Lee Byung-hun

Born into a wealthy family in Seoul, South Korea, Byung-hun Lee never envisioned becoming an actor. In fact, he attended Hanyang University where he majored in French Literature. His intention was on becoming a college professor, but after one of his mother's friends suggested he try acting, Lee decided to take her up on it. He went to an open talent audition at a local Korean television station and quickly found out that he liked performing in front of an audience. Before long Lee was attending as many auditions as possible, and in 1991 landed his first starring TV role on "Asphalt My Hometown" (KBS, 1991). Although the show was short-lived, Lee continued to book TV roles throughout the 90s on shows like "Tomorrow Love" (KBS, 1992-94) and "Hae-pi Too-ge-deo" (KBS, 1999). Then in 2000 Lee appeared in the war thriller "Joint Security Area." The film was a smash hit in Korea, and made Byung-hun Lee a household name overnight. After the success of "Joint Security Area," the roles started pouring in. Over the next decade Lee appeared in several films in South Korea, including "Addicted" (2002), "A Bittersweet Life" (2005), and "Hero" (2007). However, despite his superstar status in South Korea, Lee longed for recognition in the United States. In 2009 Hollywood finally came calling. Soon after, Lee landed the role of Storm Shadow in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," thus beginning his career as an action star in America. The film was a major success, with Lee reprising his role in the 2013 sequel, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation." 2013 was also the year Lee appeared in the action-comedy sequel, "RED 2." Although Lee did not appear in the first "RED" movie, he did have the rare opportunity to work alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Bruce Willis in the sequel. "RED 2" was also a hit at the box office, thus further cementing Lee's already growing status as one of the hottest Korean action stars of the 2010s. With his career already on the rise, Lee nabbed the coveted role of T-1000 in 2015's "Terminator Genisys." That film, which was released in July 2015, gave Lee the chance to work with one of his all-time favorite action heroes, Arnold Schwarzenegger.