Saturday, June 16, 2012

Fullerton College notable student Justin Lee (aka Annyong Bluth)

The following is from a series of profiles of notable Fullertonians (past and present) that I am compiling for the Fullerton College Centennial Exhibit.  To share your story, visit www.fullertoncollegecentennial.com.

Justin Lee began his acting career in 2004 as Hel-loh "Annyong" Bluth, the adopted Korean son of Lucille and George Bluth in the Fox sitcom Arrested Development, alongside such modern comic icons as Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, and Will Arnett.

Justin Lee, the middle child of three siblings, was born in Los Angeles on September 30, 1989. Lee graduated from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton in 2007. Currently Lee attends Fullerton College with an interest in both screenwriting and psychology

Since debuting on November 2, 2003, Arrested Development has earned widespread critical acclaim, including six Emmy awards and one Golden Globe and it has attracted a cult following.  In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME.

In an interview for Asians on Film.com, Lee said this about his role as adopted Korean boy: "Annyong was supposed to be cast as an 18 year old, but they liked what I did with it, so they decided to change it to me.  I was 14 at the time, but I probably looked eleven."  A recurring joke about Annyong is that his name means "Hello" in Korean, which creates confusion among many of the characters.


One of the recurring themes of the show is an ongoing rivalry between Buster and Annyong Bluth for the affections of Lucille, their mother, as shown in these clips.




Justin Lee is rumored to be reprising his role as Annyong in an upcoming film adaptation of Arrested Development.