How Daniel Dae Kim Became America's Conscience

“I’m both honored and dismayed to be back in front of you,” Kim greeted the congressional representatives before talking about House Resolution 908, a bill formally condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment. The House ultimately passed the bill, but not without some hardship: Despite only requiring, as Kim notes, “a simple condemnation of acts of hate against people of Asian descent,” the resolution still faced opposition from 164 members of Congress—an unconscionable hurdle for a bill he says didn’t require any money or resources.

“And now, here I am again because … the situation has gotten worse,” he continued. “Much worse.”

Recent data exposing the steep rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, the flood of footage documenting these hateful encounters on social media and a seemingly apathetic sect of government may paint an undoubtedly grim picture of the present. Still, the actor and activist remains energized, operating as a fierce advocate for a more equitable future for Asians and Asian Americans.

In fact, Kim has long channeled adversity into calls for legislative action, economic justice and proper safety measures. Kim remains one of the most vocal figures to speak out against Hollywood’s bias against marginalized talent and the government’s failure to adequately protect its most vulnerable citizens in equal measure.

Committing to fight for change is an exhausting feat for anyone. For Kim, hope fuels his pursuit of a world where Asian citizens are treated with dignity. To achieve this, he wants to work with allies who care about the issues.

“It’s very easy to be jaded by politics and politicians,” Kim tells Adweek, “but there are good people out there who are trying to do the right thing for the right reasons. It’s about identifying who those people are, regardless of their race, and finding common ground with them to fight together.”

Because of such tireless advocacy and internal work to advance Hollywood’s approach to inclusion, Adweek—in partnership with Adcolor—is recognizing Kim as our third annual Beacon Award honoree.

Lost and found

When Kim began his Hollywood career in the early ’90s, he quickly became a part of a small fraternity of Asian actors working within a very competitive industry. With only a handful of roles allotted for Asian or Asian American talent, Kim would often run into fellow emerging actors like Ron Yuan, Russell Wong and Will Yun Lee at the same circuit of auditions—vaguely framed casting calls that would often expose the industry’s monolithic view of the Asian diaspora.

“What was interesting about those auditions is that they weren’t specific at all to who we were,” Kim says. “They wouldn’t say, ‘We’re looking for a mid-20s leading man.’ They would just say ‘Asian,’ and it was probably a Chinatown episode in a TV series.”

It’s very empowering to know that as actors, we’re not just waiting for roles that other people think are right for us.

Daniel Dae Kim

The lack of details meant that Kim, who is Korean American, would compete against actors ranging in age from 20 to 60, regardless of their nationality. As he states, rather bluntly, “They didn’t care.”

Thankfully, the sentiment shifted enough over time for Kim’s career to flourish. He landed roles in shows like Angel, Star Trek: Enterprise and 24. But he wouldn’t land his breakthrough role until 2004 when he was cast as Jin-Soo Kwon in the award-winning supernatural drama Lost. Spanning 121 episodes and dominating ratings for six seasons, the ABC series offered unmatched visibility for one of the most inclusive casts of its time. It was then that Kim realized the potential impact he could have for communities of people who looked like him.

“To have two characters speaking a language that wasn’t English on prime-time national television was a first,” he says. “It was then that I realized that an entire community was watching us and hoping that we could move the needle on behalf of all of them. It also changed the way TV shows after that were cast. I don’t think I can overstate the impact that had on the way we tell stories and who gets to tell them.”

Kim was prepared to see similar success when he joined the cast of CBS’ modern-day reboot of Hawaii Five-0 shortly after the end of Lost in 2010. At first glance, the role of Chin Ho Kelly gave him the opportunity to work with another ensemble in a legacy action property.

But the experience, as he has recounted to the media, didn’t meet his initial expectations. Despite the show’s original marketing—which depicted Kim and his costars, Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan and Grace Park, as being equally vital to the story—the show was less of an ensemble series and more of a starring vehicle for the two white leads, leaving the secondary storylines to Kim and Park. In addition, Kim took a significant pay cut from what he was making on Lost with his move to the cop procedural.

But things reached a tipping point when the network refused to rectify a pay disparity that significantly favored the show’s white actors. After being denied equal pay, both Kim and Park left Hawaii Five-0 just before the show’s eighth season. In his departing statement, the actor asserted the importance of sticking to a path toward progress. “I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture,” he wrote on Facebook. “The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future.”

Kim’s experience with CBS is merely one instance among many when the actor was approached with unsatisfactory offers. He recalls moments when he had to reject both lesser-paying gigs and lucrative projects that didn’t align with his morals. In both instances, he’s had to quietly walk away from potential work and the money that came with it, which remains a familiar dilemma among actors of color.

“There’s a financial element to it, which often doesn’t get spoken about,” Kim says. “And when it does, it can subject those of us who are speaking out to a lot of criticism—the ‘you’re not digging ditches, so shut up and act’ kind of criticism.”

Despite this, Kim says the industry is improving little by little, as evidenced by his first-ever starring role in National Geographic’s anthological series The Hot Zone. The launch of 3AD, the production company Kim founded in 2013, also speaks to a future that will feature more inclusive talent behind the camera. In 2019, the company signed a first-look deal with Amazon, allowing Kim to develop more projects that will reflect diverse experiences for a wider audience.

