Kenneth Choi

4/5

Biography

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Choi dreamed of becoming an actor. Against his family's wishes, Choi left college to pursue that dream. He literally ran away from home, cutting all ties with his family for 5 years to train and study before moving to Los Angeles. His dream became a reality as he landed guest appearances in 6 television series during his first year including "The West Wing" and "Roswell". Choi gained recognition as both a comedic and dramatic actor with memorable guest turns on hit sitcoms "The King of Queens", "Reba", "According to Jim" and recurring roles in critically successful dramas such as "House" and "24". In 2008, Choi landed a starring role in the ABC Family series "Samurai Girl" opposite Jamie Chung, as well as recurring arcs in 2009 with Starz's "Crash" and Fox's "Glee", and in 2010 with TNT's "Hawthorne" and FX's critically-acclaimed "Sons Of Anarchy" playing Henry Lin. In 2004, Choi was cast in Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal". This sparked a surge in Choi's film career as he completed more than a dozen films through 2012 working with acclaimed writer/director David Ayer in "Street Kings" and "Harsh Times", and high profile roles in Lionsgate's "War" opposite Jason Statham, "Red Dawn" opposite Chris Hemsworth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and his supporting lead role in the Marvel blockbuster, "Captain America: The First Avenger" playing Howling Commando Jim Morita. Choi gained 25 pounds to play the tough but hilarious Chester Ming alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated, "The Wolf Of Wall Street". Along with his many film achievements, Choi has starred in several television shows including "Ironside" and "Allegiance" both for NBC Universal. Most notably, Choi inhabited the role of Judge Lance Ito for FX's highly-acclaimed Emmy-winning, Golden Globe-winning "The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story" for Ryan Murphy. Choi has several feature films coming out in 2017 including, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" with Tom Holland, "Bright" with Will Smith, and "American Express" with Joel Edgerton. Also in 2017, he recurs on the television shows, "The Last Man On Earth" for FOX, "Counterpart" for Starz, and a leading role on NBC's "Untitled Kourtney Kang Project". Author: Fifteen Minutes

  • Primary profession
  • Actor·soundtrack
  • Country
  • United States
  • Nationality
  • American
  • Gender
  • Male
  • Birth date
  • 20 October 1971
  • Place of birth
  • Chicago
  • Education
  • Purdue University·Homewood-Flossmoor High School
  • Knows language
  • English language

Music

Movies

TV

Books

Trivia

Attended Purdue University as an accounting major and left to pursue an acting career.

Born and raised in Chicago.

Had no contact with his family for five years in order to pursue a career in acting.

Gained almost 25 pounds for his role in The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

Grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, IL.

His Priceline commercial, in which he impersonates William Shatner, aired twice during the 2009 Super Bowl.

Dances in the new OneRepublic music video, "Wherever I Go".

He is of Korean descent.

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