Danny Lee is an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-award-winning

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, producer, and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His work is known for capturing culture and the human condition with a focus on authenticity and emotion. Lee received critical acclaim for his film ''Who is Stan Smith?'' (2024).

Early life

The son of Korean immigrants, Lee grew up in the

Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which displa ...

area in Los Angeles. At the age of 10, Lee started making films with his family’s Hi-8 camera. As a teenager, Lee gravitated towards and participated in a variety of subcultures, including skateboarding, graffiti art, and hip-hop. Lee regularly attended the

Project Blowed Project Blowed is an open-mic workshop, its affiliated underground hip hop crew and record label based in Los Angeles, California at 3333 Leimert. This hip hop function started in 1994 and features many music groups, emcees, dancers, music pro ...

open mic events in Leimert Park, CA and eventually formed his own hip-hop music collective called Six Cents. Lee began his career with

Lionsgate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Founded by ...

Career

Lee has directed and produced a variety of work including documentaries, scripted films, and commercials. He is most well known for directing the feature documentary ''Who Is Stan Smith?,'' which explores the story behind tennis and fashion icon

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz t ...

. The film was released theatrically in over 70 markets across the United States, and was executive produced by

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

and

Maverick Carter Maverick Carter is an American sports marketing businessman and executive who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of SpringHill Company, Uninterrupted, and the Robot Company, all part of the holding company LRMR Ventures, which he co-founded wi ...

's Uninterrupted. Lee is also known for the award-winning ''

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series und ...

'' documentary ''Friedman’s Shoes'' for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, about the storied shoe store in Atlanta, featuring Shaquille O'Neal. In 2005, Lee released his directorial debut at the

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

with ''Rock Fresh'', a candid documentary about graffiti artists taking their subversive art mainstream. Lee's success with ''Rock Fresh'' led him to create CALICO, a production studio based in Los Angeles. In 2010, Lee created, wrote and directed ''The Clinic'', a

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

comedy series about a marijuana dispensary. Lee also directed ''Road To Brooklyn'', a documentary series executive produced by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, which chronicled the story of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

relocating from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

; the series was a 2013

Webby Awards The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

honoree. Lee was a 2014 Webby Awards Honoree again in 2014 for his film ''Roll on Rockaway''. He directed the documentaries ''Midnight in Juarez'' and ''Skate or Die'', the latter of which was inducted into the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. Lee also directed the Nissan-branded

series ''With Dad'' featuring Clay Matthews Jr., which won the 2015 Cynopsis Best Branded Web Series award. His television series ''After The Raves'' documents the history of dance music with

Tommie Sunshine Tommie Sunshine (born Thomas Lorello; March 26, 1971) is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternativ ...

, and is available for streaming on

Red Bull TV Red Bull TV is an online television channel owned by Red Bull GmbH. Programming content focuses on live events and shows related to sports, music, lifestyle, and culture. The channel runs long-format original programming series. Series include ' ...

. In 2018, Lee directed and produced ''Public Disturbance'' for

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

. The feature comedy stars

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

Skyler Samuels Skyler Samuels (born ) is an American actress, known for her roles in the television series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', ''The Gates'', ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'', ''Scream Queens'' and '' The Gifted''. Early life Samuels was born in Los ...

Amber Stevens West Amber Dawn Stevens West (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard in the ABC Family series ''Greek'' (2007–2011)'','' Maxine in the NBC sitcom ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017), and Claire Davis in t ...

Bobby Lee Robert Young Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends (podcast), ''Bad Friends'' with Andrew Santino and ''TigerBelly'' with Khalyla Kuhn. From 2001 to 2009, ...

, and

Dillon Francis Dillon Hart Francis (born October 5, 1987), also known as DJ Hanzel, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He played a key role in popularizing moombahton and later developed its heavier variants, moombahcore and EDM trap. Earl ...

. In 2020, Lee partnered with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

to direct and produce ''The Story of Air Max: 90 to 2090'', a 24-minute documentary celebrating the history of the iconic sneaker. Later that year, Lee continued his collaboration with Nike on ''The Story of Dunk'', a six-part series tracing the story of the iconic

Nike Dunk Nike Dunk is a line of shoes released by Nike, Inc., Nike in 1985. Originally released as a basketball shoe, the popularity of the shoe among the skating community also led to the creation of a variant used for skateboarding. The shoe is offered ...

. That same year, Lee directed and produced a pair of documentaries for

, including one on transgender actress/model/activist Dominique Jackson, and another on former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

center

Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, where he wa ...

, who made history in 2013 by becoming the first active openly gay player in any of the " Big Four" sports leagues in the United States. In 2024, Lee partnered with actor

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for wh ...

(''The West Wing'') and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

to direct and produce ''The Express Way with Dulé Hill'', a docuseries which follows Hill as he explores the transformative power of the arts. Each episode offers a glimpse into the lives of American artists using their craft to catalyze change. The "

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

" episode, for example, introduces Amythyst Kiah, whose song “Black Myself” was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for

Best American Roots Song The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the American Roots Music ...

in 2020. as well as Doug Naselroad, a

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

based in

Hindman, Kentucky Hindman ()Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''p. 141. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 30 July 2013. is a home rule-class town in, and the county seat of, Knott County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population ...

who teaches individuals on the road to recovery from opioid addiction how to make stringed instruments using authentic Appalachian hardwood. Lee was featured in Paper Magazine's 20th Anniversary Beautiful People issue in March 2007. In 2008, the Filmmakers Lab within the

Korean Film Council The Korean Film Council (KOFIC; ) is a state-supported, self-administered organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (South Korea), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea. History KOFIC was la ...

named Lee the recipient of the Best Project Award, along with a cash grant for his feature film script, Winter War.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Danny Living people American film directors of Korean descent Film directors from Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people)