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Brian Tee
Brian Tee 2011 (cropped).jpg
Tee in April 2011
Born
Jae-Beom Takata
高田 ジェボム

(1977-03-15) March 15, 1977 (age 48)
Okinawa, Japan
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
Occupation Actor
Years active 2000–present
Spouse(s) Mirelly Taylor
Children 1

Brian Tee, whose birth name is Jae-Beom Takata (born March 15, 1977), is an American actor. He was born in Okinawa, Japan. When he was only two years old, he moved to California. Brian went to the University of California and began his acting career in television.

His first TV role was in 2000 on the show The Pretender. He also appeared in popular series like Entourage and Grey's Anatomy. He had a regular role on Zoey 101. In 2015, Brian Tee joined the cast of the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as Dr. Ethan Choi.

In movies, Brian Tee played the bad guy D.K. (Drift King) in the action film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). He also appeared in big movies like The Wolverine (2013) and Jurassic World (2015). You might also know him as Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016). In 2013, he played Liu Kang in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Early Life and School

Brian Tee was born as Jae-Beom Takata in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. His father was Japanese-American, and his mother was from South Korea. His mother worked as a reporter in Japan.

When Brian was two years old, his family moved to Hacienda Heights, California. He grew up in Southern California. He went to Glen A. Wilson High School. There, he was the student body president and captain of the football team.

Brian Tee later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a degree in theater and performing arts. After college, he chose the stage name Brian Tee. He did this because a director once told him his Japanese last name might be a problem for a role.

Acting Career Highlights

Brian Tee has had many interesting roles throughout his career.

He played Kazu, who owned Sushi Rox, on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101. He was also Eddie Choi in the TV series Crash. You might have seen him as Akira Kimura on Grimm or Takeda on Burn Notice. He also appeared in an episode of Bones.

Brian Tee was in the music video "Dance Like Michael Jackson" by the group Far East Movement.

One of his most famous roles was as "D.K." Takashi "Drift King" in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). This was the third movie in the Fast & Furious series.

In 2013, Brian Tee played Liu Kang in the YouTube series Mortal Kombat Legacy.

He co-starred in the 2015 film Jurassic World. In this movie, he played Hamada, a high-ranking commander. Hamada worked for the Asset Containment Unit (ACU), which handled the dinosaurs.

Brian Tee played Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016). This was the sequel to the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

On July 20, 2015, Brian Tee joined the cast of the NBC medical drama Chicago Med. He played Dr. Ethan Choi. He had also appeared on a related show, Chicago P.D., in 2015. In October 2022, it was announced that Brian Tee would leave Chicago Med after eight seasons.

In March 2024, Brian Tee was cast as a regular character for the third season of Reacher. This show is expected to come out in February 2025.

Personal Life

Besides English, Brian Tee speaks Japanese very well. He also knows some Korean. He is married to actress Mirelly Taylor. They have one daughter, who was born in 2015.

Filmography

Film Roles

Year Title Role
2000 What Planet Are You From? Alien
2002 We Were Soldiers PFC. Jimmy Nakayama
Austin Powers in Goldmember Japanese Pedestrian
2004 Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation Cpl. Thom Kobe
2005 Fun with Dick and Jane Sushi Chef
2006 All In Rosenbloom Player 2
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Takashi "D.K."
2007 Finishing the Game Mac Chang
2008 The Trade Mr. Cho
2009 Deadland Jax
Chain Letter Brian Yee
Wedding Palace Jason
2013 The Wolverine Noburo Mori
2014 The Gabby Douglas Story Liang Chow
No Tears for the Dead Chaoz
2015 Jurassic World Hamada
2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Oroku Saki/The Shredder
2017 The Beautiful Ones Casper
TBA Untitled Kathryn Bigelow film TBA

Television Roles

Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Pretender Male Agent Episode: "The Agent of Year Zero"
The Invisible Man Mallon Episode: "The Value of Secrets"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Intern Episode: "Family"
2001 Family Law DEA Agent Episode: "Liar's Club: Part 1"
18 Wheels of Justice Host Episode: "The Game"
The Chronicle Neo Episode: "Here There Be Dragons"
2002 Flipside Lance Episode: "Pilot"
2003 JAG North Korean Soldier Episode: "Close Quarters"
2004 Passions Young Asian Man 1 episode
Cracking Up Frat Guy #1 Episode: "Daddy's Home"
Monk James Lu Episode: "Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather"
Tiger Cruise MA2 Chan Television film
2005 Without a Trace Kirk Episode: "Transitions"
Wanted Jin-Lee Park Episode: "Rubbing One Out"
2005–2008 Zoey 101 Kazu 6 episodes
2006 The Unit Rebel Leader Episode: "200th Hour"
Entourage Fukijama's Bodyguard Episode: "What About Bob?"
2007 Grey's Anatomy Andy Meltzer 2 episodes
Pandemic Danny Miniseries
2008 Jericho Cheung Episode: "Patriots and Tyrants"
2008–2009 Crash Eddie Choi 13 episodes
2009 Lie to Me Han Yong-Dae Episode: "Love Always"
Bones Ken Nakamura Episode: "The Girl in the Mask"
Dark Blue Kang Episode: "K-Town"
2010 Sym-Bionic Titan Mike Chan (voice) Episode: "Roar of the White Dragon"
2011 Burn Notice Takeda Episode: "Bloodlines"
2012 Shake It Up Mr. Itou "Made in Japan"
2012–2013 Grimm Akira Kimura 3 episodes
2013 Hawaii Five-0 Ryu Nabushi/Hideaki Kuroda Episode: "Kupouli 'la"
2014 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Toshiro Mori Episode: "A Fractured House"
One Christmas Eve Dr. Chen TV movie
2015 Chicago P.D. Jesse Kong Episode: "The Three Gs"
Baby Daddy Tommy Kwan Episode: "It Takes a Village ..."
2015–2024 Chicago Med Dr. Ethan Choi Series regular,
Director: 2 episodes
2016–2018 Chicago Fire Recurring character
Chicago P.D.
2018 Lucifer Ben Rogers Episode: "Once Upon a Time"
2021 Star Wars: Visions Ronin (voice) Short film: The Duel: English language dub
2024 Expats Clarke Miniseries, main cast
2025 Reacher Quinn Main cast (season 3)
TBA The Scapegoat N/A Anthology series, producer

Web Series

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Mortal Kombat: Legacy Liu Kang 4 episodes

Video Games

Year Title Voice role
2008 Saints Row 2 Jyunichi

Music Videos

Year Title Artist
2006 "Conteo" Don Omar
2008 "Dance Like Michael Jackson" Far East Movement

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Brian Tee para niños

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