James Kyson

Last updated

James Kyson
JamesKyson1.jpg
Kyson at the opening of the Animal Museum in December 2016
Born
Lee Ji-hoon [1]

Seoul, South Korea
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active2003–present
Spouse
Jamee Mae Berg
(m. 2015)
Children2

James Kyson [2] is an American actor best known for his television work. Best known for his role as Ando Masahashi on the NBC television series Heroes , his guest appearances on television series include Hawaii Five-0 , NCIS: Los Angeles , Sleepy Hollow , Elementary , and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders . Earlier in his career, Kyson was credited as James Kyson Lee or James Kyson-Lee.

Contents

Early life and education

Kyson was born Lee Ji-hoon (although his given name was later changed to Jae-hyeok) [1] in Seoul, South Korea. His father was an electrical engineer. He moved with his family to New York City at age 10, where he later attended The Bronx High School of Science. [3] His English name, James, is derived from James Bond. [1] He studied communications at Boston University with the intent of being a sports broadcaster before later transferring to the New England Institute of Art. [2] [1]

In summer of 2001, Kyson sold his car and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles with the intent of entering the acting industry. He enrolled in performing arts classes at a community college while auditioning for roles and working as a SAT tutor to pay the bills. [4]

Acting career

Kyson at the premiere of Heroes James Kyson Lee.jpg
Kyson at the premiere of Heroes

After three years in Los Angeles, Kyson landed his first acting role on the military legal television drama JAG in 2003. [4] [5]

He landed guest roles in hit network television series The West Wing and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation amongst others before being cast as one of his more widely known roles, Ando Masahashi in the sci-fi series Heroes . The role required him to speak Japanese. [4] [6] He later stated that he had taken a semester of Japanese in college and did not find learning the language difficult as it was grammatically similar to Korean, in which he is fluent. [7] [6]

Since Heroes ended, he also guest-starred on Hawaii Five-0 , Justified , Animals. , Sleepy Hollow , Elementary , and more recently Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders .

His feature films work includes the romantic comedy Another Time, the thriller The Livingston Gardener - and as a mixed martial arts fighter in the action feature Banana Season.

Kyson was a celebrity judge at the Miss Universe 2007 beauty pageant. [8]

Personal life

Kyson has been married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson ( née  Berg) since 2015. [9]

He is fluent in Korean and learned Japanese to play Ando Masahashi in Heroes. [2]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006 Asian Stories Jim Lee
2006Off the RocksDonald ParkShort film
2006 Big Dreams Little Tokyo Murakami
2007DobermanJohnny the BartenderDirect-to-video
2008 Shutter Ritsuo
2008Akira's Hip Hop ShopAkira
2009 White on Rice Tim Kim
2009Hard BreakersEvan
2009 Necrosis Jerry
2009 How to Make Love to a Woman Aaron
2009 Star Runners Lei Chen
2009 WWII in HD Jimmie KanayaVoice
2009Why Am I Doing This?Eric
2010 Despicable Me Additional VoicesVoice
2013 Plush Coat, Tie Fan
2014RagamuffinMatt Gast
2015 Fourth World Legion
2015The Livingston GardenerPierce Lawrence
2016Convenience Store DietJacked BroVoice
2017Boone: the Bounty HunterCameo
2017No TraceDetective Phil Chung
2017The High LifeChevy Lee
2018Another TimeKal
2018 Breaking & Exiting Peter
2018Banana SeasonSun
2019 Walk to Vegas Wing
2023 Godzilla Minus One Yōji Akitsu2024 Netflix English dub

