Who is Rick Yune? Fast and Furious, James Bond star, martial artist introduced as new villain in Mohanlal's L2 Empuraan

Actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran’s third directorial, the Mohanlal-starrer L2 Empuraan, was released in theatres this Thursday. And while he introduced all the characters inhabiting the world of Lucifer ahead of the film’s release, one mysterious poster created intrigue. Meet Rick Yune – American actor, martial arts expert, Bond villain and the new antagonist introduced while setting the stage for L3 The Beginning. (Also Read: L2 Empuraan review: Mohanlal channels Rajinikanth, Prithviraj goes mass; Mollywood loses its identity in a garbled mess)

Who is Rick Yune?

Born in 1971 in Washington, DC, Rick is an American actor of Korean descent. He has a degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School; he even worked as an intern at Wall Street in the early 1990s. However, he was soon ‘discovered’ by a modelling agent and became the first Asian-American to appear in campaigns for Versace and Ralph Lauren's Polo. While he practices numerous martial arts, he’s an expert in Taekwondo and boxing.

In 1999, he debuted in Snow Falling on Cedars as a Japanese-American war hero accused of killing a respected fisherman. But it’s his roles as Johnny Tran, a Vietnamese gang leader, in the 2001 film The Fast and The Furious and as Zao, a North Korean terrorist, in the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, that got him recognition. Since then, Rick has acted in films like Ninja Assassin and Olympus Has Fallen, apart from shows like Marco Polo and Prison Break.

His brother Karl Yune (Memoirs of a Geisha) is also an actor. Rick is also a board member of the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation, an NGO batting for ethical values in business and politics.

About L2 Empuraan and L3 The Beginning

L2 Empuraan is the sequel to Prithviraj’s 2019 Malayalam hit Lucifer, which introduced Mohanlal as the mysterious Stephen Nedumpally, aka Khureshi Ab’raam. Empuraan takes the story forward and brings back Manju Warrier and Tovino Thomas’ characters, Priyadarshini and Jathin Ramdas.

The film ends by setting the stage for the final part in the trilogy, L3 The Beginning. It also introduces Rick’s character as the leader of the Shenlong ‘Shen’ Triad, a powerful Indo-Chinese criminal syndicate. L2 Empuraan hints Rick might have a bigger role to play in L3 The Beginning.