Brian Tee

Brian Tee
Tee in April 2011
Born Jae-bum Takata[1]
(1977-03-15) March 15, 1977
Okinawa, Japan
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
Occupation Actor
Years active 2000–present
Spouse(s) Mirelly Taylor
Children 1

Jaebeom Takata (born March 15, 1977), known professionally as Brian Tee, is a Korean-Japanese-American actor best known for his role as D.K. (also known as The Drift King) in the action film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and as Dr. Ethan Choi in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med (2015–present).

Early life

Tee was born Jaebeom Takata in Okinawa, to a Japanese American father and a Korean American (Zainchi Korean) mother.[2][3] At the age of two, he moved to Hacienda Heights, California, and was raised in Southern California. He attended Glen A. Wilson High School where he was Associated Student Body president and captain of the football team. While in high school, he worked at Blackjack Pizza.

Tee graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in theater and performing arts.[4] Not long after graduating he adopted his "culturally ambiguous" stage name Brian Tee after being rejected by a Korean director at an audition for having a Japanese last name.[5][3]

Career

Tee played Kazu, the owner of Sushi Rox, on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101. He played Eddie Choi in Crash.[6] He also starred as Akira Kimura on Grimm and Takeda on Burn Notice. He also appeared in the season 4 episode "The Girl in the Mask" as Ken Nakamura on the series Bones. He has also played Dwayne Archimedes in the indie Feature film Roswell FM. Tee has also appeared in an episode in the first season of the television series Dark Blue as a Korean criminal. He also had a short part in Austin Powers in Goldmember as a pedestrian ("Run! It's Goldzilla!"; "Still we should run like it is Godzilla!"). Brian can also be seen as a contestant on an episode of Hollywood Squares hosted by Tom Bergeron. He played in 1999 against a woman named Heidi.

Tee was also in the music video "Dance Like Michael Jackson" by Far East Movement.

In James Mangold's The Wolverine (2013), starring Hugh Jackman, Tee played Noburo Mori, a sadistic minister of justice arranged to marry the daughter of Yakuza Boss Shingen Yashida (Hiroyuki Sanada).[7]

Tee took on the role of Liu Kang in the YouTube series Mortal Kombat Legacy.[8]

Tee appeared in the made-for-television film The Gabby Douglas Story on October 18, 2013, where he played her coach Liang Chow, which aired in 2014 on Lifetime.

Tee co-starred in the 2015 film Jurassic World where he played Hamada, a high-ranking commander who works for the Asset Containment Unit (ACU).[9]

Tee played Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the 2016 sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles where the role was previously portrayed by Tohoru Masamune.[10][11]

On July 20, 2015, Tee signed on to co-star in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as Dr. Ethan Choi.[12] He had previously appeared on its sister show Chicago P.D. as a Chinese gangster in season 2.

Personal life

Besides English, Tee speaks fluent Japanese and Korean.[13] He is married to Mirelly Taylor and has a daughter named Madelyn Skyler Tee, born in 2015.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 We Were Soldiers Pfc. Jimmy Nakayama
2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Japanese Pedestrian
2005 Fun with Dick and Jane Sushi Chef
2006 All In Rosenbloom Player 2
2006 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Takashi "D.K."
2007 Pandemic Danny Miniseries
2007 Finishing the Game Mac Chang
2008 The Trade Mr. Cho
2009 Deadland Jax
2009 Chain Letter Brian Yee
2009 Wedding Palace Jason
2013 The Wolverine Noburo Mori
2014 The Gabby Douglas Story Liang Chow
2014 No Tears for the Dead Chaoz
2015 Jurassic World Hamada
2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Oroku Saki/The Shredder