“We’re constantly looking for projects that further the narrative that we’re talking about here,” says Kim. “We can build universes that show the representation that we would like to see. I think there are people like Ava DuVernay and Eva Longoria who are doing this behind the scenes. It’s very empowering to know that as actors, we’re not just waiting for roles that other people think are right for us.”

The Asian American Foundation and #StopAsianHate

While Kim notes an ostensibly positive shift in Hollywood, the uptick in anti-Asian American hate crimes across the nation has been severe.

According to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, hate crimes increased by 169% across 15 major cities between 2020 and 2021 alone. Additional research, courtesy of Pew Research, found that nearly one-fifth of Asian Americans attributed the explosion of violent hate to former president Donald Trump’s early language about the Covid-19 pandemic, which he regularly called the “China virus.” Soon, social media was littered with videos capturing daily acts of violent aggression toward Asian pedestrians—many of whom were elderly.

The vitriol came to a head on March 16, when Robert Aaron Long’s calculated mass shooting in Atlanta left six Asian women dead, placing the rise of targeted violence in the national spotlight.

The public’s response was immediate. #StopAsianHate, a viral tag that was active prior to the attack, doubled as a digital vigil and a space to organize resources and global marches against anti-Asian racism. For his part, Kim used the hashtag to reach out to politicians about protective legislation and amplify the stories of Asian Americans who have experienced racist violence, including his own family. Crowdfunding site GoFundMe launched the AAPI Community Fund, raising over $5 million from brands like YouTube, Airbnb and Panda Express. More importantly, there was a sudden amplification of the critical issues that many Asian Americans have been openly discussing for decades, long before the rise of Covid-19.

“It’s a little bit like a tree falling in the forest,” Kim says. “If someone says it doesn’t make a noise, the question then is are you actually listening for it?”

Soon after, the noise would become especially difficult to ignore with the May launch of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). With significant help from influential business figures like KKR’s co-president Joseph Bae and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, along with donations from brands like the NBA, Bank of America and Walmart, the foundation garnered over $1 billion in donations toward research and programs that advance AAPI advocacy. This makes TAAF the largest philanthropic effort dedicated to the community to date, paving the way for programs like the Asian American Education Project, which provides a school curriculum that includes Asian American stories in American history.

Kim, who is co-chair of TAAF’s advisory council, is one of the most visible proponents of the foundation and cites his involvement as his proudest moment of the past year.

“It’s really the first of its kind for Asian America,” Kim says. “I think we’ve found our voice in a unified way across the country. They’ve raised a lot of money, and I’m honored to be a part of it. I really think it represents a big step in the right direction.”

TAAF president Sonal Shah says the foundation launched “knowing that one of the most urgent needs in our communities was better protecting them amid this crisis of anti-AAPI hate.”

AAPI Awareness Toolkit

Want to become more informed on AAPI issues but don’t know where to start? Daniel Dae Kim recommends a number of helpful resources.

Stop AAPI Hate 
Launched in March 2020, the coalition aggregates instances of violence, harassment, discrimination and bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Visitors can also report instances they see to maintain an up-to-date record and aid advocacy.

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) 
Considered the largest philanthropic effort dedicated to Asian Americans, TAAF raises funds for detailed research, educational programs and infrastructure geared toward amplifying advocacy. Upon launch, the foundation released a large-scale campaign geared toward shifting America’s perspective of the Asian community. 

LAAUNCH
The nonprofit recently released what Kim calls “a really groundbreaking study on perceptions of Asian Americans.” STAATUS, or Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the U.S., is the first comprehensive assessment of attitudes toward and stereotypes of the community in 20 years.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)
The AAJC provides legal assistance while building coalitions that support Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

NextShark
“There’s a news organization called NextShark that I think is fantastic for highlighting the news that you don’t often see in larger outlets because it’s not considered ‘newsworthy,’” Kim says. “They do a great job of covering news about Asian America.”

Outspoken figures
“There’s a network of Asian Americans who are very vocal about issues regarding our community,” Kim says, citing such figures as Lisa Ling, Daniel Wu and Jeremy Lin as enduring advocates.

“Key to those efforts would be harnessing the influence of fierce advocates for our communities like Daniel Dae Kim,” Shah says. “He is a trusted ambassador for TAAF’s work who has played an integral role in our organization since day one. As TAAF continues to spearhead anti-hate and belonging efforts at the local and national levels, we are grateful to have Daniel on our side supporting the advancement of our work and helping us change the narrative.”

Although the focus of this effort remains dedicated to the betterment of Asian lives, Kim feels the moment is part of a larger conversation about marginalized identity in America.

We’re all in pursuit of the same thing, and that is true equality, equity and diversity in a way that’s meaningful.

Daniel Dae Kim

“I’m really happy that it’s not just the Asian American community who’s being heard and seen; it’s more marginalized groups. I think the Black Lives Matter movement was at the vanguard of that,” he says. “I think it opened up a larger discussion around issues of race, gender and sexual orientation in this country. We’re all in pursuit of the same thing, and that is true equality, equity and diversity in a way that’s meaningful.”

But to really shift the culture in a direction in which all Americans can truly prosper, Kim says, will require a unified effort from everyone to create sustained change. He is, however, thrilled to see Asian Americans take their place at the podium and make themselves heard.

As he said at the close of his March address to Congress: “We are 23 million strong. We’re united. And we’re waking up.”