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003 JAG Lieutenant PakEpisode: "Close Quarters"
2003 All About the Andersons JoshEpisode: "Joe's Big Break"
2004 Threat Matrix Vargas KillerEpisode: "PPX"
2004 Unsolved History Mysterious ManEpisode: "Flight KAL-007"
2004 The West Wing Chinese Translator ZhengEpisode: "Impact Winter"
2005Xtreme FakeoversJames ParkerEpisode: "Xtreme Fakeover"
2005–06 Untold Stories of the E.R. X-Ray Doctor, Reenactments, Resident Park3 episodes
2006Stranger AdventuresMysterious ManEpisode: "Helen Beaumont"
2006 Heist Universal Studio GuideEpisode: "Ladies and Gentlemen... Sweaty Dynamite"
2006–2010 Heroes Ando Masahashi61 episodes
2007 Las Vegas Joon Ho ParkEpisode: "Wagers of Sin"
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Officer KwanEpisode: "Say Uncle"
2011 Hawaii Five-0 Sean LeungEpisode: "Ma Ke Kahakai (Shore)"
2012Chasing the HillCurt BarboaEpisode: "Send in the Dancing Chihuahuas"
2012DaybreakGregg HardingEpisode: "Chapter 1"
2012; 2016 Adventure Time Trami, Big Destiny (voices)3 episodes
2012Have You Met Miss Jones?Jacob3 episodes
2013Very Smart BrothersMarcusTelevision film
2013Armed ResponseCharlie Scortino
2013Non-StopKevinTelevision
2013Between BulletsJohnny Parker3 episodes
2014 Justified Yoon2 episodes
2015The StartupMikioEpisode: "Welcome to LA"
2016 Animals Floor Manager (voice)Episode: "Rats"
2016 NCIS: Los Angeles James KangEpisode: "Seoul Man"
2016 School of Rock David KwonEpisode: "We're Not Gonna Take It"
2017Blade of HonorJohn 'Hoss' O'TekjacEpisode: "Frying Pan"
2017 Sleepy Hollow Mark WongEpisode: "Columbia"
2017 Elementary Joey NgEpisode: "Rekt in Real Life"
2017 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Detective Joon-Ho KimEpisode: "Pretty Like Me"
2017 Preacher The TechnicianEpisode: "Sokoasha"
2017; 2019 We Bare Bears Additional Voices (voices)2 episodes
2018–19 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Bam Ui Pati Actor, Additional Voices (voices)2 epispdes
2018GlimpseScientist SchulzeEpisode: "Sebastian Moller"
2020Film Lab PresentsTheodore2 episodes
2020 Lovecraft Country Byung-HoEpisode: "Meet Me in Daegu"
2020 Next Bill ZhaiEpisode: "FILE #7"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Big Destiny, Handbag Helmet (voices)Episode: " Destiny"

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004 Shellshock: Nam '67 Monty, Vietnamese Soldiers, Prisoners and Civilians # 4
2006 Family Guy Video Game! Train Conductor
2007 The Darkness Cop, Peter Chen
2008 Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Shang Tsung
2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population
2014 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Additional Voices
2015 Battlefield Hardline Additional Voices
2019 Anthem Dr. Harken

Other activities

Kyson plays basketball for charity celebrity team The Hollywood Knights [10] and participated in Robbie Williams' Soccer Aid for UNICEF at Manchester United's Old Trafford in England.[ citation needed ] He is also an Ambassador for the International Organization Good Neighbors and their Water for Life campaign.[ citation needed ]

Kyson represented the Rest of the World team in 2010 Soccer Aid, a British charity soccer match in aid of UNICEF. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidekick</span> Subordinate but significant character

A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Coburn</span> American actor (1928–2002)

James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward James Olmos</span> American actor (born 1947)

Edward James Olmos is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in Miami Vice (1984–1989), American Me (1992), William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), Detective Gaff in Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and the voice of Mito in the 2005 English dub of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. For his performance as high school math teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Moore</span> English actor (1927–2017)

Sir Roger George Moore was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. Moore's seven appearances as Bond, from Live and Let Die to A View to a Kill, are the most of any actor in the Eon-produced entries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam West</span> American actor (1928–2017)

William West Anderson, known as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in various media until 2017. Making his film debut in the 1950s, West starred opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965), and also appeared in the science fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Won Bin</span> South Korean actor (born 1977)

Kim Do-jin, professionally known as Won Bin, is a South Korean actor. He first gained wide popularity in 2000 after starring in the KBS's television series Autumn in My Heart. One of the most selective actors in the Korean entertainment industry, he has starred in only five films to date, Guns & Talks, Taegukgi, My Brother, Mother and The Man from Nowhere. He was Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2010 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Bamber</span> British actor (born 1973)

Jamie St John Bamber Griffith, known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series Law & Order: UK. He also had a supporting role as 2nd Lt. Jack Foley in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, as Lieutenant Archie Kennedy in the Hornblower series and was a regular on the British series Ultimate Force and Peak Practice. In 2013, Bamber starred in the TNT medical drama Monday Mornings, and in 2014, in the Sky 1 drama The Smoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hong</span> American actor (born 1929)

James Hong is an American actor, producer and director. Known as one of the most prolific character actors of all time, he has worked in numerous productions in U.S. media since the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s. In 2022, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the American film and television industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Fuller (actor)</span> American actor

Robert Fuller is an American horse rancher and retired actor. He began his career on television, guest-starring primarily on Western programs, while appearing in several movies, including: The Brain from Planet Arous, Teenage Thunder, Return of the Seven (1966), Incident at Phantom Hill (1966), and The Hard Ride (1971). In his five decades of television, Fuller was known for his deep, raspy voice and was familiar to television viewers throughout the 1960s from his co-star roles on the popular 1960s Western series Laramie as Jess Harper and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith. He was also well known for his starring role as Dr. Kelly Brackett in the 1970s medical/action drama Emergency!

