Daniel Dae Kim

Daniel Dae Kim<ref name="tvg">Template:Cite web</ref> (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in network television and theater. In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

On television, he portrayed Jin-Soo Kwon in the ABC sci-fi action series Lost (2004–2010) and Chin Ho Kelly in the CBS police procedural Hawaii Five-0 (2010–2017). He has also taken recurring roles in Angel, Star Trek: Enterprise, ER, and 24. On film, he has taken roles in Hellboy (2019), Always Be My Maybe (2019), Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), and Joy Ride (2023). He also played Jack Kang in two of the Divergent films: Insurgent (2015), and Allegiant (2016). He runs production company 3AD, which produced the television series The Good Doctor.

On stage, he starred in the revival of David Henry Hwang's play Yellow Face (2024) for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He has also portrayed The King in a revival of The King and I in 2009 at Royal Albert Hall and again in Lincoln Center in 2016.

Early life and education

Kim was born on August 4, 1968, in Busan, South Korea, to mother Jung Kim and father Doo-tae Kim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He moved to the United States with his family when he was one year old and grew up in New York City, and Easton and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.<ref name="filmref">Template:Cite web</ref> 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. While attending Haverford, he spent the 1989 spring semester studying at the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He later earned an MFA from New York University's Graduate Acting Program in 1996.<ref name="tvg" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kim's film credits include a Shaolin monk in American Shaolin (1992), which enabled him to showcase his skills in taekwondo. 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).<ref name=":1" />

2004–2010: Lost and mainstream prominence

File:Dainel Dae Kim At Comic-Con.jpg

Kim at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2006

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, Kim was forced to quickly relearn the language, which he had not spoken with any great frequency since high school.<ref>"Before They Were Lost". Lost: The Complete First Season, Buena Vista Home Entertainment. September 6, 2005. Featurette, disc 7.</ref> Kim portrayed Jin-Soo until the 2010 series finale.

Throughout the show's run, Kim and 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kim was named one of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kim provided the voice of the character Johnny Gat for the Saints Row video game series, which debuted in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, Kim provided the voice for Metron in the final two episodes of Justice League Unlimited.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kim played the King of Siam in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I from June 12 to 28, 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2016, it was announced Kim would make his Broadway debut as the King of Siam in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I from May 3 – June 26, 2016, at the Lincoln Center Theatre in New York.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010–2017: Hawaii Five-0

File:KoreAm 2010-04 Cover.jpg

Kim on the cover of the April 2010 KoreAm

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, originally portrayed by Kam Fong.<ref name="hollywoodreporter.com">Template:Cite news</ref> He was the first actor to be officially cast on the show.<ref name="hollywoodreporter.com" /> That series premiered on September 20, 2010, to strong ratings and solid critical acclaim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He served as a speaker at the 2014 University of Hawaii commencement ceremony.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Kim made his directorial debut with the Hawaii Five-0 season five episode "Kuka'awale". He departed the show together with Grace Park, the female lead, in late June 2017 prior to the eighth season due to a salary dispute with CBS. They had been seeking pay equality with co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but CBS would not agree to it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first time since the reboot started that the show did not feature any Asian actors in the main cast.

Kim co-starred in The Divergent Series: Insurgent, the sequel to 2014's Divergent,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> playing Jack Kang, the leader of the Candor faction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2018–present: Producing and The Good Doctor

Template:Further 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 3AD produced the ABC television series The Good Doctor from 2017 to 2024, based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name. He was 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kim provides the voice of Chief Benja in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, which was released in March 2021.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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

Kim played the lead role in the Broadway production of Yellow Face in 2024, becoming the first Asian American actor to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Activism

Kim has voiced concerns about Asian American discrimination in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

