Korean American actor Will Yun Lee was born on March 22, 1971 in Arlington, Virginia. His father, Soo Wong Lee, was a Taekwondo grandmaster; his influence led to the younger Lee mastering the martial art. He entered University of California–Berkley on the back of an athletic scholarship; he eventually became a member of the state’s taekwondo team.
An acting career was not far off, with roles in television and film taking advantage of Lee’s abilities. His first screen role was as a guest in a 1998 episode of Profiler. His first regular television role came in 2001, when he joined the cast of the television adaptation of the comic series Witchblade. The show ended its run in 2002, the same year he was included in People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list. This significantly increased his profile, and led to roles in major films such as Die Another Day, Torque and Elektra.
Lee’s next regular television role came in 2006, when he joined the cast of the miniseries Thief. He played the role of Vincent, a hit man from San Francisco’s Chinese mob who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. This was followed by a role in the short-lived science fiction series Bionic Woman, a re-imagining of the original 1976 series. He played the role of Jae Kim, a specialized operations leader within the Berkut Group, who was romantically involved with Jaime Sommers’ (Michelle Ryan) nemesis Sarah Corvus (Katee Sackhoff). On the back of this performance, People magazine recognized him again, this time as part of their “Sexiest Men Alive” list in 2007.