Daniel Dae Kim facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniel Dae Kim
Kim in 2021
Born	Kim Dae-hyun (1968-08-04) August 4, 1968 (age 56) Busan, South Korea
Nationality	American
Education	Haverford College (BA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Mia Rhee ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	2
Korean name
Hangul	김대현
Hanja	金大鉉
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

Television

Video Games

Podcasts

Documentary

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Dae Kim para niños