Kevin Lee (born 19 February 1981[1]) is an English actor, who has played roles in Chinese films directed by Jackie Chan, Zhang Yimou, and Wu Jing. Lee typically plays western villains and has played leading roles in recent films directed by Wu.

Early life

Kevin Lee was born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. As a child, he loved watching Chinese martial arts films, including films starring Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li.[2][3]

He gained a degree in IT, but decided to study Chinese martial arts in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province, China, before moving back to the UK. After working as a salesman[4] and financial consultant[2] in the UK, he trained as an actor before moving back to China in 2010.[4]

Film career

Lee says that he met director Wu Jing while renewing his work visa at the Public Security Bureau in the Chinese capital of Beijing. He went on to star in Wu Jing's Wolf Warrior (2015), the first in the Chinese patriotic Wolf Warrior franchise, and featured in the Stanley Tong film Kung Fu Yoga (2016), starring Jackie Chan, and the Zhang Chong film Super Me (2019). He is best known for playing the American colonel Allan Maclean in The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021).[4] He was cast in the Zhang Yimou movie Sniper (2022).[5]

References

  1. ↑ "凯文·李" [Kevin Lee]. www.maoyan.com (in Chinese). Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 Lee, Kevin (26 January 2022). "China's go-to English bad guy Kevin Lee: 'I'm happy to play a villain'". The Guardian (Interview). Interviewed by Phil Hoad. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "The British actor who makes a living getting his 'ass kicked' as the bad guy in Chinese movies". inews.co.uk. 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  4. 1 2 3 Tsoi, Grace; Wang, Yitsing (30 March 2022). "Kevin Lee: The Briton who plays the bad guy in China's patriotic movies". BBC News. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ↑ sinocinema (13 February 2022). "Review: Snipers (2022) | Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》". Retrieved 2022-04-01.
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