Daniel Dae Kim (Korean: 김대현; born Kim Dae-hyun on August 4, 1968) is a South Korean-American actor and producer. 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 series of video games. He is the producer of the television drama The Good Doctor.
Biography[]
Daniel was born in Pusan, Korea but raised in New York and Pennsylvania. He graduated from Haverford College, where he received a B.A. degree. However, he started to involve himself in acting and debuted on TV in 1990 with a guest role on Law & Order. He also started working on stage, appearing in productions of Romeo and Juliet and an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen classic, A Doll's House. Despite this successes, Daniel decided to perfect his craft enrolled in the Graduate Acting program at New York University, where he earned an M.F.A.
Following this, he appeared in shows like Night Man (with Al Sapienza), Beverly Hills 90210, NYPD Blue (with Jude Ciccolella), The Pretender (with Jon Gries), The Practice (with Gil Bellows), Ally McBeal (with Gil Bellows and Peter MacNicol), and Fantasy Island (with Louis Lombardi). In 1998, he landed the lead role on a series called Crusade. However, the show was cancelled after one season. He continued working in shows like Once and Again (with Christina Chang), Any Day Now (with Tracy Middendorf), Enterprise (with Roger Cross and John Billingsley), and ER (with Paul McCrane). He also had a recurring role on the show Angel (with Keith Szarabajka).
In 2004, he was cast as Korean Jin-Soo Kwon in the ABC television series Lost. In the show, he worked with fellow 24 alums like John Terry, Henry Ian Cusick, and Alan Dale, among many others. He appeared in all six seasons of the show.
Daniel can also be seen on films like Addicted to Love, The Jackal , Brave New World (with Tim Guinee), For Love of the Game, Cradle 2 the Grave, Momentum (with Michael Massee), Hulk, Sin (with Gregg Henry), Spider-Man 2 (with Vanessa Ferlito), Crash (with Karina Arroyave), The Cave (with Rick Ravanello), and The Andromeda Strain (with Ricky Schroder and Douglas O'Keeffe). From 2010 to 2017, he has played detective Chin Ho Kelly on the CBS reboot of Hawaii Five-0. After leaving the show, he has turned to producing.
His favorite food is kimchi (kim-chee).
Life & Career[]
Through the diversity of his roles on stage and screen, Daniel Dae Kim continues to expand our perceptions of the Asian-American man. In characters ranging from the King of Siam, a Shakespearean hero, a social worker for the Chicago needy, to a counter-terrorist agent, his work has consistently proven to transcend the historical barriers of race and stereotype.
Daniel's most recent work on ABC's Lost (2004), is no exception. As "Jin Soo Kwon", a Korean businessman and reluctant enforcer for his father-in-law, his character transformed from an overprotective "traditional" husband to a man who re-learns how to live and love. His portrayal of this multi-faceted character signaled a breakthrough for primetime network television, and has helped make Lost (2004) a worldwide hit since its debut in 2004.
Since then, both Daniel and the show have been widely recognized for their excellence. Sharing a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, the Korean-American actor's universal appeal was also recognized by "People" Magazine, which named him one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2005, as well as "TV Guide", which recognized him as one of "TV's Sexiest Men" in 2006. In that same year, Daniel 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. In 2009, his recognition continues with the prestigious KoreAm Journal Achievement Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment.
Born in Busan, South Korea and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Daniel discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. Though briefly considering a career as an attorney, he decided to follow his true passion and moved to New York City, where he began his work on stage. There, he performed in classics such as "Romeo and Juliet", Anton Chekhov's "Ivanov" and Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House", as well as working with an improv comedy troupe. Despite his early success, however, he decided to deepen his dedication to the craft by studying at the Graduate Acting program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Master's Degree in Fine Arts in 1996.
Upon graduation, Daniel's film career began in earnest with roles in The Jackal (1997), For Love of the Game (1999), The Hulk (2003), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and The Cave (2005), as well as the Academy Award-winner for Best Picture, Crash (2004). Most recently, he completed production on The Adjustment Bureau (2011), starring Matt Damon and directed by George Nolfi.
On television, he's guest-starred on numerous shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), ER (1994) and, for two seasons, 24 (2001) as CTU Agent "Tom Baker". In 2008, he also starred in the Emmy-nominated mini-series adaptation of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain (2008). Kim has also complemented his television work by lending his voice talents to video games, creating characters in "Saints Row" 1, 2, 3 and 4, "Scarface: The World Is Yours", "Tenchu" and "24", as well as the animated TV series' Justice League (2001) Unlimited and Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005).
On February 2010, it was reported that Kim would join the cast of Hawaii Five-0 as Chin Ho Kelly, after ABC's Lost was ended for only six seasons. On June 30, 2017, during the controversy Kim announced that he is leaving and departure Hawaii Five-0 (with Grace Park) to salary dispute with CBS, opting not to renew their contract and would not appear in season eight.
Kim also runs a film and television production company called 3AD, which is currently producing the television series The Good Doctor.
This past summer, Daniel rekindled his love for the stage by performing the role of the "King of Siam" in the iconic production, "The King and I", directed by Jeremy Sams, at London's world-renowned Royal Albert Hall.
Though he spends time in Los Angeles and New York, Daniel spends most of the year in Honolulu, where he devotes his free time to a number of different charities, his restaurant and his family.
Trivia[]
- He holds an M.F.A. from the Graduate Acting program at New York University.
- Launched a restaurant called "The Counter" in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Selected filmography[]
- Hellboy (2019)
- Allegiant (2016)
- Insurgent (2015)
- The Onion Movie (2008)
- The Cave (2005)
- Crash (2004)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- No Salida (1998)
- American Shaolin (1991)
Television appearances
- New Amsterdam (2020-present)
- The Good Doctor (2019)
- Hawaii Five-0 (2010-2017)
- MacGyver (2017)
- Once Upon a Time (2015)
- The Legend of Korra (2012-2014)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (2012)
- Lost (2004-2010)
- The Shield (2004)
- Angel (2001-2003)
- Star Trek: Voyager (2000)
- Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997)
- Law & Order (1994)
Video Games
- Agents of Mayhem (2017)
- Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (2015)
- Saints Row IV (2013)
- Apache Overdose Gangstar IV (2013)
- Saints Row: The Third (2011)
- Apache Overdose Gangstar III (2010)
- Saints Row II (2008)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Burning Earth (2007)
- Saints Row (2006)
- Scarface: The World is Yours (2006)
- Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (2003)