Actor-producer-writer Daniel Dae Kim, the “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-O” actor who’s a sometime resident of Honolulu, recently was honored at the NYU Tisch School for Arts.
Winnie Holzman, an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer, also was an honoree. A Tisch grad like Kim, she wrote the book of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Wicked,”” and also co-wrote the screenplays for the movie version of “Wicked” and next year’s Part Two, “Wicked for Good.”
Kim earned his MFA in Tisch School’s Graduate Acting Program in 1996. His son Jackson also is an NYU grad.
Kim’s a man for all seasons, and an entertainment icon for all reasons. He’s become a prolific and pertinent Asian resource in recent years, widening his savvy and significance in everything, on camera and off.
Kim is a powerhouse TV figure: He’s completed three TV series with more than 100 episodes – the Hawaii-originated “Lost” on ABC and “Five-0” on CBS, and he appeared in and also produced “The Good Doctor” on ABC.
He’s big in voicing: In season one of Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Kim voiced General Fong in one episode, but in season two, he’s playing Fire Lord Ozai in the live-action adaptation. He voiced seven episodes as Hiroshi Sato in “The Legend of Korra,” an animated series.
He sings — when going theatrical: He’s successfully conquered the musical stage, starring as the The King of Siam in “The King and I” at London’s Robert Albert Hall and on Broadway at Lincoln Center. Last year, he also starred in a comedy, “Yellow Face,” at the Todd Haimes Theatre. But no vocalizing here.
Next up: Kim is producing and will star in a spy series, “Butterfly,” already filmed in South Korea, where he was born (in Busan). It is his first multi-season scripted series where he plays the lead role. Amazon has not set a release date.
Still simmering: “Makawalu,” a feature film initiated by the Hawaii International Film Festival, which he has agreed to executive-produce. The ambitious project will be co-directed by eight Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers, the first of its kind in the islands
He’s got the spirit: Yes, he lives in Hawaii as often as feasible, traveling to wherever and whenever a project beckons. He also has residences in New York and Los Angeles, but for Kim, it’s Hawaii No Ka Oi. It’s all about the aloha spirit…
And that’s Show Biz…