Phillip Rhee (born September 7, 1960) is an American martial artist, actor, director, screenwriter, and film producer, best known for his role as Tommy Lee in the 1989 American martial arts film Best of the Best, and its sequels Best of the Best 2 (1993), Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995), and Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998).[1][2][3] Rhee's 1980 representation of the United States' Taekwondo Team against the South Korean team in the championships of the Asia Games formed the basis of his screenplay for the film Best of the Best. Rhee is trained in various martial arts such as Taekwondo (where he is a 6th dan black belt), Hapkido (where he is a 3rd dan black belt), Wing Chun and Boxing.
Phillip Rhee | |
|---|---|
 Philip Rhee (left) in 2008 | |
| Born | Phillip Rhee September 7, 1960 |
| Occupation | Actor |
Life and career edit
Rhee was born in South Korea and raised in San Francisco, California.[4] He is a martial artist, actor, director and film producer who has created, produced and starred in numerous films, including the Best of the Best film series. The first Best of the Best film spawned three sequels; Best of the Best 2, Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back and Best of the Best 4: Without Warning.
Rhee's representation of the U.S. national taekwondo team against South Korea in the finals of the 1980 Asian Games formed the basis of his screenplay for the film Best of the Best.[5]
Family edit
Philip's brother Simon is also a martial artist and actor; Simon co-starred in the Best of the Best films and runs a taekwondo studio in Woodland Hills, California.[6]
Philip Rhee married his wife Amy in 1990. Their son Sean appeared in his father's 2015 film Underdog Kids and is a professional stuntman.
Filmography edit
- 1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie Klahn's Guard (segment "A Fistful of Yen")
- 1983 Firefight (short)
- 1984 Furious
- 1985 Crime Killer
- 1985 L.A. Streetfighters
- 1985 Hell Squad
- 1988 Silent Assassins
- 1989 Best of the Best — also producer and storywriter
- 1993 Best of the Best 2 — also producer
- 1995 Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back — also director and producer
- 1998 Best of the Best 4: Without Warning — also director, producer and screenwriter
- 2015 Underdog Kids — also director, producer and screenwriter
- 2017 Two Bellmen Three (short)
Personal life edit
He has advanced black belts in Taekwondo (sixth dan) and Hapkido (third dan) and trained in Wing Chun and Boxing.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Plot Defeats 'Best' Karate Sequences". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
- ^ "A BLEND OF TWO GENRES FOUND IN 'NINJA TURF'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
- ^ Inc, Active Interest Media (1 May 1994). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Zirogiannis, Marc (July 2015). "Phillip Rhee Underdog Master". Tae Kwon Do Times Magazine (July 2015): 58. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ Zirogiannis, Marc (July 2015). "Phillip Rhee Underdog Master". Tae Kwon Do Times (July 2015): 58. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ https://www.simonrheetkd.com/
- ^ Martial Arts & Action Movies: Top 100 Martial Arts Movie Stars and their Training Backgrounds (Updated!)
External links edit
- Scott Adkins interviews Phillip Rhee — The Art of Action, September 22, 2020 on YouTube
- Official page on Instagram
- Phillip Rhee at IMDb
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