Sung Kang

Sung Kang (Korean name: Kang Sung-Ho; 강성호; born April 8, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in five films of the Fast & Furious franchise as Han Lue, a character he first portrayed in Better Luck Tomorrow (2002).[1][2][3]

This article is about the actor. For the golfer, see Kang Sung-hoon (golfer).
This is a Korean name; the family name is Kang, while the given name is Sung.
Sung Kang
Kang in 2007
Born (1972-04-08) April 8, 1972
OccupationActor, Producer
Years active1999–present
Spouse(s)Miki Yim
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGang Seongho
McCune–ReischauerKang Sŏngho

Early life

Kang was born in Clarkston, Georgia to South Korean immigrant parents before moving to Gainesville, Georgia.[4][5] He was raised by his Korean mother and African American stepfather.[6] He moved to Barstow, California while in high school.[5]

Kang attended the University of California, Riverside.[5] While in college he chose acting over law school, a decision which was met with disappointment from his parents due to their concerns over the lack of Asians on American television and lack of job prospects.[5]

Career

His first major role was in Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), in which he played Han Lue, an aloof gang member. He was one of the stars in The Motel, in which he played Sam Kim.

He portrayed Han Seoul-Oh in The Fast and the Furious film franchise, appearing in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6, as well as the short film Los Bandoleros. He also had a role in Jet Li's film War (2007), playing an FBI agent, and was featured in the movie Forbidden Warrior as Doran, a son of Genghis Khan. He had a small role in the action movie Live Free or Die Hard, and he appeared in Walter Hill's movie Bullet to the Head (2013) as Detective Taylor Kwon, opposite Sylvester Stallone.

Kang has had several notable television roles, including 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)" alongside Bobby Lee on MADtv. He portrayed FBI Agent Tae Kim in the short-lived crime procedural Gang Related on FOX. Both roles required him to speak Korean, which he is conversant in. The character Tae Kim was written specifically for him by creator Chris Morgan, who had worked on the Fast & Furious film franchise.[7]

Kang started the YouTube channel "Sung's Garage" in January 2020, which hosts the videos for the podcast of the same name.[6][8]

Kang credits reporter Jen Yamato of the Los Angeles Times and her #JusticeForHan social media campaign for rallying public interest and bringing the character of Han Lue back to the Fast and the Furious franchise. Kang reprised his role as Han in F9 (2021).[6][8]

Other ventures

Business

He owned a restaurant called Saketini in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, which closed in early 2013.[9]

Auto drifting

Kang has said that, prior to his casting as Han in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, he had been unaware of the drifting culture that existed in Japan. It was not until he began researching the part that he perfected his skills in this popular sport, which is a global craze.[10] He stated that filming the Fast & Furious film franchise rekindled a long-dormant interest in cars; he had grown up watching an elderly neighbor restore vintage cars.[11]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Talk to Taka Co-Producer Co-producer
2001 Pearl Harbor Listener/Japanese Translator
2002 Better Luck Tomorrow Han Lue Associate producer
2002 Antwone Fisher Receptionist
2004 9:30 Chan Kin Fai Short film
2004 Forbidden Warrior Doran
2005 The Motel Sam
2006 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Han Lue
2006 Undoing Samuel Producer
2007 War Goi
2007 Finishing the Game Cole Kim
2007 Live Free or Die Hard Raj
2009 Fast & Furious Han Lue
2009 Los Bandoleros Short film
2009 Ninja Assassin Hollywood
2009 Clap Clap Roy Short film
2011 Fast Five Han Lue
2011 4 Wedding Planners Kai
2012 Sunset Stories JP
2012 Bullet to the Head Taylor Kwon
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Han Lue
2013 The Come Up Douchey Actor Short film
2015 Eden Connie
2015 Furious 7 Han Lue Archive footage
2015 Hollywood Adventures Manny
2016 Pali Road Mitch Kayne
2016 The Free World Detective Shin
2016 Code 8 Officer Alex Park Short film
2017 Party Boat Greg
2019 Code 8 Officer Alex Park
2021 F9 Han Lue
TBA We Can Be Heroes Filming

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Felicity Student Episode: "The Love Bug"
2000 Martial Law Xian Law Last 3 episodes
2001 NYPD Blue Asian Uniform Episode: "Fools Russian"
2001 Girlfriends Bartender Episode: "You Better Watch Out"
2002 Spin City Jordan Episode: "Look Who's Not Talking"
2003 The Shield Malcom Rama Episode: "Scar Tissue"
2004 Threat Matrix Ray Lee Episode: "PPX"
2004 Cold Case Sen Dhiet/Varin Toan Episode: "Who's Your Daddy"
2004 Without a Trace Deke Episode: "Nickel and Dimed: Part 2"
2005 Monk Mr. Huang (Disciple) Episode: "Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra"
2006–2008 MADtv President Gin Kew Yun Chun Yew Nee 4 episodes
2006 Standoff David Lau Episode: "Shanghai'd"
2006 CSI: Miami Lee Choi Episode: "Death Pool 100"
2008 Samurai Girl
2008 Knight Rider Johnny Chang Episode: "Journey to the End of the Knight"
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Jang Episode: "Say Uncle"
2009 Monk Vince Kuramoto Episode: "Mr. Monk on Wheels"
2009 Mental Jimmy Episode: "Rainy Days"
2010 Easy to Assemble Sung Skjulstad / Sung Skjulestad Webseries, 3 episodes
2012 Acting for Action with Sung Kang Himself TV mini-series, director, producer, writer
2014 Robot Chicken Episode: "Link's Sausages"
2014 Gang Related Tae Kim Main Role[12]
2016 Family Guy Soap Opera Actor (voice) Episode: "Candy, Quahog Marshmallow"
2016 Hawaii Five-0 Dae Wan Episode: "O Ke Ali'i Wale No Ka'u Makemake"
2016-18 Power Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mak Main Role (Season 4, 5, 6)
2018 Magnum P.I. Lieutenant Yoshi Tanaka Episode: "I Saw the Sun Rise"
2019 Whiskey Cavalier Daniel Lou Episode: "Two of a Kind"

Video games
Year Title Role
2013 Fast & Furious: Showdown Han (voice)

References
  1. "Sung Kang". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  2. "The Fast and Furious Star Sung Kang talks about his career and future". CAA Media.
  3. "Actor Sung Kang Talks Cars, Kids, Time and Watches". Haute Time.
  4. Stevenson, Elena (October 14, 2008). "Chow Talk with Sung Kang, Part 1". Elena Stevenson. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  5. Ho, Rodney (May 22, 2014). "Former Clarkston resident Sung Kang stars in Fox's 'Gang Related'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  6. Yamato, Jen; Shyong, Frank (May 19, 2020). "Sung Kang". Asian Enough (Podcast). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. Nicholson, Amy (May 20, 2014). "Fast & Furious' Breakout Star Sung Kang Anchors Fox TV's Gang Related". LA Weekly.
  8. Kang, Sung (January 31, 2020). "Ep#1 - Jen Yamato #JusticeForHan". Sung's Garage (Podcast). Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  9. "Index of /". Sungkang.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-08-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Klein, Jonathon (August 9, 2016). "Catching Up With "Fast and Furious" Star Sung Kang". Automobile.
  12. Jeffery, Morgan (2013-02-21). "'Fast & Furious' star Sung Kang joins Fox drama 'Gang Related'". Digitalspy.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
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