On June 12, 1993, Kim married Mia Rhee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They have two sons who were born in 1996 and 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	American Shaolin	Gao Yun
1997	Addicted to Love	Undergrad Assistant
	Template:Sortname	Akashi
1998	No Salida	Hu-jan
1999	For Love of the Game	E.R. Doctor
2001	Looking for Bobby D	Timmy	Short
2002	Superman Must Die	Bradley
2003	Cradle 2 the Grave	Visiting Expert
	Hulk	Aide
	Ride or Die	Miyako	Video
	Sin	Lakorn
2004	Spider-Man 2	Raymond
	Crash	Park
2005	Template:Sortname	Alex Kim
2008	Template:Sortname	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)	<ref name="btva">Template:Cite web A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref>
2019	Hellboy	Ben Daimio
	Always Be My Maybe	Brandon Choi
2020	Blast Beat	Dr. Michael Onitsuka	Also executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021	Raya and the Last Dragon	Benja (voice)	<ref name="btva" />
	Stowaway	David Kim	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	Joy Ride	Dae Han
2025	KPop Demon Hunters	Healer Han (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992–1993	Unsolved Mysteries	Su-Ya's Brother-In-Law	2 episodes
1994	Law & Order	Harry Watanabe	Episode: "Golden Years"
	All-American Girl	Stan	Episode: "Ratting on Ruthie"
1995	All My Children	Dr. Kim	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	Template:Sortname	Lenny Duc	Episode: "Collateral Damage"
	Seinfeld	Student No. 1	Episode: "The Burning"
	Brave New World	Ingram	Television film
	Template:Sortname	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"
	Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For	Everett Jang	Television film
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
	Momentum	Agent Frears	Television film
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"
	Template:Sortname	Thomas Choi	Episode: "Riceburner"
2004–2010	Lost	Jin-Soo Kwon	Main cast
2006	Avatar: The Last Airbender	General Fong (voice)	Episode: "The Avatar State"<ref name=":avatarvoice">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Justice League Unlimited	Metron (voice)	2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
2007	AZN Asian Excellence Awards	Himself/Host	Main host
2007–2008	Lost: Missing Pieces	Jin-Soo Kwon	Recurring cast
2008	Template:Sortname	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"<ref name="btva" />
2012	Iron Chef America	Himself	Episode: "Military Grill Battle: Big Eye Tuna"
	NCIS: Los Angeles	Chin Ho Kelly	Episode: "Touch of Death"
2012–2014	Template:Sortname	Hiroshi Sato (voice)	Recurring cast: season 1 & 4<ref name="btva" /><ref name=":avatarvoice" />
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"<ref name="btva" />
2017	Big Pacific	Himself/Narrator	Recurring narrator
	MacGyver	Chin Ho Kelly	Episode: "Flashlight"
2019	Drop the Mic	Himself	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<ref name="btva" />
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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Premise	Daniel Jung	Episode: "Butt Plug"
	The Hot Zone	Matthew Ryker	Main cast: season 2<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	Roar	Harry	Episode: "The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf"
2022–2023	Pantheon	David Kim (voice)	Main cast<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.	Max Lee	Episode: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Doctor"
	Star Wars: Visions	Bichan (voice)	Episode: "Journey to the Dark Head"<ref name="btva" />
	Mech Cadets	General Aiden Park (voice)	Main cast<ref name="btva" />
2024–present	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Fire Lord Ozai	Main cast<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	Butterfly	David Jung	Also executive producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
1991	Romeo and Juliet	Paris	New Victory Theater	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1991	A Doll's House	Torvald	Pan Asian Repertory Theatre	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1995	School for Wives	Horace	Vineyard 26th Street Theatre	<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
1996	The Chang Fragments	Bruce	Joseph Papp Public Theater	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2000	Golden Child	Eng Tien-Bin	David Henry Hwang Theater	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2002	The Tempest	Prospero	David Henry Hwang Theater	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005	Ivanov	Dr. Lvov	Bernie West Theatre/Baruch Performing Arts Center	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" />
2009	The King and I	The King	Royal Albert Hall	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	The King and I	The King	Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center Theater	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	Belly of the Beast	Alex	New York Theatre Workshop	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	Peter Pan Goes Wrong	Francis	Ahmanson Theatre/Ethel Barrymore Theatre	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	Yellow Face	David Henry Hwang (DHH)	Todd Haimes Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Video games

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

Podcasts

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2022	The Prophecy	Jonah Wang	Main cast
2024	Yellow Face	David Henry Hwang (DHH)	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Documentary

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Linsanity	Narrator	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2016	Finding Kukan	Rey Scott (voice)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2006	12th Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Lost	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Asian Excellence Awards	Outstanding Television Actor		Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Multicultural Prism Award	Outstanding Performance by an Actor		Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Vanguard Award from Korean American Coalition	Outstanding Performance by an Actor		Template:Won
2009	KoreAm Achievement Award	Achievement Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won	<ref name=":1" />
2011	2011 Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor – Action	Hawaii Five-0	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2012	2012 Teen Choice Awards			Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Broadway Beacon Awards	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	The King and I	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Theater Legacy Award from New York's Pan Asian Repertory Theater			Template:Won	<ref name=":1" />
2017	Asian Hall of Fame	National recognition for Asian American contributions in various disciplines	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	ArtsQuest Linny Award	Pinnacle of the Arts Award	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	Tony Awards	Best Leading Actor in a Play	Yellow Face	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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