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Daniel Dae Kim
Photo of DDK in 2021.jpg
Kim in 2021
Born
Kim Dae-hyun

(1968-08-04) August 4, 1968 (age 56)
Busan, South Korea
Nationality American
Education
Occupation Actor
Years active 1992–present
Spouse(s)
Mia Rhee
(m. 1993)
Children 2
Korean name
Hangul 김대현
Hanja
Revised Romanization Gim Dae-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer Kim Taehyŏn

Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in Lost, Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0, Gavin Park in Angel, and Johnny Gat in the Saints Row video game series. He also runs a production company, 3AD, which produced the television series The Good Doctor. He portrayed Ben Daimio in the superhero film Hellboy (2019) and provided the voice of Chief Benja in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).

Early life and education

Kim was born in Busan, South Korea, the son of mother Jung Kim and father Dr. Doo-tae Kim, but moved to the United States with his family when he was one year old. He grew up in New York City, Easton, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Freedom High School in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

In 1990, Kim graduated from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania with double bachelor's degrees in theater and political science. He went on to earn an MFA from New York University's Graduate Acting Program in 1996.

Career

After graduation, Kim made a name for himself playing numerous roles in a wide variety of television programs. He appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as a treasury agent as well as episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Charmed, The Shield, Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, and ER. He was a regular on the short-lived Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade and had recurring roles on Angel and 24. He also portrayed Dr. Tsi Chou in a 2008 miniseries based on the acclaimed Michael Crichton novel The Andromeda Strain.

Kim's film credits include a Shaolin monk in American Shaolin (1992), which enabled him to showcase his skills in Tae Kwon Do. Then came a small part in Spider-Man 2 (2004) as a scientist working in Doctor Octavius' laboratory, and the drama Crash (2004). He also had minor roles in films such as The Jackal (1997), For Love of the Game (1999), Hulk (2003), and The Cave (2005).

2004–2010: Lost and mainstream prominence

From 2004 to 2010, Kim served as a regular cast member on the ABC series Lost, in which he played Jin-Soo Kwon, a lowly Korean fisherman-turned-hitman who crashes onto a mysterious island with his wife, Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim). Since the role required him to speak exclusively in Korean, he said he was forced to quickly relearn the language, which he had not spoken with any great frequency since high school. He would go on to play the character up until the 2010 series finale. Throughout the show's run, he, along with his fellow cast members, received numerous accolades, including a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble. He was individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award, and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor. .....

2010–2017: Hawaii Five-0

In February 2010, shortly after Lost's conclusion, it was announced that Kim would join the CBS reboot Hawaii Five-0 as Chin Ho Kelly, the role originally made famous by actor Kam Fong. He was the first actor to be officially cast on the show. That series premiered on September 20, 2010 to strong ratings and solid critical acclaim.

In addition to acting, Kim made his directorial debut with the Hawaii Five-0 season five episode "Kuka'awale". He departed the show in late June 2017 prior to the eighth season due to a salary dispute with CBS. He had been seeking pay equality with co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but CBS would not agree to it.

Kim co-starred in The Divergent Series: Insurgent, the sequel to 2014's Divergent, playing Jack Kang, the leader of the Candor faction.

2018–present: Producing and The Good Doctor

As the founder of the film and television production company 3AD, Kim in January 2014 signed a first-look development deal with CBS Television Studios, the first of its kind with an Asian-American actor. 3AD is currently producing the ABC television series The Good Doctor, based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name. He is an executive producer on The Good Doctor and joined the show during its second season in the role of chief of surgery, Dr. Jackson Han.

In 2019, Kim played the role of Ben Daimio in the reboot film Hellboy. He replaced Ed Skrein in the role to avoid a whitewashing controversy, as the character was Asian-American in the original comics. Kim provides the voice of Chief Benja in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, which was released in March 2021.