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Pretender Male Agent Episode: "The Agent of Year Zero"
2000 The Invisible Man Mallon Episode: "The Value of Secrets"
2000 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Intern Episode: "Family"
2001 Family Law DEA Agent Episode: "Liar's Club: Part 1"
2001 18 Wheels of Justice Host Episode: "The Game"
2001 The Chronicle Neo Episode: "Here There Be Dragons"
2002 Flipside Lance Episode: "Pilot"
2003 JAG North Korean Soldier Episode: "Close Quarters"
2004 Passions Young Asian Man 1 episode
2004 Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation Cpl. Thom Kobe Television film
2004 Cracking Up Frat Guy #1 Episode: "Daddy's Home"
2004 Monk James Lu Episode: "Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather"
2004 Tiger Cruise MA2 Chan Television film
2005–06 Zoey 101 Kazu 3 episodes
2005 Without a Trace Kirk Episode: "Transitions"
2005 Wanted Jin-Lee Park Episode: "Rubbing One Out"
2006 The Unit Rebel Leader Episode: "200th Hour"
2006 Entourage Fukijama's Bodyguard Episode: "What About Bob?"
2007 Grey's Anatomy Andy Meltzer 2 episodes
2008 Jericho Cheung Episode: "Patriots and Tyrants"
2008–09 Crash Eddie Choi 13 episodes
2009 Lie to Me Han Yong-Dae Episode: "Love Always"
2009 Bones Ken Nakamura Episode: "The Girl in the Mask"
2009 Dark Blue Kang Episode: "K-Town"
2010 Sym-Bionic Titan Mike Chan (voice) Episode: "Roar of the White Dragon"
2011 Burn Notice Takeda Episode: "Bloodlines"
2012–13 Grimm Akira Kimura 3 episodes
2012 Shake It Up Concierge "Made in Japan"
2013 Hawaii Five-0 Ryu Nabushi/Hideaki Kuroda Episode: "Kupouli 'la"
2014 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Toshiro Mori Episode: "A Fractured House"
2014 Chicago P.D. Jesse Kong Episode: "The Three Gs"
2015 Baby Daddy Tommy Kwan Episode: "It Takes a Village Idiot"
2015–present Chicago Med Dr. Ethan Choi Series regular
2016–present Chicago Fire Dr. Ethan Choi Recurring character
2016–present Chicago P.D. Dr. Ethan Choi Recurring character
2018 Lucifer Ben Rogers Episode: "Once Upon a Time"

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Liu Kang 4 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Saints Row 2 Jyunichi (voice)

Music videos

Year Artist Title Notes
2006 Don Omar "Conteo"
2008 Far East Movement "Dance Like Michael Jackson"

References

  1. ↑ Han, Brian (15 January 2015). "'Jurassic World' actor Brian Tee feels 'career starting to hit stride'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Sanders, David Lee (29 September 2009). "Interview with Brian Tee". HalfKorean.com. HalfKorean.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 Weik, Taylor (August 1, 2017). "From 'The Fast And The Furious' To 'Chicago Med,' Actor Brian Tee Is Paving His Own Path". NBC.
  4. ↑ Half-Korean.com Interview with Brian Tee
  5. ↑ "'Jurassic World' actor Brian Tee feels 'career starting to hit stride'". The Korea Times. January 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ interviews Brian Tee of Crash, 13/12/2008
  7. ↑ indieWire, Brian Tee Joins The Wolverine,, 10/07/2012
  8. ↑ "Web Series 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2′ Hitting February 17th". Latino Review. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  9. ↑ Reera Yoo, "Brian Tee Cast as 'Hamada' in Jurassic World" Archived 2014-11-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Prudom, Laura (April 27, 2015). "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' Casts Brian Tee as Shredder". Variety.
  11. ↑ Gomez, Luis (November 11, 2015). "Interview: Brian Tee says his Shredder in 'Ninja Turtles' sequel is 'more grounded in reality'". Chicago Tribune.
  12. ↑ Kate Stanhope (July 20, 2015). "'Chicago Med' Adds 'Jurassic World' Actor as Series Regular'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ↑ "Chicago Med's Brian Tee: Balance Is the Key to Life". Parade. November 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Brian Tee Welcomes Daughter Madelyn Skyler". People. August 13, 2015.
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