Life Design
Author: Michelle
Posted: September 1st, 2007
Filed Under: Back Issues , September 2007
« (previous post)
(next post) »

Cover-WillYunLee-FullColor

This month, the actor’s career kicks into high gear with the new primetime TV show “Bionic Woman,” though there’s nothing artificial about him.

  • By Michelle Woo
  • > Photographs by Eric Sueyoshi
  • > Styling by Kelvin Seah of Rouge Artists
  • > Grooming by Mary Klimek of Rouge Artists

On a sunny May afternoon, Will Yun Lee stands on a four-foot-tall concrete barricade alongside a strip mall parking lot. Clad in an all-black blazer and jeans ensemble, he carefully swings one foot in front of the other as the photographer follows his steps from the sidewalk, snapping the first shots of the day.

“Only for KoreAm would you put your life in danger,” Will says, holding his arms out for balance. With his hair tied back into his signature low-ponytail, he plants his feet apart, furrows his brow and gazes intensely into the camera. Two middle-aged women walk by and stare.

When the photographer signals a break, Will leaps to the ground, landing sneakers-first onto the pavement.

“OK, we’re done,” he declares. “Let’s go get some soju.”

Koreatown, Los Angeles. It’s a familiar playground for the 32-year-old actor. He suggested the backdrop for the daylong photo shoot and our editors enthusiastically agreed. There’s something about the raw, urban district that screams Will Yun Lee. Walking toward the nighttime hotspot Café Bleu for an outfit change, past a Korean video store and a shop serving big bowls of jampbong, the man seems at home.

Inside the air-conditioned lounge, Will jokes that he should jump behind the vacated bar and pour a round of drinks. He leans over the sleek bar top and takes a peek at the inventory.

“I have many interesting memories here at Café Bleu,” he says with a sly smile. “Too many.”

When the reporter asks him to dish some stories, he laughs and tugs at her notebook: “Hey, WHAT ARE YOU WRITING?”

Playful and disarmingly funny, Will is at a rest stop on his dizzying Hollywood journey. On Sept. 26, TV audiences will watch him in action with the premiere of his NBC series “Bionic Woman,” a dark reinvention of the ‘70s sci-fi drama. The show is about a woman named Jaime (Michelle Ryan), who receives bionic body parts after a near-fatal car accident. Will plays Jae, the specialized operations leader of the bionics team, who trains Jaime how to control her new superhuman powers and use them to execute top secret, spy-style missions.

While the show has already generated major pre-season buzz — due in part to the controversial casting of Isaiah Washington, who was fired from “Grey’s Anatomy” after dropping an anti-gay slur — Will speaks about the series with careful optimism. “We’ll see if we can last more than six episodes,” he says calmly. “Whenever you do a pilot, you have to be pretty reserved about it. You can’t be too emotionally attached.

“But,” he adds. “I’m pretty amazed at how good it is.”

For the moment, Will doesn’t seem to be feeling any pressure. Sitting in the passenger’s seat on the van ride to the next photo spot, he looks behind him to chat with the three female crewmembers squeezed in the back. With his view obstructed by a large silkscreen the photographer propped up in front of them, Will instead conducts his own version of “The Dating Game.”

“Bachelorette No. 2,” he begins. “What’s more important? The size of a man’s wallet or the size of his … you know … heart?”

The girls roll their eyes and chuckle.

On his long road to stardom, Will appears to be enjoying the journey.

***

Born in Arlington, Va., Will remembers a childhood of constant transit. His father, Song Won Lee, was a taekwondo grandmaster and moved from city to city, opening training studios across the nation. When times were rough, Will was sent to live with various family members. From Hawaii to the Bronx, he attended more than 20 different schools.

While Will says the experience of moving around so often was difficult as he was very shy, he looks back at his youth with fondness.

“I always saw it as a blessing because I got to see so many things and adapt to so many different environments,” Will recalls.

Will became an avid martial artist himself and eventually earned a spot on the University of California, Berkeley taekwondo team. In his spare time, he volunteered with at-risk youth, with his sights set on becoming a criminal justice lawyer.

But his career path took a drastic shift after a friend, a screenwriter, sat down with him to discuss a possible career in acting. Throughout college, Will wondered what it would be like to become an actor, but never pursued his curiosity.

“He had me ask myself what I would feel like 10 years from now if I never at least tried,” Will says.

At that moment, he decided to give it a shot. He scored a small guest spot on the ‘90s TV show “Nash Bridges,” which was filming in the Bay Area. He only had about five lines, but fell in love with the environment.

“I couldn’t believe I had my own trailer and I got to do a scene opposite Don Johnson,” he says.

After finishing his degree in political science, he decided to pack up and move to L.A. to test his luck in the business. Friends and family members tried to stop him, telling him he was crazy.

“I guess I was a little bit naïve,” Will says. “But I’ve always been a little rebellious. I never wanted to be down the middle. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and ears and just do it.”

His first years in Hollywood were rough. He worked the graveyard shift at a bank, while auditioning for roles during the day. He started taking acting classes, but felt frustrated when he wasn’t quite “getting it.”

“I was looking for a set of rules to follow, like in martial arts,” he says. “At that time, I didn’t realize that coloring outside of the lines produces the best work.”

Eventually, things started happening. Easily typecast as the fierce-looking Asian bad guy in a ponytail, Will rode a steady stream of TV and film work. In 2000, he appeared in the made-for-TV action flick “The Disciples” and the dysfunctional-family drama “What’s Cooking?” He then went on to land roles on the TNT supernatural series “Witchblade,” the biker film “Torque,” alongside Ice Cube and Christina Milian, the comic book movie “Elektra” and FX’s short-lived “Thief” — all resume-boosters, but none of which catapulted him into mainstream stardom.