In August and September 2023, he portrayed Francis in the Los Angeles production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

Activism

Kim has voiced concerns about Asian American discrimination in the United States. After testing positive for COVID-19, he spoke out against the xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic, stating: "Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people. ... Yes, I'm Asian. And yes, I have coronavirus. But I did not get it from China, I got it in America. In New York City. Despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don't consider the place where it's from as important as the people who are sick and dying."

Prior to the 2022 runoff election in Georgia, Kim tweeted about state laws that make it challenging for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to establish their eligibility to vote, citing VoteRiders as a resource for more information about valid voter ID.

Personal life

On June 12, 1993, Kim married Mia Rhee. They have two sons who were born in 1996 and 2002.

During production of Lost, Kim and his family split their residency between Los Angeles and Hawaii. He continued his residency in Hawaii after being cast in Hawaii Five-0.

On March 19, 2020, Kim announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. On March 30, 2020, he announced that he had recovered.

Kim is an avid collector of fine vintage watches. Some of his watches from his personal collection have been featured in some of his films.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1992 American Shaolin Gao Yun
1997 Addicted to Love Undergrad Assistant
Jackal, TheThe Jackal Akashi
NightMan Roland Yates TV movie
1998 Brave New World Ingram TV movie
No Salida Hu-jan
1999 For Love of the Game E.R. Doctor
2000 Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For Everett Jang TV movie
2001 Looking for Bobby D Timmy Short
2002 Superman Must Die Bradley
2003 Cradle 2 the Grave Visiting Expert
Momentum Agent Frears TV movie
Hulk Aide
Ride or Die Miyako Video
Sin Lakorn
2004 Spider-Man 2 Raymond
Crash Park
2005 Cave, TheThe Cave Alex Kim
2008 Onion Movie, TheThe Onion Movie Ivy Leaguer
2011 Arena Taiga Mori/White Samurai
2015 Ktown Cowboys David
The Divergent Series: Insurgent Jack Kang
2016 The Divergent Series: Allegiant Jack Kang
2018 Mirai Great-Grandfather (voice)
2019 Hellboy Ben Daimio
Always Be My Maybe Brandon Choi
2020 Blast Beat Dr. Michael Onitsuka Also executive producer
2021 Raya and the Last Dragon Benja (voice)
Stowaway David Kim
2023 Joy Ride Dae Han

