Philip Moon (actor)

Philip Moon
Born
(1961-11-05) November 5, 1961 (age 63)
EducationHunter College
Harvard University
OccupationActor

Philip Moon (born November 5, 1961) is an American actor of Asian descent who has appeared primarily in television. He is best known for playing Keemo Volien Abbott in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 1996, Mr. Lee in the TV series Deadwood (2005), and the thug Woo in the 1998 Coen brothers film The Big Lebowski. In 2007, he played the leading role in Allen Blumberg's drama film Ghosts of the Heartland. In 2011, he appeared in the "Dead Ringer" episode of CSI: Miami.

Education

Moon graduated from Hunter College and the Institute for Advanced Theater Training[1] at Harvard University.

Career

Moon made his screen debut in the 1988 Catlin Adams comedy Sticky Fingers. This was followed by minor roles in the TV series As the World Turns and in Peter Wang's Hong Kong crime comedy The Laser Man in which he played a soldier.[2] In 1991, he appeared in the series L. A. Law, and had minor roles in blockbuster movies such as Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) in which he played a squad member, and Batman Forever (1995) in which he played a newsreader.[3]

In 1994, Moon appeared in the PBS miniseries Tales of the City as Lionel, the father of DeDe Halycon Day's illegitimate twins. He later portrayed Keemo Volien Abbott on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1994 to 1996, which won him a Soap Opera Digest nomination for Outstanding Male Newcomer in 1995.[4] Transatlantic magazine described Moon as a 6'3", muscular "soap stud" with a "soft voice" during this stint playing Abbott.[5]

In 1997, he had a role opposite David Duchovny and Angelina Jolie in Andy Wilson's Playing God.[6] In 1998, Moon starred alongside Jeff Bridges as Woo, one of the "Treehorn Thugs" who urinates on The Dude's rug in The Big Lebowski.[7][8] He is referred to in the film by Bridges as "the Chinaman who peed on my rug",[9] in which John Goodman prompts him that he's "Asian-American". In the late 1990s and early 2000s he had a string of roles playing police officers, including the 1998 TV movie Tempting Fate, the 1998 film Love Kills, and portraying detective Steven Nimh in the series Walker, Texas Ranger opposite Chuck Norris in 2000.

In 2004, Moon had a role as Lieutenant Jim Wong in the popular series 24, followed by a stint as Lee in the series Deadwood in which he appeared in five episodes.[10] In 2007 he had a leading role in Allen Blumberg's drama film Ghosts of the Heartland opposite Michael Santoro and David Midthunder. In 2011 he appeared in the "Dead Ringer" episode of season 10 of CSI: Miami as Don Tillman.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Sticky Fingers Ike
1988 The Laser Man Soldier
1989 Longtime Companion Restaurant Bartender
1990 A Shock to the System Henry Park
1990 Cadillac Man Nightclub Selector
1992 Lethal Weapon 3 Squad Member #5
1993 The Joy Luck Club Ken
1994 S.F.W. Reporter
1995 Batman Forever Male Newscaster
1997 Playing God Casey
1998 The Big Lebowski Treehorn Thug #1
1998 Love Kills The Rookie Cop
1998 No Salida Jian
2004 Close Call David Kim
2006 The Genius Club Professor Lee
2007 88 Minutes The Prosecutor
2007 Ghosts of the Heartland Roland
2009 Company Retreat Terry Yian
2015 The Networker David Finkelstein

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Guiding Light Tanaka Episode #1.9453
1988 As the World Turns Tuan Ly Episode: "Hank Comes Out"
1991 L.A. Law A.D.A. John Stephans Episode: "Good to the Last Drop"
1991 Blood Ties Jury Foreman Television film
1992 Nightmare in the Daylight San Francisco Detective
1993 Running Delilah Technician #2
1993 Tales of the City Lionel Wong Episode #1.2
1994 Time Trax Sessue Hiroshi Episode: "Return of the Yakuza"
1994 Models Inc. John Woo Episode: "Pilot"
1994 Renegade Paul Hajimoto Episode: "Black Wind"
1994–1996 The Young and the Restless Keemo 8 episodes
1996 NYPD Blue Eddie Wong Episode: "Sorry, Wong Suspect"
1996 Babylon 5 Ashi Episode: "Dust to Dust"
1998 The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy Valois Television film
1998 Tempting Fate Police Official
1998 A Wing and a Prayer Beastmaster
2000 Walker, Texas Ranger Detective Steven Nimh Episode: "The General's Return"
2001 Passions T.V. Reporter Episode #1.388
2001 The Division Benny Chow Episode: "Absolution"
2004 24 Lieutenant Jim Wong Episode: "Day 3: 3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m."
2005 Deadwood Lee 6 episodes
2007 Numbers Munson's Trainer Episode: "Contenders"
2008 Pretty/Handsome William Wang Television film
2009 Hydra Dr. Kim
2011 CSI: Miami Don Tillman Episode: "Dead Ringer"
2015 Hawaii Five-0 Makai Akana Episode: "Mo'o 'olelo Pu"
2015 True Detective Ashley Daison Episode: "Maybe Tomorrow"

References

  1. ^ "ODD MAN IN". Chicago Tribune. 27 April 1995. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  2. ^ Milne, Jeff (20 July 2009). Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon: The Complete Guide to the Movie Trivia Game. Jeff Milne. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-615-28521-4.
  3. ^ Reinhart, Mark S. (24 November 2004). The Batman Filmography, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-7864-6891-1.
  4. ^ "Actor bios". Ghostsoftheheartland.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  5. ^ Transpacific. AsiAm Pub. 1995. p. 30.
  6. ^ Fhaner, Beth A. (1998). Magill's Cinema Annual: A Retrospective of the Films of 1997. Visible Ink Press. p. 440. ISBN 978-1-57859-056-8.
  7. ^ Rowell, Erica (30 May 2007). The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen. Scarecrow Press. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-4616-6408-6.
  8. ^ Russell, Carolyn R. (23 May 2001). The Films of Joel and Ethan Coen. McFarland. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7864-0973-0.
  9. ^ Coen, Joel; Coen, Ethan (8 January 2009). The Big Lebowski. Faber & Faber. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-571-24932-9.
  10. ^ a b "Philip Moon". Tv.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.