Don L. Lee is an American action director, stunt coordinator, fight coordinator, and second unit director. He has coordinated, performed and directed action on productions including the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 12 Strong, Netflix's Cobra Kai, and Paramount Network's Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown. He also served as the sole American in his role as action director on the Disney Hotstar war epic 1962: The War in the Hills, filmed in India.

Background

Lee was born in El Centro, California and grew up in Holtville, where he became involved in competitive martial arts from a young age. At the age of fourteen, after losing a competition, Lee approached the event's producers directly and asked why he had not won, who directed him toward stunt work in Hollywood.

Lee holds a fifth-degree black belt in Okinawan Shorin-ryu Shorinkan karate and a third-degree black belt in Kobudo, reflecting his training in traditional Okinawan martial arts and weaponry.

In 2009, Lee served as a stunt double for Jackie Chan during the production of the film The Spy Next Door and also appeared alongside Chan in a series of eight V8 commercial advertisements. Chan later hosted a dinner for him and his team in appreciation of their work, personally preparing the meal in the restaurant's kitchen.

In 2026, he was appointed a Carter Center Celebrity Adviser, an American nonprofit organization that aims to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. Lee has been invited to speak publicly on topics including film and television directing, democracy, and storytelling. In April 2026, he spoke at the Boston Global Forum's America at 250 Conference, and in May 2026, he was invited to speak at the Harvard Forum at Harvard Kennedy School.

Career

Film Lee began his career by working with actor William Zabka on The Power Within movie. Among his earliest notable credits is Elektra (2005), on which he served as a utility stunts performer and stunt double for actor Will Yun Lee, as well as training Jennifer Garner with the Sai’s. He has performed stunts roles on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).

Lee's subsequent major film credits include Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Matt Reeves's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and the military thriller 12 Strong (2018). He later reunited with Garner for the 2018 action film Peppermint, where he trained her in hand-to-hand combat, knife fighting, kickboxing, and MMA-style techniques.

Lee studied directing while working on film productions with directors including Michael Bay, J. J. Abrams, Justin Lin, and Gore Verbinski.

Television

Lee has held several stunt and coordinating roles across major television productions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He performed stunts on the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where he additionally appeared on screen as a police officer in several episodes. He served as fight choreographer on the Agent Carter episode "Valediction," as fight coordinator across multiple episodes of Inhumans, and in coordinating capacities including assistant stunt coordinator and co-stunt coordinator on the Netflix series Daredevil. He has served as the assistant stunt coordinator and stunt coordinator on Paramount Network's Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown.

In 2021, Lee spent nine months in India as the only American member of the team serving as action director for 1962: The War in the Hills, a 10 episode war epic series produced for Disney+ Hotstar.

Lee is well-known for his work on the hit Netflix show, Cobra Kai, where he served as fight coordinator and 2nd unit director on the show across seasons four, five, and six. In the 6th season, he and his team logged 13,768 individual choreography beats. The show received critical acclaim for its action and fight sequences and was one of the most popular shows on Netflix. In Cobra Kai, Lee appeared in a dream-sequence scene alongside Ralph Macchio, where he performed fight scenes with Macchio. Lee later tested Macchio successfully for his black belt.

Selected filmography

+ Don L. Lee — selected credits Year Title Role Notes 2003 Daredevil Stunt work/fight training Early collaboration with Jennifer Garner 2005 Elektra Utility stunts; stunt double (Will Yun Lee) 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Stunts 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Stunts 2013 Iron Man 3 Stunt performer MCU 2013–2016 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stunt performer; actor (Police Officer) Multiple episodes; MCU 2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction Stunts 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Stunts 2015 Agent Carter Fight choreographer "Valediction" episode 2015–2018 Daredevil Asst. stunt coordinator; co-stunt coordinator Multiple episodes; MCU 2017 Inhumans Fight coordinator Multiple episodes; MCU 2018 Peppermint Fight coordinator 2018 12 Strong Stunts 2021 1962: The War in the Hills Action director; 2nd unit director Disney Hotstar; filmed in India 2022–2024 Cobra Kai Stunt coordinator; fight choreographer Seasons 4–6; performed in Miyagi dream sequence TBD Tulsa King Stunt coordinator; 2nd unit director Paramount Network

Recognitions YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2008Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television SeriesPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2010Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Work with a VehicleG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra 2015Best High WorkTransformers: Age of Extinction 2019Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television SeriesDaredevil Taurus World Stunt AwardsBest Work with a Vehicle12 Strong

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