George Sheehy Stults is an American actor and former fashion model. Stults is best known for his role as Kevin Kinkirk on the long-running family drama series 7th Heaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Kusatsu</span> American actor

Clyde Kusatsu is an American actor. A prolific character actor, he has appeared in over 300 film and television productions since his debut in 1970. He is the Secretary of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, after previously serving as a four-term President of the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local and National Vice President Los Angeles, from 2013 through 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Bergere</span> American actor (1918–2007)

Lee Bergere was an American actor, known for his role as Joseph Anders in the 1980s television series Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santiago Cabrera</span> Chilean actor

Santiago Cabrera is a Chilean actor who has worked mainly in the UK and United States. Cabrera is best known for his roles as the character Isaac Mendez in the NBC superhero drama Heroes, Lancelot in the BBC drama series Merlin, and Aramis in the BBC series The Musketeers. He was also the lead in the CBS drama Salvation as Darius Tanz, and played Captain Cristóbal "Cris" Rios in the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masi Oka</span> Japanese actor

Masayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's Heroes as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and in CBS's Hawaii Five-0 as Doctor Max Bergman.

Matthew Jerome Barr is an American actor, best-known as Danny McNamara in the CBS/Paramount+ action–adventure television series Blood & Treasure and as Johnson "Johnse" Hatfield in Hatfields & McCoys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Lee (actor)</span> Philippine-American actor

Reggie Telmo Valdez, known professionally as Reggie Lee, is a Filipino-American film and television actor. On television, he has played William "Bill" Kim on Prison Break and Sergeant Drew Wu on Grimm. In film, he has played Tai Huang in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, GCPD Officer Ross in The Dark Knight Rises and Lance Nguyen in The Fast and the Furious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Jean-Louis</span> Haitian actor (born 1968)

Jimmy Jean-Louis is a Haitian actor and producer. Born in Pétion-Ville, he moved to Paris at a young age with his family in search of a better life. His early roles were in French television commercials and Spanish musical theatre. Eventually settling in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, he had small roles in The Bourne Identity, Tears of the Sun and Arliss before breaking into larger roles in American television and film. He played the character of "the Haitian" on the NBC television series Heroes from 2007 to 2010. He played the title character in the 2012 French telefilm Toussaint Louverture. In 2024, he co-produced and acted in the Indian film The Goat Life alongside Prithviraj.

<i>Heroes: Saving Charlie</i> 2007 novel by Aury Wallington

Saving Charlie is a novel written by Aury Wallington and published by Del Rey Books, based on the television series Heroes. It was released in the United States on December 26, 2007. It was made with the full cooperation of the show's creators, although its canonicity about the television series has not yet been established.

Darryl M. Chan is an accomplished Hollywood stuntman, martial artist, and actor of Chinese descent. He grew up in San Francisco as the second of four boys. His career spans from the early 1980s to the present. Chan has worked with virtually all the leading Asian actors and filmmakers, and counts Brandon Lee as one of his closest friends at the time of Lee's death. Darryl is also a sports medicine specialist, and has trained many of the entertainment industry's actors and musicians to prepare for roles and world tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Building 26</span> 16th episode of the 3rd season of Heroes

"Building 26" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the superhero drama series Heroes and fiftieth episode overall. The episode aired on February 16, 2009 on the NBC network in the United States, its country of origin. The episode was written by Rob Fresco and was directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Actor James Kyson". Seoul Journal. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Vanni, Olivia (November 24, 2008). "TV Hero James Kyson Lee was once hometown student". Boston Herald . Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  3. Nuytens, Gilles (April 5, 2007). "James Kyson Lee interview - Heroes". The Scifi World. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Leung, Julie (Fall 2008). "James Kyson Lee: The Sidekick's Story". Mochi .
  5. "Ten Questions with Heroes Actor James Kyson Lee". TV.com . February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Wolley, Leann (March 2, 2010). "Cross-cultural Acting: an interview with James Kyson Lee and Eriko Tamura". Asia Pacific Arts. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017.
  7. Cohn, Angel (January 22, 2007). "Heroes Preview: Is Ando More Than Just a Trusty Sidekick?". TV Guide .
  8. "Miss Japan wins Miss Universe 2007". Kokomo Tribune . Associated Press. May 28, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  9. Kantor, Jonathan H. (August 26, 2017). "Heroes: Where Are They Now?". CBR . Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  10. Ordona, Michael (September 10, 2009). "James Kyson Lee is mortal again and loving it". Los Angeles Times.
  11. "Soccer Aid - Rest of the World team". itv.com . ITV Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010.