James Kyson

James Kyson
Kyson at the premiere of Heroes
Born (1975-12-13) December 13, 1975
Seoul, South Korea
Other names James Kyson Lee
Occupation Actor
Years active 2003–present
Spouse(s)
Jamee Kyson (m. 2015)
Korean name
Hangul 이재혁
Revised Romanization I Jae-hyeok
McCune–Reischauer Yi Chaehyŏk

James Kyson (born December 13, 1975) is a South Korean-born American actor best known for his television work. One of his best known roles was Ando Masahashi on the NBC television series Heroes, and he has also made guest appearances on television series such as Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, Elementary, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

Early life and education

Kyson was born in Seoul[1] and moved with his family to New York City at the age of 10, where he later attended The Bronx High School of Science. He studied communications and broadcasting at Boston University and the New England Institute of Art. In 2001 Kyson 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 make ends meet.[2]

Acting career

James Kyson at the opening of the Animal Museum in Dec 2016

Kyson landed his first acting role on the hit military legal drama JAG in 2003.[3][2] 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.[2][4] 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, which he is fluent in.[5][4] 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 he will soon be seen as a mixed martial arts fighter in the upcoming action feature Banana Season.

Personal life

Kyson is married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson (née Berg)[6] since 2015.

Filmography

Other activities

A world traveler & adrenalin-junkie, Kyson once bungee jumped 8 times in one day in Cairns, Australia, slid down waterfalls in Queenstown, New Zealand, scuba dived into caves in Maui, Hawaii, and deep water solo'ed at the island of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand - where he back-flipped for the first time 50 feet high off a limestone cliff. He & his wife Jamee also ran the 2016 LA Half Marathon.

Kyson plays basketball for "The Hollywood Knights", a charity celebrity team,[7] and participated in Robbie Williams' "Soccer Aid" for UNICEF, at Manchester United's Old Trafford in England. He is also an Ambassador for the International Organization Good Neighbors, and their "Water for Life" campaign.

Kyson represented the Rest of the World team in 2010 Soccer Aid,[8] a British charity soccer match in aid of UNICEF.

References

  1. ↑ "James Kyson Lee Biography". Tribute.ca. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Leung, Julie (Fall 2008). "James Kyson Lee: The Sidekick's Story". Mochi.
  3. ↑ "Ten Questions with Heroes Actor James Kyson Lee". TV.com. February 3, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Wolley, Leann (March 2, 2010). "Cross-cultural Acting: an interview with James Kyson Lee and Eriko Tamura". University of Southern California.
  5. ↑ "Heroes Preview: Is Ando More Than Just a Trusty Sidekick?". TV Guide. January 22, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Wedding". jamesandjamee.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-30.
  7. ↑ "James Kyson Lee is mortal again and loving it", Sept 10, 2009, Michael Ordona, LA Times
  8. ↑ Soccer Aid - Rest of the World team ITV Entertainment
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