Ki Hong Lee (born September 30, 1986) is a Korean-American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Minho inThe Maze Runner and Paul in The Nine Lives of Chloe King. Lee placed #4 in People Magazine's 2014 Sexiest Men Alive. Marie Claire magazine online named him one of the ten actors "Who Are Going to Make Your Ovaries Melt in 2015."
Early life and education[]
Ki Hong was born in Seoul, South Korea, on September 30, 1986. His parents moved the family to Auckland, New Zealand when he was six years old where he learned English before moving to Los Angeles, California when he was eight years old. Ki Hong studied teaching at UC Berkeley from 2008 to 2012. After college, he worked at his parents' restaurant.
Career[]
Lee began acting in middle school, performing in church skits, and grew to love the stage and maintains a passion for theater.
Lee debuted on stage in "Wrinkles" presented by East West Players and directed by Jeff Liu which opened on February 16, 2011 and closed on March 13, 2011 at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts in Downtown Los Angeles.
Since 2010, Lee has guest starred in many different TV shows such as Victorious, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Modern Family before landing a main role in The Nine Lives of Chloe King though ABC Family canceled the show after one season due to seemingly poor ratings.
Since 2011, Lee has collaborated with Wong Fu Productions (WFP) featuring in more than 5 short videos including the Away We Happened mini-series. On June 26, 2014, it was announced that Lee was cast in WFP's, currently untitled, crowd-funded via Indiegogo, first feature film which focuses on "two couples at different stages of their relationships, set in a world where “all relationship activity is documented and monitored by the Department of Emotional Integrity (DEI)” and is assigned a number like a credit score." The film will also star The Tomorrow People 's Aaron Yoo and Veep 's Randall Park.
In 2013, Lee made his full-length film debut in the YouTube, two-part film adaptation of "Yellowface," from the Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang.
On April 18, 2013, Wes Ball announced via Twitter that Lee had been cast in the upcoming film adaptation of the young-adult dystopian science fiction novel The Maze Runner as Minho - the keeper of the Runners, who is in charge of navigating and mapping out the Maze, who is snarky but loyal and befriends with the protagonist, Thomas. This will be Lee's feature film debut. The film also stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. He will reprise the role in the sequel titled The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials which is scheduled for release on September 18, 2015.
In 2014, Ki Hong Lee was placed fourth in the People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.