U.S.A.
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
March 16, 2015
Daniel Dae Kim takes control in ‘Hawaii Five-O’ and beyond
CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES. Daniel
Dae Kim made an impressively smooth transition from
a stalwart husband on “Lost” to dashing crime fighter
on “Hawaii Five-O.” The actor is not done with trans-
formations. Kim has a big-screen role in Insurgent,
the sequel to sci-fi drama Divergent, and took his first
stab at television directing with an episode of “Hawaii
Five-O.” Pictured is Kim as “Jack Kang” in the film
The Divergent Series: Insurgent, which opens this
month. (Photo/Andrew Cooper, courtesy of Lionsgate)
By Lynn Elber
AP Television Writer
OS ANGELES — Daniel Dae Kim
made an impressively smooth
transition from a stalwart husband
on “Lost” to dashing crime fighter on
“Hawaii Five-O.”
The actor is not done with trans-
formations. Kim has a big-screen role in
Insurgent, the sequel to sci-fi drama
Divergent, which opens this month, and
took his first stab at television directing
with an episode of the Columbia
Broadcasting System (CBS) police series.
Even more ambitious: He founded a
year-old production company to put his
stamp on film and television projects, with
two pilots under network consideration for
the 2015-2016 season.
Acting hasn’t lost its allure, said the
handsome Kim, who’s made the cut on
People magazine’s “Sexiest Men” list. But
expanding his role in the industry brings
new opportunities that extend beyond
deal-making.
Directing, for instance, is “not a means
to an end. ... I actually believe it informed
my work as an actor a great deal. It’s also
being part of a creative process from every
angle.”
He used his time on “Lost,” the ground-
breaking 2004-2010 American Broad-
casting Company (ABC) drama, as a
tutorial on the directing craft.
L
“I shadowed directors on ‘Lost,’ but it
was not the right show for a new director to
cut their teeth on, because it was so
elaborate and very secretive in a lot of
ways. So I just wanted to watch and learn,”
Kim said.
With the “Hawaii Five-O” series well on
its feet in season five, he asked for and was
given the chance to get behind the camera.
It was a satisfying experience, he said, and
one in which he enjoyed the support of his
castmates and the crew — aside from a bit
of ribbing.
“I fully expected more hazing than I got.
There were a couple of jabs here and there.
But none of the, ‘I refuse to come out of my
trailer,’” he recalled.
Donning a producer’s hat has the poten-
tial to be even more rewarding. As one of
the rare Asian-American actors to play
lead roles, Kim said, he is intent on helping
other minorities get their own shot.
In Los Angeles to work on postproduc-
tion for his “Hawaii Five-O” episode and
tend to other projects, Kim was relaxed
and thoughtful as he put his success — and
his take on the industry — in perspective.
“The fact that I’ve been able to do two
shows, back-to-back, is not something
every actor gets to say,” said Kim, who has
lived in Hawaii with his wife, Mia, and
their two children since “Lost” filmed
there.
But his role in Insurgent is because a
“young, gifted author (Veronica Roth) had
the foresight to write an Asian-American
male character in her book. I emphasize
that because it doesn’t always happen. If
it’s not part of (the original work), very
rarely does it happen” during casting, Kim
said.
“These are not complaints; they’re more
state-of-the-nation comments,” he said.
The projects being developed by his
company, 3AD, all “feature minority
participants at the most fundamental
levels, whether as writers or lead actors or
creators,” Kim said. “I’m not doing this for
charity: Everyone is extremely talented,
and they’re stories that deserve to be told
by these people.”
Kim, 46, was a year old when his
Continued on page 16
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