# David Lee McInnis
**David Lee McInnis** (데이비드 맥기니스) is a Korean American actor born in [Green Bay, Wisconsin](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-bay-wisconsin), best known for villainous and military roles in South Korean television, notably the gang leader Agus in *Descendants of the Sun* (2016) and US Army Major Kyle Moore in *Mr. Sunshine* (2018).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) He has worked in South Korea since 1999 and is based in Seoul and Los Angeles.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/david-lee-mcinnis/umc.cpc.11yzkr7o7426zo8jr9bo9nsrl)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) |
| Heritage | Korean mother and American father of German and Irish descent[3](https://www.zaptv.com/people/23870/david-lee-mcinnis) • [4](https://entertainment.ie/person/david-lee-mcinnis/) |
| Screen debut | *The Cut Runs Deep* (1998), directed by Lee Jae-han[5](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=David_McInnis) |
| Breakthrough role | Agus, a black-market gang leader, in *Descendants of the Sun* (KBS2, 2016, 8 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) |
| Other noted roles | Major Kyle Moore in *Mr. Sunshine* (tvN, 2018, 16 episodes); Pavel in *Kill It* (OCN, 2019)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) |
| Height | 188 cm[6](https://www.readonly.wiki/w/%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%B9%84%EB%93%9C%20%EB%A7%A5%EA%B8%B0%EB%8B%88%EC%8A%A4) |
| Agency | Saram Entertainment (사람엔터테인먼트), signed 2017[7](https://v.daum.net/v/oFFeVRLyVC) |
## Background
McInnis was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Thomas Edward McInnis, an American of German and Irish lineage who served in the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war) and was deployed in South Korea, where he met McInnis's mother Diana; the couple married and moved to the United States.[3](https://www.zaptv.com/people/23870/david-lee-mcinnis) After his parents divorced he was raised between Wisconsin and Hawaii, growing up in Antigo, Wisconsin, and Honolulu.[3](https://www.zaptv.com/people/23870/david-lee-mcinnis) • [4](https://entertainment.ie/person/david-lee-mcinnis/) In a 2016 interview with *Woman Donga* he described living in Korea between the ages of two and five, speaking Korean before English, and struggling after the family moved to Wisconsin, where he was placed in special-education classes while learning English.[8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1)
## Discovery and Korean film debut
McInnis was discovered while working as a waiter at a French restaurant in New York frequented by actors and filmmakers. Lee Jae-han (이재한), then a New York University film graduate preparing his debut feature *The Cut Runs Deep*, saw him and cast him as the charismatic boss JD after an audition.[9](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=21390) In his own account, he had spent seven months in the Air Force in Hawaii before moving to New York to act, and the two-month shoot caused him to give up a place on a university basketball team.[8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1) The film's release was delayed several times before opening in December 2000.[9](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=21390)
He went on to appear in Lee Jae-han's films *A Moment to Remember* (2004) and *Typhoon* (2005), and in *Never Forever* (2007) and *The Epitaph* (2007).[5](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=David_McInnis) • [8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1) On television he played a hired soldier in *IRIS* (KBS2, 2009) and Ray in *IRIS 2* (2013), and Kageshima in *Gu Family Book* (MBC, 2013).[5](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=David_McInnis)
## Breakthrough: Descendants of the Sun
Until 2016 McInnis remained largely unrecognized in Korea; he has said that before *Descendants of the Sun* he was effectively an unknown actor eighteen years into his career.[8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1) His casting came about through a chance meeting at an art exhibition opening held by actor [Ha Jung-woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/ha-jung-woo) in downtown Los Angeles, where he ran into producer Kang Myung-chan, one of the drama's producers, who later contacted him about the role of Agus.[8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1) In the hit KBS2 drama he played Agus, a gang leader and former soldier whose actions endanger the leads played by [Song Joong-ki](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-joong-ki) and [Song Hye-kyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-hye-kyo), appearing in eight episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) • [10](https://www.imaeil.com/page/view/2018091714072141546) He has called the role the greatest achievement of his acting life.[11](https://v.daum.net/v/n3pEB0qMf7)
