Ki Hong Lee (born September 30, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Minho in the Maze Runner film series and Dong Nguyen in the Netflix sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Early life and education Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, on September 30, 1986. When he was six years old, his parents moved the family to Auckland, New Zealand. When he was eight, his family moved to Los Angeles, California.
Lee studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley from 2004 to 2008. During college, Lee was part of a college chapter of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) and interned at their headquarters. He served as an elected senator at the Associated Students of the University of California (the students association of the University of California, Berkeley) from 2005 to 2006, while being affiliated with the Student Action party. He ran for re-election for the 2006–2007 academic year as "Ki Hong (Donkey Kong) Lee" with the affiliation with The Mario Party, but failed to garner the necessary votes for the position.
Lee began acting in middle school, doing skits at church retreats. He initially wanted to become a teacher, but was inspired to pursue acting after watching Aaron Yoo in the film Disturbia (2007) while in college. After college, he worked at his parents' sundubu-jjigae restaurant, Tofu Village, in Little Tokyo while pursuing acting.
Career Lee made his stage debut in Wrinkles, presented by East West Players and directed by Jeff Liu. It 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 2012, Lee has collaborated with Wong Fu Productions (WFP) featuring in more than five short videos including the Away We Happened mini-series. On June 26, 2014, it was announced that Lee was cast in WFP's first feature film Everything Before Us, 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 also featured The Tomorrow Peoples Aaron Yoo and Veep's Randall Park.
In 2013, Lee made his feature-length film debut in the YouTube two-part film adaptation of Yellowface, from playwright David Henry Hwang. It was published by the Asian American-centric YOMYOMF network . On April 18, 2013, director Wes Ball announced that Lee had been cast in The Maze Runner as Minho, the keeper of the Runners in charge of navigating and mapping the Maze.
In fall 2017, Lee played the lead in Julia Cho's play, Office Hour, alongside actress Sue Jean Kim in the New York premiere of the production at the Public Theater.
In June 2020, Lee signed an exclusive contract with Saram Entertainment to expand his activities not just in South Korea, but in Asia as a whole.
Personal life Lee married his childhood friend Hayoung Choi on March 7, 2015. Their daughter was born in late 2016. Choi played Lee's character's new girlfriend in the 2013 short film She Has a Boyfriend, by Wong Fu Productions.
Filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes/2010The Social NetworkCambridge StudentUncredited2013Yellow FaceBD Wong2014The Maze RunnerMinho2015The Stanford Prison ExperimentGavin ChanEverything Before UsJayWong Fu ProductionsMaze Runner: The Scorch TrialsMinho2017Two Bellmen ThreeJun LeeThe Mayor SteveWish UponRyan Huilast=Busch |first=Anita |date=November 9, 2016 |title=The Maze Runner'''s Ki Hong Lee Joins Horror Film Wish Upon |url=https://deadline.com/2016/11/ki-hong-lee-maze-runner-actor-next-film-wish-upon-horror-1201851945/ |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> |- | rowspan = '2' |2018 |Maze Runner: The Death Cure|Minho
|The Public|Chip
|2020 |Looks That Kill''Dan
Short film Year Film Role Notes2011All in AllJeremy2012Take It SlowBrianWong Fu ProductionsFratervention: The End of Bro'ing OutKeithAway We HappenedBenWong Fu ProductionsMini-Series6 episodesAlways YouJamesYOMYOMF NetworkMotherLoverChaz SeongYOMYOMF NetworkMiniseries6 episodes2013The Master ChefJohn SuhJubilee ProjectThis Is How We Never MetBoyWong Fu ProductionsSomewhere Like ThisBoyfriendTo Those NightsElijah bar friendsShe Has a BoyfriendFrank2014This TimeManny ParkJubilee Project2017Asian BacheloretteTomWong Fu Productions2018Asian Bachelorette 2Tom / TobbyWong Fu Productions2020SiSiDirected by Thomas Percy Kim
Television Year Title Role Notes/2010VictoriousClayton2 episodesThe Secret Life of the American TeenagerStudent #2Episode: "Which Way Did She Go?"Modern FamilyBusboyEpisode: "Mother Tucker"2011The Nine Lives of Chloe KingPaulMain role10 episodesNew GirlHectorEpisode: "Bells"2012The Client ListDelivery GuyEpisode: "Turn the Page"2013Blue BloodsDavid LinEpisode: "The Truth About Lying" 2014NCISChris HoffmanEpisode: "Bulletproof" 2015–2016Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtDong NguyenRecurring role (8 episodes) 2015The WhispersPeter KimEpisode: "X Marks The Spot"2019Whiskey CavalierJungEpisode: "College Confidential"Prometheus: War of FireFrank Lee2020Spider-ManAmadeus Cho / Totally Awesome Hulk (voice)2 episodes2021DaveDan Kim2 episodes Robot ChickenCody Martin, Naruto (voice)Episode: "May Cause Lucid Murder Dreams"2022GridMan from the FutureSpecial appearanceLittle AmericaOlder Luke SongEpisode: "Mr. Song"2023Party DownHowardEpisode: "First Annual PI2A Symposium"2024The IrrationalDae-Min KimEpisode: "Stan by Me"2025–presentKing of the HillChane Wassanasong / Junichiro (voice)6 episodes, Replaces Pamela Adlon
Stage Year Title Role Notes2011WrinklesJason2017Office HourDennis
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population
References
External links