Rick Yune

1.1. Birth and Family

Yune was born Richard Yun on August 22, 1971, in Washington, D.C., United States. His parents, Park Wonhui and Yun Taeho, are both Korean. He also has a Korean name, 윤성식_{Yun Seong-sik}^Korean. He has a younger brother, Karl Yune, who is also an actor. For Screen Actors Guild (SAG) purposes, he later changed the spelling of his last name from "Yun" to "Yune".

1.2. Education

Yune attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, and St. John's College High School. In 1994, he earned a degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

1.3. Childhood and Formative Experiences

Growing up in an area with few Asian residents, Yune often experienced feelings of alienation. This led to a challenging youth marked by frequent conflicts and fights. In response, his parents sent him to a military school for rehabilitation. Following this, he attended a boarding mission school before pursuing his higher education.

2.1. Early Career: Finance and Modeling

While studying at the Wharton School in the mid-1990s, Rick Yune worked as an intern on Wall Street, trading stocks. He was one of the original hedge fund traders for SAC Capital before deciding to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. During this period, he was discovered by a modeling agent and became the first Asian-American model to be featured in advertisements for prominent brands such as Versace and Ralph Lauren's Polo. In 1999, he also appeared in an advertisement for Kia Motors' Rio model.

2.2. Film Career

Yune made his film debut in 1999, starring as Kazuo Miyamoto, a Japanese-American war hero accused of murder, in director Scott Hicks' adaptation of David Guterson's novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. In this role, he portrayed the husband of Hatsue Miyamoto, played by Yuki Kudoh.

In 2001, Yune co-starred as Johnny Tran, a Vietnamese gang leader and rival to Vin Diesel's character, in the action film The Fast and the Furious. The following year, in 2002, he portrayed Zao, a North Korean terrorist working for the Korean People's Army, opposite Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry in the James Bond film Die Another Day.

He later appeared in the 2009 martial arts film Ninja Assassin as Takeshi. In 2012, Yune starred alongside Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu as Zen Yi in the martial arts film The Man with the Iron Fists. The next year, in 2013, he played Kang Yeon-Sak, a North Korean ultra-nationalist and former terrorist mastermind who orchestrates an attack on the White House, in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen, opposite Gerard Butler. Yune also had a role as Master Clive Lee in the 2019 film Alita: Battle Angel and as Captain Sand in the 2020 film Jiu Jitsu. In 2023, he appeared as Eddie in the film Tetris.

2.3. Television Career

Yune has made numerous notable appearances in television series. In 1997, he appeared in an episode of Another World as an Assistant District Attorney. He played Tuan in a 2000 episode of Any Day Now and appeared in an episode of The Division in 2001. In 2002, he made a guest appearance as himself on MADtv.

In 2005, Yune appeared in two episodes of ABC's spy series Alias, portraying Kazu Tamazaki, a modern-day samurai pursued by Jennifer Garner's character, Sydney Bristow. That same year, he guest-starred as Troi Ran in an episode of ABC's legal dramedy Boston Legal. In 2006, he played Robert Hsing in an episode of the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

He also appeared in Futurestates in 2011 as Jonathan Park. In 2013, Yune played Han Ji-Woon in an episode of Hawaii Five-0. From 2014 to 2016, he was part of the main cast of the Netflix historical drama series Marco Polo, where he portrayed Kaidu, a Mongol Khan, reprising his role in the second season. In 2017, he had a recurring role as Ja in Prison Break season 5. In 2019, he appeared as Cyrus in Wu-Tang: An American Saga.

2.4. Other Professional Activities

Beyond acting, Rick Yune has also taken on roles as a producer and writer. He produced and starred as a Thai assassin named Chance Templeton in the 2008 action-adventure film The Fifth Commandment, which he also wrote. He also served as an associate producer for the 2008 film Alone in the Dark II, in which he played Edward Carnby.

Yune has also been involved in other media, appearing in music videos such as SWV's "Someone" featuring Puff Daddy in 1997, where he played a Chinese gang member, and VS's "Call U Sexy" in 2004, portraying a biker. He provided voice acting for the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours.

Furthermore, Yune serves as a board member for the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation and is an ambassador for the Princess Charlene Foundation of Monaco.

3.1. Martial Arts and Sports

Yune is proficient in various forms of martial arts, excelling particularly in Taekwondo, in which he holds a black belt. He is also a former Golden Gloves boxer. His athletic background extends to wrestling and baseball. At the age of 19, he qualified for the Olympics in Taekwondo. In his personal life, Yune has had relationships with actresses Nastassja Kinski and Dania Ramirez.

4.1. Public Popularity

In 2002, Rick Yune was recognized by People magazine, which named him one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" and also one of the "50 Most Beautiful People."

5.1. Film Credits

5.2. Television Credits

5.3. Other Media Credits