The role made him widely recognized in Korea and elsewhere in Asia; Thai media described him as the familiar English-speaking villain of Korean dramas.[8](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1) • [12](https://www.nationthailand.com/life/30286729) In 2017 he signed an exclusive contract with Saram Entertainment, which announced support for his global activities.[7](https://v.daum.net/v/oFFeVRLyVC)
## Later Korean and international work
In *Mr. Sunshine* (tvN, 2018) he played Major Kyle Moore, a US Army officer and comrade of Eugene Choi's character, across sixteen episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) Korean press noted that the foreign-military role was only his second such part in a [Korean drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-drama) after *Descendants of the Sun*.[10](https://www.imaeil.com/page/view/2018091714072141546) His other Korean credits include Petrov, a Russian officer, in *Man to Man* (JTBC-Netflix, 2017), Robert Winston in *Argon* (2017), Father Nicholas in *Joseon Exorcist* (2021), President Billy Park in *Samjin Company English Class* (2020), Dmitry in *Mr. Zoo: The Missing VIP* (2020), and Iron Fist in *The Rookies* (2019).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/) • [5](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=David_McInnis)
He has also worked in American television, with guest roles including *Hawaii Five-0* (two 2011 episodes), *The Boys* (2019, as a shot security guard), *Station Eleven* (2021, as a hooded man), and *Star Trek: Strange New Worlds* (2022, as Rex).[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/david-lee-mcinnis/umc.cpc.11yzkr7o7426zo8jr9bo9nsrl) • [13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/david-macinnis/) He has also appeared in advertising in Korea, including campaigns for [Ford Explorer](https://www.edgepedia.org/ford-explorer) and Samsung.[14](https://www.ford.co.kr/content/dam/Ford/website-assets/ap/kr/MyFord%20Magazine/pdf/05_myFord_2017.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/)
## Name confusion
A separate actor and stunt performer named **David MacInnis**, born in 1978 and active in Canadian and American productions such as *Reacher*, *[Nobody 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/nobody-2)*, and *40 Acres*, has a similar name and is listed under a different IMDb entry.[15](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1382520/) Some databases conflate the two: the [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) page for David Lee McInnis lists credits such as *Mortal Kombat: Legacy* and *Seoul Searching* alongside titles associated with the other actor's record.[16](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-lee-mcinnis/credits/3000444580/) In Korean usage his name is conventionally written 맥기니스 (McInnis read as "McGinnis") rather than the standard transliteration 매키니스.[6](https://www.readonly.wiki/w/%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%B9%84%EB%93%9C%20%EB%A7%A5%EA%B8%B0%EB%8B%88%EC%8A%A4)
## References
1. [David Lee McInnis, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570598/)
2. [David Lee McInnis, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/david-lee-mcinnis/umc.cpc.11yzkr7o7426zo8jr9bo9nsrl)
3. [David Lee McInnis biography, ZapTV](https://www.zaptv.com/people/23870/david-lee-mcinnis)
4. [David Lee McInnis, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/david-lee-mcinnis/)
5. [David McInnis profile, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=David_McInnis)
6. [데이비드 맥기니스, 읽기전용위키](https://www.readonly.wiki/w/%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%B9%84%EB%93%9C%20%EB%A7%A5%EA%B8%B0%EB%8B%88%EC%8A%A4)
7. [데이비드 맥기니스, 사람엔터와 전속계약, Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/oFFeVRLyVC)
8. [David McInnis 인터뷰, 여성동아 (2016)](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/534885/1)
9. [데이비드 맥기니스 프로필, 씨네21](https://cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=21390)
10. [미스터 션샤인 카일 소령 역 데이비드 맥기니스, 매일신문 (2018)](https://www.imaeil.com/page/view/2018091714072141546)
11. [데이비드 맥기니스 인터뷰, Daum (2017)](https://v.daum.net/v/n3pEB0qMf7)
12. [Thais Know David Lee McInnis, The Nation Thailand](https://www.nationthailand.com/life/30286729)
13. [David MacInnis, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/david-macinnis/)
14. [myFord Magazine May 2017, Ford Korea](https://www.ford.co.kr/content/dam/Ford/website-assets/ap/kr/MyFord%20Magazine/pdf/05_myFord_2017.pdf)
15. [David MacInnis, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1382520/)
16. [David Lee McInnis credits, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/david-lee-mcinnis/credits/3000444580/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › South Korean actors, 2000s onward › Surnames M to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license