Lee Byung-hun

Byung-hun Lee is a Korean actor who rose to prominence in America in 2015 after he appeared as the T-1000 in "Terminator Genisys." A native of South Korea, Lee spent most of the '90s and 2000s acting in Korean TV shows and movies. Some of his more notable performances from this era include parts in "Kill the Love" (1996), "My Beautiful Girl, Mari" (2002), and "Everybody Has a Little Secret" (2004). Lee was making a successful living in his native country but yearned to expand his acting reach into Hollywood. He had the opportunity in 2009 when he appeared alongside Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid in the action blockbuster "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." The film was Lee's first brush with Hollywood, and was such a success that from there on out he continued to appear almost exclusively in Hollywood action films. Lee's biggest role came in 2015 when he appeared as the human/robot hybrid, the T-1000, in "Terminator Genisys," thus proving that he was well on his way to becoming one of Hollywood's newest action stars.

Born into a wealthy family in Seoul, South Korea, Byung-hun Lee never envisioned becoming an actor. In fact, he attended Hanyang University where he majored in French Literature. His intention was on becoming a college professor, but after one of his mother's friends suggested he try acting, Lee decided to take her up on it. He went to an open talent audition at a local Korean television station and quickly found out that he liked performing in front of an audience. Before long Lee was attending as many auditions as possible, and in 1991 landed his first starring TV role on "Asphalt My Hometown" (KBS, 1991). Although the show was short-lived, Lee continued to book TV roles throughout the 90s on shows like "Tomorrow Love" (KBS, 1992-94) and "Hae-pi Too-ge-deo" (KBS, 1999). Then in 2000 Lee appeared in the war thriller "Joint Security Area." The film was a smash hit in Korea, and made Byung-hun Lee a household name overnight. After the success of "Joint Security Area," the roles started pouring in. Over the next decade Lee appeared in several films in South Korea, including "Addicted" (2002), "A Bittersweet Life" (2005), and "Hero" (2007). However, despite his superstar status in South Korea, Lee longed for recognition in the United States. In 2009 Hollywood finally came calling. Soon after, Lee landed the role of Storm Shadow in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," thus beginning his career as an action star in America. The film was a major success, with Lee reprising his role in the 2013 sequel, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation." 2013 was also the year Lee appeared in the action-comedy sequel, "RED 2." Although Lee did not appear in the first "RED" movie, he did have the rare opportunity to work alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Bruce Willis in the sequel. "RED 2" was also a hit at the box office, thus further cementing Lee's already growing status as one of the hottest Korean action stars of the 2010s. With his career already on the rise, Lee nabbed the coveted role of T-1000 in 2015's "Terminator Genisys." That film, which was released in July 2015, gave Lee the chance to work with one of his all-time favorite action heroes, Arnold Schwarzenegger.