Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on “Hawaii Five-0,” Kim was best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on ABC’s hit TV series “Lost,” for which he shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, and 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. He has been repeatedly recognized with the prestigious KoreAm Driven Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment, and has twice been named one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive.
Born in Busan, South Korea, and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Kim discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he began his career on stage, performing in classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “Ivanov” and “A Doll’s House.” Despite early success, he deepened his knowledge of the craft by enrolling at New York University’s Graduate Acting program, where he earned his master’s degree. He was also presented with an honorary degree from his alma mater.
He received a Broadway Beacon Award for his role as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony Award®-winning production of “The King and I,” as well as the Theater Legacy Award from New York’s Pan Asian Repertory Theater. Outside of his artistic endeavors, he actively pursues interests in the community at large, having served as cultural envoy and member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the United States at the World Expo in Korea. He actively gives back to charities that raise awareness for cancer research, environmental awareness and accessible education.
After receiving his MFA, Kim’s film career began in earnest with roles in “The Jackal,” “For Love of the Game,” “The Hulk,” “Spider-Man 2” and “The Cave,” as well as the Academy Award®-winning “Crash.” He also created the role of Jack Kang in “The Divergent” series films “Insurgent” and “Allegiant.” Kim starred as Ben Daimio in “Hellboy” and stars in the all-Asian Netflix rom-com “Always Be My Maybe.”
Kim has also lent his voice talents to animated series and films such as the award-winning Studio Ghibli film “The Tale of Princess Kaguya,” as well as the PBS nature documentary series “Big Pacific.” He’s also voiced characters for several video games including Johnny Gat in the bestselling series “Saints Row.”
On camera, he has guest starred on numerous TV shows including “CSI,” “ER” and two seasons on “24” as CTU Agent Tom Baker. In 2008, he starred in the Emmy® Award-nominated miniseries “The Andromeda Strain.”
In 2013, Kim established 3AD Media to produce premier content for TV, film and digital media. Committed to storytelling featuring characters and cultures underrepresented in today’s media, 3AD produced projects including the ABC hit drama “The Good Doctor” (ABC/SONY). It has a first-look development deal with Amazon Studios. Kim is repped by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.
Follow @danieldaekim on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and through the company’s website, 3admedia.com.