“I haven’t had those big box office tickets,” he says matter-of-factly. “I want to play more characters that aren’t just running from superheroes and saving the world.”

Lately, Will says the roles he’s been auditioning for have been meatier, which he believes is partly due to the shifting attitudes in Hollywood. He spoke out about the changes in the industry in the 2006 documentary “The Slanted Screen,” which explores the portrayal of Asian men in American cinema. He says he feels lucky to be working as an actor at such an exciting time.

“I used to only get a shot for ‘the Asian guy,’” he says. “But now I can be in a room where there are 12 different guys, all different colors and sizes, trying out for the same role. Networks are becoming really open to different races, which is really inspiring.”

Last year, Will had a role in HBO’s “Tsunami: The Aftermath,” a two-part miniseries exploring the devastation along the coast of Thailand. Filming took place in Phuket and Khao Lak, two of the worst hit areas in the country.

“A lot of things haven’t been fixed yet,” he says. “The imagery was really tough to handle.”

Will also has a starring role in the indie action flick “6th and Santa Fe,” which will be screened at Sundance in January. He plays a guy that pulls off a diamond heist with his two best friends.

Will believes that his own hesitations may have prevented him from expanding his niche. Asked whether he feels he is breaking racial stereotypes, he’s quick to praise the work of more recognizable Korean American actors such as Daniel Dae Kim and John Cho. He says he’d love to star in a romantic comedy, but doesn’t know if he’s ready.

“If I think there’s someone better out there for the part, I’ll pass on the audition,” he says. “I’m not as willing to fall on my face. If I don’t feel like doing it, I’ll make some excuse as to why I can’t go in.”

In a reflective tone, he adds, “I definitely have a long way to go.”

***

In the opening scene of the “Bionic Woman” pilot episode, Will’s on-screen love interest, played by Katee Sackhoff, undergoes a bionic procedure meant to amp up her physical abilities. Instead, her body is taken over by evil as she bursts into a sudden killing rampage. With no other choice, Will turns his gun on his lover and heroically pulls the trigger.

It doesn’t take much effort to see Will as a romantic lead, a rare role for any Asian American male actor. Just about every online bio gives a nod to his 2002 achievement of being voted one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful.” Internet message boards hail his broad sex appeal.

Still, Will shyly shrugs off references to his rising heartthrob status, re-directing the focus to his acting. On the “Bionic Woman” set in Vancouver, he’s constantly thinking of ways to give his character depth and dimension. His directors and co-stars say he’s a standout performer.

“Will takes a very precise approach to his scenes and makes his character come to life,” says David Barrett, who directed the second episode. “He’s driven by his research and homework and comes in with a very clear point of view.”

The production team originally planned to bring in a stunt double, but soon realized they didn’t need one when they witnessed Will’s martial arts skills. Barrett says he had to shoot some of Will’s scenes in slow motion because he moved so fast.

Michelle Ryan describes Will as a “dream” to work with: “He has a real presence on screen, a subtle, beautiful energy. Off-screen, he’s such a nice person. He always loans things that he finds interesting, like DVDs of martial arts movies.”

Will is simply grateful for the opportunity. “Vancouver has been amazing,” he says. “The cast, the producers, the storyline — just having the chance to be part of the action is great. I’ve been really lucky this past year.”

With his hands in his pockets, Will stares straight ahead as the photographer snaps from various angles. In the middle of the shoot, two girls walk by, do a double take and ask if he is Will Yun Lee. When he answers yes, they giddily ask for his autograph.

“Sure,” he says. “What are your names?”

Looks like Will may be further along on this journey than he thought.

***

During a quick break at Café Bleu, Will sinks into a plush booth. In between brief moments with his Blackberry, he chats casually about his younger brother, who recently graduated from college, his pad in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and his newfound knack for barbecuing.

“I just love being home,” he says. “I moved around a lot, so this is the first place where I’ve had stability.”

While he enjoys frequenting his regular haunts in K-town, Will says he’s pretty detached from the L.A. party scene. When he’s not working, he’s usually practicing taekwondo (he makes it to the gym three times a week), playing with his Boston terrier, Rusty, or hanging out with his girlfriend, whom he declines to name. (“She’s an actress,” he confesses. “I like to keep it mysterious.”)

Actress Moon Bloodgood, who met Will through a friend a year and a half ago, says Will can be both shy and “a total goofball.” She says Will was the one who first connected her with the Korean American community.

“He’s very proud of his father and very proud to be Korean,” Bloodgood says. “He’s also really smart and focused and takes his work very seriously.”

Will maintains a close relationship with his parents, who have become very supportive of his acting career. He says they’ve kept all his magazine and newspaper clippings to share with every visitor who walks through their door.

“Our phone conversations haven’t changed since I went to college,” Will says. “It’s always, ‘What did you eat?’ ‘Don’t get sick.’ ‘When are you coming home?’”

His plan is simply to keep doing what he’s been doing. Whether or not “Bionic Woman” becomes a big hit and regardless of where his career takes him thereafter, Will is confident that he is heading in the right direction.

“It’s fun,” Will says. “I’ve been doing this since 1999 and I’m still amazed that I get to be a kid and be stupid and silly and all that. I’m still so excited to do what I do.”

Wearing a simple black T-shirt, Will stands in a rundown parking lot just across the street from where the photo shoot started. For the final shots of the day, the photographer asks Will to slip off his hair tie. He does so and then tousles his wavy locks over his eyes, creating a boyish moppy ‘do. It’s a startling sight for those who only know him as the fierce-looking Asian bad guy in a ponytail. With his sudden transformation, he seems like such a malleable figure, one that could be easily shaped into anything the script calls for — perhaps even a star.

Featuring Recent Posts Wordpress Widget development by YD