# Nathan Jung

Nathan Jung (November 29, 1946 – April 24, 2021) was an American actor and stuntman. Due to his height, he was usually cast in "heavy" or "enforcer" roles.

## Career
### Television

Jung played the character of Genghis Khan on Star Trek: The Original Series in the episode, "The Savage Curtain" (1969), an axe-wielding villain named "The Dark Rider" who fought David Carradine in the TV series Kung Fu on the episode "Arrogant Dragon" (1974), and appeared opposite Bruce Lee as a Tong Enforcer in Lee's only pure acting (and non-martial arts) role on the TV show Here Come the Brides, in the episode "Marriage, Chinese Style" (1969). Jung also played Saburyo, Helen Funai's cousin on an episode of Sanford and Son entitled "Home Sweet Home" (1974).
Jung has been on a number of other TV shows including General Hospital (as Won Chu), Starsky and Hutch (as "Itchy" in the episode "Nightlight" (1976)), M*A*S*H (as the Korean Man), The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (as Kahuna), Manimal (as Tang), Magnum P.I. (as Yaikra), The A-Team (as Chi), Falcon Crest (as Chao-Li's cousin), The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (as Cho-Lin), Hunter (as the henchman "Mongol" that goes toe-to-toe against Fred Dryer), Riptide (as Kona, Al Leong's colleague), Joe Forrester, and The New Mike Hammer.
Jung has also appeared in the TV shows Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (in two episodes - "Chi of Steel" (1995) and "Illusions of Grandeur" (1994) - as "Jzuk-Mao"), Martial Law (as the villain Wen in the Martial Law pilot episode, "Shanghai Express" (1998)), as well as Highway to Heaven (as Yoji), Burke's Law, Dear John and Tour of Duty.

### Film

Jung has acted in the films Surf Ninjas (as Leslie Nielsen's henchman, Manchu), as the henchman Bulkus in John Landis's first film, Kentucky Fried Movie (as Bulkus in the Enter the Dragon spoof segment entitled A Fistful of Yen), as The Wing Kong Hatchet Man in Big Trouble in Little China, as the Bonsai Club Manager in Showdown in Little Tokyo (speaking a line of dialogue in Japanese to stars Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee, making him one of the few actors to appear in movies or TV shows alongside both Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee), and also appeared in films such as Sam Raimi's Darkman (as the Chinese Warrior), The Shadow (as the Tibetan Kidnapper), American Yakuza (as The Big Yakuza), Beverly Hills Ninja (as the Fisherman), Corvette Summer (as the bouncer that roughs up Mark Hamill's character), Longshot (as Odd Job) and more.
Jung has also acted in Asian American independent films such as Justin Lin's Finishing The Game (as Bob, the Nazi villain that faces off against Roger Fan's Breeze Loo) in the "Fists of Fuhrer" segment that was directed by Evan Jackson Leong (Director of the film Linsanity: The Movie) and Juwan Chung's Baby (as the Restaurant Guy in a scene opposite David Huynh, who played the title character).
Jung also appears as himself, the narrator, in Timothy Tau's short documentary, Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee, where he recounts the first time he met Bruce Lee (played by Jason Yee) on the set of the TV show Here Come the Brides in 1969 and with Allen Rowe portraying a younger version of him in narrative flashbacks; the film also won a Best Original Script and Best Comedy award at the 2018 Asians on Film Festival and has screened at the 2019 Seattle Asian American Film Festival, the 2018 Taiwanese American Film Festival and the 2018 Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
Upon Jung's death on April 24, 2021, Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee was shared and his death was covered by outlets including Variety, Deadline Hollywood, SyFy Wire, The Independent (UK), The Daily Express (UK), News.com.au, The New Zealand Herald, NY Daily News, Heavy.com, Yahoo! Lifestyle, Daily Star Trek News, Comicbook.com, Outsider, AsAm News, iHorror, Giant Freakin Robot and more.

## Personal life

Jung was born in Bakersfield, California. He died in Los Angeles on April 24, 2021, at the age of 74.

## Selected filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2018 | Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee | Himself / The Narrator |
| 2013 | Jackhammer | Silky Samurai |
| 2008 | Baby | Restaurant Guy |
| 2007 | Finishing The Game | Bob |
| 1997 | Beverly Hills Ninja | Fisherman |
| 1995 | Galaxis | Real Deal Doorman |
| 1994 | Ghoulies IV | Big Inmate |
| 1994 | The Shadow | Tibetan Kidnapper |
| 1993 | American Yakuza | Big Yakuza |
| 1993 | Surf Ninjas | Manchu |
| 1993 | Army of One aka Joshua Tree | Chinese Gunman |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo | Bonsai Club Manager |
| 1990 | Darkman | Chinese Warrior |
| 1989 | Black Rain | Sato's Enforcer |
| 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | Wing Kong Hatchet Man |
| 1981 | Longshot | "Oddjob" |
| 1978 | Corvette Summer | The Bouncer |
| 1978 | Blind Rage | Henchman |
| 1977 | The Kentucky Fried Movie | Bulkus |

### Assorted TV Roles

| Year | Title | Episode | Role |
| 1998 | Martial Law | "Shanghai Express" (1998) (Pilot) | Wen |
| 1995 | Burke's Law | "Who Killed Mr. Game Show?" (1995) | Sumo Contestant |
| 1995 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | "Chi of Steel" (1995) | Jzuk-Mao |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | "Illusions of Grandeur" (1994) | Jzuk-Mao |
| 1989 | Highway to Heaven | "It's a Dog's Life" (1989) | Yoji |
| 1989 | Tour of Duty | "Lonesome Cowboy Blues" (1989) | The Bouncer |
| 1987 | The New Mike Hammer | "A Blinding Fear" (1987) | Security Guard |
| 1984 | The New Mike Hammer | "The Deadly Prey" (1984) | Man One |
| 1986 | The A-Team | "Point of No Return" (1986) | Chi |
| 1986 | Riptide | "The Frankie Kahana Show" (1986) | Kona |
| 1985 | Hunter | "Night of the Dragons" (1985) | Mongol, Lead Henchman |
| 1985 | Falcon Crest | "...And The Fall" (1985), "The Decline" (1985), "Devil's Harvest" (1985) | Chao-Li's Cousin #2 |
| 1985 | Magnum P.I. | "The Love-for-Sale Boat" (1985) | Yaikra |
| 1983 | Manimal | "Breath of the Dragon" (1983) | Tang |
| 1982 | Bring 'Em Back Alive | "Wilmer Bass and the Serengeti Kid" (1982) | Magar |
| 1981 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | "The Roller Disco Karate Kaper" (1981) | Kahuna |
| 1981 | M*A*S*H | "No Laughing Matter" (1981) | Korean Man |
| 1978 | CHiPs | "Disaster Squad" (1978) | Wrong-Way Driver |
| 1978 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | "Death Surf" (1978) | Cho-Lin |
| 1976 | Starsky and Hutch | "Nightlight" (1976) | "Itchy" |
| 1975 | Joe Forrester | "The Witness" (1975) | Henchman |
| 1974 | General Hospital | Various Episodes in 1974 | Won Chu |
| 1974 | Sanford and Son | "Home Sweet Home" (1974) | Saburyo |
| 1974 | Kung Fu | "Arrogant Dragon" (1974) | The Dark Rider (opposite David Carradine) |
| 1969 | Here Come the Brides | "Marriage, Chinese Style" (1969) | Tong Enforcer (opposite Bruce Lee) |
| 1969 | Star Trek: The Original Series | S3:E22, "The Savage Curtain" (1969) | Genghis Khan (opposite William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) |