Reggie Telmo Valdez (born October 4, 1975), known professionally as
Reggie Lee, is a Philippine-American film and television actor who is
also part Chinese. On television, he has played William "Bill" Kim on
Prison Break and Sergeant Drew Wu on Grimm. In film, he has played Tai
Huang in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, GCPD Officer Ross in
The Dark Knight Rises and Lance Nguyen in The Fast and the
Furious.Valdez was born in Quezon City, the Philippines, to Zenaida
Telmo and Jesus Espiritu Valdez. Although fluent in English, he also
speaks Tagalog. At the age of five, he moved with his family to the
Cleveland, Ohio area, including Parma and Strongsville. While still a
student, he performed in shows at the Greenbrier Theatre (now the
Cassidy Theatre) in Parma Heights and was an intern at the Cleveland
Play House. He graduated from Padua Franciscan High School in
Parma.Although accepted to Harvard, he instead decided to move to Los
Angeles to pursue acting. He later changed his last name from Valdez
to Lee, stating in a 2001 interview that "they kept calling me in for
Hispanic roles, and I'm a far cry from Hispanic"; he took the name Lee
from his grandparents.In 1992, at the age of 17, Lee moved to Los
Angeles, where he joined a national tour of Miss Saigon. He later
worked as a dancer for Prince on the MTV Video Music Awards and toured
nationally with the musical Heartstrings. He was in the original
company of the 1994 Broadway revival of Carousel. In 1997, he received
a Drama-Logue Award for his performance in F.O.B. at East West
Players, an Asian-American theatre organization in Los Angeles. With
his role garnering critical acclaim, he also starred in their
production of Carry the Tiger to the Mountain.
Reggie Lee, is a Philippine-American film and television actor who is
also part Chinese. On television, he has played William "Bill" Kim on
Prison Break and Sergeant Drew Wu on Grimm. In film, he has played Tai
Huang in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, GCPD Officer Ross in
The Dark Knight Rises and Lance Nguyen in The Fast and the
Furious.Valdez was born in Quezon City, the Philippines, to Zenaida
Telmo and Jesus Espiritu Valdez. Although fluent in English, he also
speaks Tagalog. At the age of five, he moved with his family to the
Cleveland, Ohio area, including Parma and Strongsville. While still a
student, he performed in shows at the Greenbrier Theatre (now the
Cassidy Theatre) in Parma Heights and was an intern at the Cleveland
Play House. He graduated from Padua Franciscan High School in
Parma.Although accepted to Harvard, he instead decided to move to Los
Angeles to pursue acting. He later changed his last name from Valdez
to Lee, stating in a 2001 interview that "they kept calling me in for
Hispanic roles, and I'm a far cry from Hispanic"; he took the name Lee
from his grandparents.In 1992, at the age of 17, Lee moved to Los
Angeles, where he joined a national tour of Miss Saigon. He later
worked as a dancer for Prince on the MTV Video Music Awards and toured
nationally with the musical Heartstrings. He was in the original
company of the 1994 Broadway revival of Carousel. In 1997, he received
a Drama-Logue Award for his performance in F.O.B. at East West
Players, an Asian-American theatre organization in Los Angeles. With
his role garnering critical acclaim, he also starred in their
production of Carry the Tiger to the Mountain.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.