraog |first=Ana |work=Screen Rant |date=November 20, 2020 |access-date=November 20, 2020}} He reprised the role in The Book of Boba Fett episode "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian" and Ahsoka.

In 2021, he appeared as a panelist on Canada Reads, championing Natalie Zina Walschots's novel Hench.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/paul-sun-hyung-lee-is-looking-forward-to-making-reading-cool-on-canada-reads-1.5882336 |title=Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is looking forward to 'making reading cool' on Canada Reads |website=CBC Books |date=January 21, 2021}} 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.{{Cite news |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/television/calgary-raised-actors-paul-sun-hyung-lee-andrew-phung-reflect-on-heartbreaking-end-to-kims-convenience |title='It died from within': Two actors lament the untimely demise of Kim's Convenience |first=Eric |last=Volmers |date=March 19, 2021 |newspaper=Calgary Herald}} He was cast Uncle Iroh in the Netflix live action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender.{{cite news |last1=Otterson |first1=Joe |title='Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-live-action-series-casts-its-uncle-iroh-gyatso-and-commander-zhao-1235113071/ |work=Variety |date=16 November 2021}}

In 2022, he was announced as the host of Fandemonium, a factual series which will profile the internal cultures of various pop culture fandoms.{{cite web |last=Ravindran |first=Manori |title='Kim's Convenience' Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to Host Fandom Series (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/kims-convenience-paul-sun-hyung-lee-fandemonium-1235174586/ |website=Variety |access-date=15 April 2022 |date=8 February 2022}} He also appeared on the 2022 revival of The Kids in the Hall.{{cite web |last1=White |first1=James |title=The Kids In The Hall Return For New Series – See The Trailer |url=https://www.empireonline.com/tv/news/the-kids-in-the-hall-return-for-new-series-see-the-trailer/ |website=Empire Online |date=April 13, 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Khanna |first1=Vish |title='The Kids in the Hall' Continues to Push Boundaries with Uncompromising New Season |url=https://exclaim.ca/comedy/article/kids_in_the_hall_2022_amazon_prime_review |website=Exclaim! |language=en-ca |date=May 16, 2022}}

In 2023, he returned as Carson Teva in The Mandalorian Season 3 episodes The Pirate and The Return.{{Cite magazine |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |date=March 29, 2023 |title='The Mandalorian' Gets a Special 'SNL' Guest Star and Veers Off-Course |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/the-mandalorian-season-3-episode-5-snl-tim-meadows-pedro-pascal-baby-yoda-1234704077/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131741/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/the-mandalorian-season-3-episode-5-snl-tim-meadows-pedro-pascal-baby-yoda-1234704077/ |archive-date=March 29, 2023}}{{Cite news|last=Chong |first=Joshua |date=April 20, 2023 |title=Paul Sun-Hyung Lee could have larger role on 'The Mandalorian,' Star Wars spinoff series suggests in season finale |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/paul-sun-hyung-lee-could-have-larger-role-on-the-mandalorian-star-wars-spinoff-series/article_5986dc05-2aca-532f-ac25-5ecb6ba1954c.html |website=Toronto Star}} He also appears in Ahsoka as Captain Carson Teva.

In 2024, he played Uncle Iroh in the Netflix live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.{{cite news |last1=Yeo |first1=Debra |title='I've got to pinch myself': Paul Sun-Hyung Lee on playing Iroh in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/ive-got-to-pinch-myself-paul-sun-hyung-lee-on-playing-iroh-in-avatar-the/article_4b1f98de-cd10-11ee-8e83-c3f0c500067e.html |work=Toronto Star |date=21 February 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Gomez |first1=Dessi |title='How 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Brought Uncle Iroh to Life: 'I Did Not Take That Task Lightly' |url=https://www.thewrap.com/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-paul-sun-hyung-lee-interview/ |work=The Wrap |date=24 February 2024}} 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.{{cite AV media |date=4 March 2024 |title=The Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast React to Season 2 & 3 Renewal |type=Video |language= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mat6Gr4sgAw&ab |publisher=Netflix}}{{cite news |last1=Lund |first1=Anthony |title=Avatar: The Last Airbender Smashes One Piece Viewership with Netflix Debut |url=https://movieweb.com/avatar-last-airbender-beats-one-piece-viewerhip-debut-netflix/ |work=MovieWeb |date=27 February 2024}} He also plays a new main character, Inspector Albert Choi, the new head of Station House No 4, in the eighteen season of the CBC mystery series Murdoch Mysteries.{{cite web |url=https://www.tvinsider.com/1144862/murdoch-mysteries-season-18-paul-sun-hyung-lee-yannick-bisson-filming-photo/ |title='Murdoch Mysteries' Season 18 Casts Paul Sun-Hyung Lee—See Him on Set With Yannick Bisson (VIDEO) |work=TVInsider.com |date=July 23, 2024 |access-date=November 22, 2024}}

