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”
Kenneth Choi
Movies
War
After his partner Tom Lone and family are killed apparently by the infamous and elusive assassin Rogue, FBI agent John Crawford becomes obsessed with revenge as his world unravels into a vortex of guilt and betrayal. Rogue eventually resurfaces to settle a score of his own, setting off a bloody…
Fun Facts
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.
He has played two MCU characters. He plays a soldier and close friend of Steve Rogers
Quotes
I think I can sing, but that does not mean I can actually sing. I fear that I'm like one of those 'American Idol' contestants who truly believe they are good and are actually dreadful.
When I moved to Los Angeles, I figured I'm really going to make an attempt to become a real actor. And when I did that, I thought it was time for me to face my parents and tell them what I did.
When I work, I like to just kind of stay quiet, stay to myself. I like to walk around a lot and figure out what's gonna happen in the scene and try to get my head straight.
The entire time I was in Portland, which was the five years, I had absolutely no contact with any of my family.
Chicago is my hometown and will always have a special place in my heart.
I collected X-Men, Spider-Man, and Daredevil comics. I definitely had a few Captain America comics lying around in those protective plastic baggies.
My dad does watch my work now. My parents watch everything I'm on. I think the first time they saw something was 'Captain America,' and he called me, and he was so elated.
When you're working on a huge, elaborate set that took months to create, and you're surrounded by hundreds of extras, you better remember your lines and know what you're doing in a scene!
I told my extremely conservative, uber-traditional Korean father, 'Hey, Dad, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be an actor.'
When I filmed my episodes, the show hadn't aired yet, so there was no 'Glee' pandemonium. It was still untested.
Belize has a tropical climate and is quite affordable and is developing a reputation as an inexpensive Hawaii. If you want to hide away someplace that is extremely low-key, Placencia is perfect. San Pedro is more touristy and modernized.
I'd like to visit my friend and his family who live in Australia. That trip is long overdue.
I am proud to say that I plastic-wrapped Bruno Ricci's toilet in his trailer.
Portland is the perfect weekend getaway. I studied acting in Portland and lived there for five years. It's a small city with so much to do. There's beautiful scenery, a great bar scene, and so many fabulous restaurants.
Comic fans are some of the toughest fans to please, and I'm one of them.