Biography
Who is Reggie Lee?
Early life and real name
Reggie Lee was born as Reggie Telmo Valdez on October 4, 1975, in Quezon City, the Philippines. His parents are Zenaida Telmo and Jesus Espiritu Valdez, and he grew up alongside two younger brothers named Nathan and R.V. Valdez. Although he is fluent in English, he also speaks Tagalog.
When he was five years old, his family moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area, living in places such as Parma and Strongsville. During his school years, he performed in local productions at the Greenbrier Theatre in Parma Heights and worked as an intern at the Cleveland Play House. He successfully graduated from Padua Franciscan High School in Parma.
How Reggie became famous
Although he was accepted to Harvard, Reggie decided instead to move to Los Angeles in 1992 at the age of 17 to pursue a professional acting career. Soon after arriving in California, he joined a national tour of the musical Miss Saigon. He also worked as a dancer for Prince during the MTV Video Music Awards and toured across the country with the musical Heartstrings.
He later changed his last name from Valdez to Lee, taking the new surname from his grandparents. He explained in an interview that casting directors kept calling him in for Hispanic roles, which did not match his background. He built momentum on stage, joining the original company of a Broadway revival of Carousel and winning a Drama-Logue Award for his performance in F.O.B. With the East West Players.
Career highlights
Reggie transitioned successfully to film and television work. He appeared as Lance Nguyen in the action movie The Fast and the Furious and later played Tai Huang in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. He also took on roles in major motion pictures such as Tropic Thunder and Christopher Nolan's superhero film The Dark Knight Rises.
On television, he gained widespread recognition for portraying Secret Service Special Agent Bill Kim in the drama series Prison Break. He spent several years starring as Desk Sergeant Drew Wu in the supernatural police drama Grimm and later appeared as Deputy District Attorney Thomas Choi in the legal drama series All Rise.
Birthday and age
Reggie Lee was born on October 4, 1975, which makes Reggie 51 years old today. That birthday falls under the Libra sign. Reggie shares the date with 60 other famous people.
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