= Honours =

In 2023, Lee received the National Arts Centre Award at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Oliver |date=May 4, 2023 |title=Paul Sun-Hyung Lee started acting because of Star Wars. Now, he's in Star Wars |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/paul-sun-hyung-lee-the-mandalorian-q-tom-power-interview-1.6825656 |access-date=August 11, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Volmers |first=Eric |date=Feb 23, 2023 |title=k.d. lang, Kim's Convenience actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to become Governor General laureates |work=Calgary Herald |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/local-arts/k-d-lang-kims-convenience-actor-paul-sun-hyung-lee-to-become-governor-general-laureates |access-date=August 11, 2023}}

Filmography

=Film=

Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1996	Harriet the Spy	Bruno Hung Fat
2001	Khaled	Grocer
2005	Ice Princess	Tiffany Lai's Dad
2003	One Way	Hotel Receptionist
2004	P2	Man in Elevator
2014	RoboCop	Omnicorp Technician
2015	End of Days, Inc.	Mort	{{cite web \|url=https://hollywoodsuite.ca/movies/end-of-days-inc/ \|title=End of Days, Inc. \|website=Hollywood Suite}}
2020	Kitty Mammas	Dr. Han
rowspan="2" \| 2024	The Second	Philip	Short film{{Cite AV media \|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfz6tj_Ep1E \|title=THE SECOND {{!}} Short Film \|date=2025-01-13 \|publisher=Every Frame a Painting \|access-date=2025-01-15 \|via=YouTube}}
Night of the Zoopocalypse	Felix	Voice

=Television=

Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1995	Where's the Money Noreen?	Gene Kajikawa	Television film
1999	Total Recall 2070	Waiter	Episode: "Rough Whimper of Insanity"
2002	Soul Food: The Series	Dan Lee	Episode: "A Taste of Justice"
2002	Doc	Orderly	Episode: "Complicated"
2002	Tagged: The Jonathan Wamback Story	Doctor	Television film
2003	Profoundly Normal	Delivery Doctor	Television film
2003–2005	Train 48	Randy Ko	Main role
2004	Kevin Hill	Phil Steckler	Episode: "The Good Life"
2005	This Is Wonderland	Mr. Phan	Episode #2.9
2005	1-800-Missing	Dr. Winston Nakano	Episode: "Fugitive"
2006	Billable Hours	Paul	Episode: "The Handicapped Bathroom"
2006	Between Truth and Lies	D.A. Lee	Television film
2007	data-sort-value="Jane Show, The" \| The Jane Show	E.R. Doctor	Episode: "Plastic Ono Jane"
2007	Mayday	Captain Park Yong-chul	Episode: "Missed Approach" (Season 4, Episode 4)
2008	Little Mosque on the Prairie	Airport Security Guard Clask	Episode: "Islam on Tap"
2010	Covert Affairs	Theo Will	2 episodes
2010–2011	Degrassi: The Next Generation	Juan Tong	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2016–2021	Kim's Convenience	Sang-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)
2017	Dark Matter	Dr. Borsin	Episode: "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This"
{{dts\|2018\|11\|14\|format=y}}	Canada's Smartest Person Junior	Himself	Host (season 4 of Smartest Person)
2019–2022	Abby Hatcher	Chef Jeff	Recurring voice role
2019	data-sort-value="Bravest Knight, The" \| The Bravest Knight	The Potion Maker	Recurring voice role {{cite tweet \|last=Lee \|first=Paul Sun-Hyung \|user=bitterasiandude \|number=983532819392512002 \|date=April 10, 2018 \|title=Thank you for letting me play today!!! So. Much. Fun. #okseeyou #bravestknight #animation \|website=Twitter \|accessdate=December 18, 2020 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219041213/https://twitter.com/bitterasiandude/status/983532819392512002 \|archivedate=December 19, 2020 \|url-status=live}}
2020–2023	data-sort-value="Mandalorian, The" \| The Mandalorian	Captain Carson Teva	4 episodes
2021	Private Eyes	Chef Andre	Episode: "The Perfect Storm"
2021	Bakugan: Geogan Rising	Spartillion	Recurring voice role
2021 \| Boyfriends of Christmas Past \| Leo Kim \| Television film
2022 \| data-sort-value="Book of Boba Fett, The" \| The Book of Boba Fett \| Captain Carson Teva \| Episode: "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian"
2022 \| data-sort-value="Kids in the Hall, The" \| 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 \| Avatar: The Last Airbender \| Uncle Iroh \| Main role{{cite news \|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-live-action-series-casts-its-uncle-iroh-gyatso-and-commander-zhao-1235113071/ \|title='Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao \|last=Otterson \|first=Joe \|work=Variety \|date=November 16, 2021 \|access-date=November 16, 2021}}
2024 \| Murdoch Mysteries \| Inspector Albert Choi \| Season 18
2025 \| Paw Patrol \| Mr. Park \| Voice role: Episode: "Pups and the Power of Flowers/Pups Save the Alien Egg Hunt"