"Hawaii Five-0's" Daniel Dae Kim on a career in paradise

Daniel Dae Kim on becoming part of the Hawaiian community

For Daniel Dae Kim, working in paradise has been twice as nice. He played Jin-Soo Kwon on the series “Lost,” and now he stars on another show filmed in Hawaii. He plays Detective Chin Ho Kelly on CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0.”

Kim joined “CBS This Morning” and discussed his career, being able to work in Hawaii and his family with the co-hosts.

 

"Hawaii Five-0" actor Daniel Dae Kim on "Save Our Schools"
 Growing up, Kim actually wanted to be a lawyer, not an actor. He told the co-hosts that, as an undergraduate, he wanted to be an attorney and study political science.  He said he did one of those things and "ended up being an actor instead."

“When I wanted to be an attorney, I think I wanted to be a litigator; I wanted to be in a courtroom,” he said, “and there are a lot of similarities between that and what I do today.”

The original “Hawaii Five-0” was the longest-running crime show ever before CBS' "CSI:" and originally aired from 1968 to 1980. Kim’s character was originally played by Kam Fong Chun. Kim told the co-hosts that it was “special” to be part of the tradition around this television program.

“Especially in a place like Hawaii, where there isn’t a lot of filming going on, it has such a place in the state’s history,” he said. “To be a part of that legacy is really nice and it’s very welcoming to be a part of the community that way.”

Kim said that he thinks the show could be more popular in Hawaii than it is in other states.

“The locals make a game out of trying to spot where everything is being shot, and if there's any kind of anachronisms with locations, it’s kind of a popular sport,” he said.

 

Daniel Dae Kim on comedy, theatre and his new production company
 Kim said that what is nice about living in Hawaii for so long is that local residents do not treat him differently because he's not from the state.

“I’ve lived in Hawaii long enough now where people don't make a big deal about me being there; I’m just a part of the community, thankfully,” he said. “But they’ll do things like … ‘You were great last night’ or ‘What happened to Kono?’ or- there’s no introduction, it’s just asking questions like that.”

For one episode of “Hawaii Five-0” Kim had to ride a motorcycle, something he had never done before.

“I hadn’t ridden before ‘Hawaii Five-0,’and it was one of the things I promised my dad I would never do while he was alive,” he said. “But if I have to do it for work, I have to do it for work.”

He told the co-hosts that, now, he does enjoy riding, and he owns his own motorcycle. 

To watch the full interview with Daniel Dae Kim, watch the video in the player above

f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.