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992–1993 Unsolved Mysteries Su-Ya's Brother-In-Law Episode: "Episode #5.6 & #6.5"
1994 Law & Order Harry Watanabe Episode: "Golden Years"
All-American Girl Stan Episode: "Ratting on Ruthie"
1995 All My Children Dr. Kim Episode: "Episode #1.6501"
1997 Pacific Palisades Kate's Attorney Episode: "Sweet Revenge"
Night Man Roland Yates Episode: "Pilot: Part 1"
Beverly Hills, 90210 Dr. Sturla Recurring Cast: Season 8
NYPD Blue Simon Lee Episode: "It Takes a Village"
1998 Pretender, TheThe Pretender Lenny Duc Episode: "Collateral Damage"
Seinfeld Student No. 1 Episode: "The Burning"
Practice, TheThe Practice Testifying Officer Episode: "Axe Murderer"
Ally McBeal Police Officer Episode: "The Inmates"
Fantasy Island Chip Weston Episode: "Dreams"
1999 Crusade Lt. John Matheson Main Cast
Walker, Texas Ranger Kahn Episode: "The Lynn Sisters"
2000 Star Trek: Voyager Astronaut – Gotana-Retz Episode: "Blink of an Eye"
2001 Once and Again Co-Worker #3 Episode: "Won't Someone Please Help George Bailey Tonight"
Charmed Yen Lo Episode: "Enter the Demon"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Special Agent Beckman Episode: "Ellie"
2001–2003 Angel Gavin Park Guest: Season 2, Recurring Cast: Season 3-4
2002 Any Day Now Mr. Chung Episode: "Call Him Macaroni"
2003 Street Time Vo Nguyen Episode: "Born to Kill"
Miss Match Clifford Kim Recurring Cast
2003–2004 Star Trek: Enterprise Corporal Chang Recurring Cast: Season 3
ER Ken Sung Recurring Cast: Season 10
24 Tom Baker Recurring Cast: Season 2-3
2004 Without a Trace Mark Hiroshi Episode: "Exposure"
Shield, TheThe Shield Thomas Choi Episode: "Riceburner"
2004–2010 Lost Jin-Soo Kwon Main Cast
2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender General Fong (voice) Episode: "The Avatar State"
Justice League Unlimited Metron/Chinese Man (voices) Episode: "Alive! " & "Destroyer"
2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards Himself/Host Main Host
2007–2008 Lost: Missing Pieces Jin-Soo Kwon Recurring Cast
2008 Andromeda Strain, TheThe Andromeda Strain Dr. Tsi Chou Main Cast
2009 Ace of Cakes Himself Episode: "Lost in Hawaii"
2010–2017 Hawaii Five-0 Chin Ho Kelly Main Cast: Season 1-7
2011 CBS Cares Himself Episode: "2011"
G.I. Joe: Renegades Teddy Lee (voice) Episode: "The Anomaly"
2012 Iron Chef America Himself Episode: "Military Grill Battle: Big Eye Tuna"
NCIS: Los Angeles Chin Ho Kelly Episode: "Touch of Death"
2012–2014 Legend of Korra, TheThe Legend of Korra Hiroshi Sato (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1 & 4
2013 Hollywood Game Night Himself/Panelist Episode: "The One With the Friends"
2015 Once Upon a Time Fast Food Worker (voice) Episode: "Darkness on the Edge of Town"
2017 Big Pacific Himself/Narrator Recurring Narrator
MacGyver Chin Ho Kelly Episode: "Flashlight"
2019 Drop the Mic Himself Episode: "Episode #3.2"
Family Style Himself Episode: "Family"
The Good Doctor Dr. Jackson Han Recurring Cast: Season 2; also executive producer
2019–2020 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power King Micah (voice) Guest: Season 3, Recurring Cast: Season 4-5
2020 Asian Americans Himself/Narrator Recurring Narrator
Flack Gabriel Cole Recurring Cast: Season 2
2020–2021 The Casagrandes Mr. Hong (voice) Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2
2020–2023 New Amsterdam Dr. Cassian Shin Guest: Season 2 & 5, Recurring Cast: Season 3
2021 Dramaworld Doug Main Cast: Season 2
The Premise Daniel Jung Episode: "Butt Plug"
The Hot Zone Matthew Ryker Main Cast: Season 2
2022 Roar Harry Episode: "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf"
2022–2023 Pantheon David Kim (voice) Main Cast
2023 Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. Max Lee Episode: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Doctor"
Star Wars: Visions Bichen (voice) Episode: "Journey to the Dark Head"
Mech Cadets General Aiden Park (voice) Main Cast
2024 Avatar: The Last Airbender Fire Lord Ozai Netflix series

Video Games

Year Title Role Notes
2006 24: The Game Agent Tom Baker
Saints Row Johnny Gat
Scarface: The World is Yours Mr. Lee
2007 Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth General Fong
2008 Saints Row 2 Johnny Gat
2010 Apache ... Gangstar III Mac Silver
2011 Saints Row: The Third Johnny Gat
2013 Saints Row IV
Apache ... Gangstar IV Mac Silver
2015 Saints Row: Gat out of Hell Johnny Gat
2017 Agents of Mayhem
2024 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Masataka Ebina

Podcasts

Year Title Role Notes
2022 The Prophecy Jonah Wang Main cast

Documentary

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Linsanity Narrator
2016 Finding Kukan Rey Scott (voice)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Notes
2006 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Lost Won
Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Television Actor Won
2011 2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actor – Action Hawaii Five-0 Nominated
2012 2012 Teen Choice Awards Nominated
2017 Asian Hall of Fame National recognition for Asian American contributions in various disciplines rowspan="2" style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won

See also

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