Leonardo Nam (born November 5, 1979) is an American[1] actor. Born in Argentina to South Korean immigrant parents, he emigrated to Australia as a child before moving to the United States in the 1990s to begin his career as an actor. He made his breakthrough as Roy in The Perfect Score (2004), and gained further recognition for his roles as Morimoto in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Brian McBrian in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008).
Leonardo Nam | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 5, 1979 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Citizenship | United States[1] |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | Michael Dodge |
| Children | 2 |
In 2016, Nam began starring as Felix Lutz in Westworld (2016–2020) which brought him widespread recognition.
Early life
editNam was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to South Korean immigrant parents. At the age of six, he moved to Sydney, Australia.[2] Nam attended Sydney Technical High School and studied architecture at the University of New South Wales.[3] Nam left Sydney to follow his dreams of an acting career in New York City, United States, at age 19.[4] He studied with several acting teachers in New York, namely Austin Pendleton and William Carden at HB Studio.[3]
Career
editBefore his Hollywood success, Nam traveled to New York City to pursue his acting career. His first few nights he slept in Central Park and then found jobs working as a waiter and bartender.[3] His breakthrough role came in his performance of Roy in The Perfect Score (2004). He had a small role in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as Brian McBrian, a hardcore gamer. He played Brian again in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; in the sequel, his character has a larger role. Nam also made an appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) as Morimoto.[5] In 2016, he joined the cast of the HBO series Westworld.[6] In 2018 he was featured in the music video "Waste It on Me" by Steve Aoki featuring BTS.[7]
Personal life
editNam is married to Michael Dodge. They have twin sons (born 2017) together. The family lives in San Diego.[8][9][10][11]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Hacks | Phuong | |
| 2004 | Debating Robert Lee | Jordan Kramer | |
| The Perfect Score | Roy | ||
| 2005 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Brian McBrian | |
| Little Athens | Kwon | ||
| 2006 | The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | Morimoto | |
| Undoing | Joon | ||
| 10 Items or Less | Kid at _target | ||
| 2007 | Finishing the Game | Eli | |
| American Pastime | Lane Nomura | ||
| 2008 | Half-Life | Scott Parker | |
| Quid Pro Quo | Engineer | ||
| Vantage Point | Kevin Cross | ||
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | Brian McBrian | ||
| 2009 | He's Just Not That Into You | Joshua | |
| Crossing Over | Kwan | ||
| 2012 | Watching TV with the Red Chinese | Chen | |
| One for the Money | John Cho | ||
| 2013 | Snake and Mongoose | Roland Leong | |
| 2014 | Murder of a Cat | Yi Kim | |
| Cat Run 2 | Zhang | ||
| 2018 | Perfect | Haskell | |
| Happy Anniversary | Hao | ||
| 2019 | DC Showcase: Death | Vincent Omata | Voice, short film |
| 2020 | Phobias | Johnny | |
| 2021 | Yes Day | Mr. Chan | |
| Marvelous and the Black Hole | Angus | ||
| 2023 | Origin | TBA | |
| 2024 | Descendants: The Rise of Red | Maddox | Disney+ Original Film |
| TBA | Love is the Monster | Justin | Filming |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Bones | Nate Grunenfelder | 1 episode |
| 2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Miyamoto Takahashi | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Franklin & Bash | Gene Toy | 1 episode |
| 2013–2014 | Betas | Michael Lau | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Royal Pains | Billy | 1 episode |
| Stalker | Howard Granger | 1 episode | |
| 2016–2020 | Westworld | Felix Lutz | Recurring role
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2016) |
| 2017 | Hawaii 5-0 | Harley Taylor | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Disjointed | Jesus Bruce Lee Christ | 1 episode |
| Corporate | Sonnet | 1 episode | |
| The Flash | Matthew Kim / Melting Point | 2 episodes | |
| 2019 | Sneaky Pete | Alexandre Park-Sun | 3 episodes |
| Prince of Peoria | Mark Yoshi Takimoto | 1 episode | |
| Historical Roasts | Bruce Lee | 1 episode | |
| Swamp Thing | Harlan Edwards | 4 episodes | |
| 2020 | MacGyver | Aubrey | 3 episodes |
| Room 104 | Bruce | 1 episode | |
| 2021 | The Rookie | Sato | 1 episode |
| Robot Chicken | Zack Martin/Chunin Exam Proctor | Voice, episode: "May Cause Lucid Murder Dreams" | |
| 2021–2022 | Pacific Rim: The Black | Rickter | Voice |
| 2022 | Maggie | Dave | 13 episodes |
| Werewolf by Night | Liorn | Disney+ television special | |
| 2023 | Star Trek: Lower Decks | Australian Street Punk | Voice, 1 episode |
| Animaniacs | Australian Prime Minister | Voice, 1 episode |
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Waste It on Me" | Steve Aoki feat. BTS | Himself | [7] |
References
edit- ^ a b "AANHPI Men for Kamala". YouTube. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "DiCaprio Who? The Other Leo". UCLA International Institute. 20 August 2004. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ a b c Pham, Jason (21 February 2017). "Leonardo Nam went from sleeping in Central Park to HBO's 'Westworld'". NBC News. NBC. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ "An interview with Leonardo Nam". IGN. 29 January 2004. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Staff, Hollywood.com (2 February 2015). "Leonardo Nam | Biography and Filmography". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Leonardo Nam went from sleeping in Central Park to HBO's 'Westworld'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Steve Aoki and BTS's "Waste It on Me" Music Video: A Guide to the All-Asian Cast". W. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ "Leonardo Nam: The 'Westworld' Star Is Poised for More "Exposure"". Out. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (23 March 2020). "Leonardo Nam on How "Westworld"—And Gay Fatherhood—Changed Him". Logo TV. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Nardino, Meredith (1 June 2020). "'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' Cast: Where Are They Now?". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Kim, Lee Ann (16 April 2020). "Someone San Diego Should Know: Leonardo Nam". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
