John Cho
| John Cho | |
|---|---|
 John Cho in 2008 |
|
| Born | John Yohan Cho June 16, 1972 Seoul, South Korea |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | Kerri Higuchi (m. 2006) |
John Cho (born June 16, 1972) is a Korean-American[1] actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films (1999–2012) and the Harold & Kumar films (2004–present). He also starred in the critically acclaimed hit film Better Luck Tomorrow. More recently, Cho portrayed Hikaru Sulu in the 2009 film Star Trek and starred in the television drama FlashForward as FBI agent Demetri Noh.
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[edit] Early life
Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Los Angeles, where his family settled in 1978. His father was a minister in the Church of Christ, and was originally from North Korea.[2][3] Cho graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California, in 1992. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1996 with a BA degree in English, and taught English at Pacific Hills School in West Hollywood, California.
[edit] Career
Cho began his career as a print model for Korean magazines, and after appearing in advertisements for companies such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car. After graduating from Berkeley, he moved to Los Angeles, and worked with the Asian American theatre company East West Players, appearing in Edward Sakamoto's The Taste of Kona Coffee in 1996, and Euijoon Kim's My Tired Broke Ass Pontificating Slapstick Funk in 2000.[4] He gained attention with a small role in the 1999 comedy American Pie, in which he popularized the slang term "MILF". His most successful starring role to date has been as Harold Lee in 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Cho was one of the stars of the short-lived situation comedy Off Centre, and guest-starred on Charmed as a ghost. He was a costar of the now-defunct Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential. Cho had supporting roles in American Beauty, Evolution and Down to Earth, and a minor role in Bowfinger.
In 2002, Cho had a starring role in the ensemble cast of Better Luck Tomorrow, a drama focusing on the travails of a group of Asian Americans living in Southern California who are academically successful but socially discontented, and as a result engage in wantonly violent, criminal behavior. He was cast in NBC's new comedy The Singles Table in September 2006, but the series never aired due to changes in scheduling and production. In 2006 and 2009,[5] Cho was selected as one of the sexiest men alive in People Magazine.
Cho appeared on July 2004 issue of KoreAm Journal. In 2007, Cho was added to the cast of Ugly Betty as a recurring regular. Cho plays Kenny, a best friend of accountant Henry Grubstick (played by Christopher Gorham). Cho played helmsman Hikaru Sulu in J. J. Abrams's feature film Star Trek.[6][7]
Cho appeared in Nas's "Be a Nigger Too" music video along with various celebrities, and had a guest appearance on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, in the episode "I'm Not That Guy".
In 2009–10, Cho starred in the television series FlashForward as FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh.[8] His character was originally slated to be killed off during what turned out to be the show's only season, but after his turn as Sulu in Star Trek boosted his popularity, the producers revised the show's storyline so that he survived, in an attempt to boost declining ratings.[9]
[edit] Musical career
He is the lead singer for Viva La Union (formerly known as Left of Zed),[10] a Los Angeles band composed of former UCB and USC students. They have one album, self-titled, while their song "Chinese Baby" is featured on the Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay soundtrack.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Wag the Dog | Aide #3 | |
| Shopping for Fangs | Clarence | Independent film | |
| 1998 | Felicity | Larry | TV series |
| Charmed | Mark Chao | TV series | |
| Yellow | Joey | Independent film | |
| 1999 | American Beauty | Sale House Man #1 | |
| Bowfinger | Nightclub Cleaner | ||
| American Pie | John | ||
| 2000 | The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | Parking Valet | |
| 2001 | American Pie 2 | John | |
| Evolution | Student | ||
| Off Centre | Chau Presley | TV series | |
| Down to Earth | Phil Quon | ||
| Pavilion of Women | Fengmo Wu | ||
| 2002 | Better Luck Tomorrow | Steve Choe | |
| Solaris | DBA Emissary #1 | ||
| Big Fat Liar | Dustin Wong | ||
| 2003 | American Wedding | John | |
| Kim Possible | Hirotaka (voice) | TV series | |
| 2004 | In Good Company | Petey | |
| Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | Harold Lee | ||
| See This Movie | Larry Finkelstein | ||
| 2005 | House, M.D. | Harvey Park | TV series |
| Kitchen Confidential | Teddy Wong | TV series | |
| 2006 | American Dreamz | Frank Ittles | |
| Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas | Tom | ||
| American Dad! | Vince Chung | TV series | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Marshall Stone | TV series | |
| 2007 | West 32nd | John Kim | |
| Smiley Face | Mikey | ||
| How I Met Your Mother | Jefferson Coatsworth | TV series | |
| Ugly Betty | Kenny | TV series | |
| 'Til Death | Vice Principal | TV series | |
| 2008 | Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | Hype Man | |
| Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | Harold Lee | ||
| 2009 | Star Trek | Hikaru Sulu | |
| FlashForward | Demetri Noh | TV series | |
| Saint John of Las Vegas | Carnival Human Torch | ||
| 2011 | 30 Rock | Lorne | TV series |
| NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Chip | TV series | |
| A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | Harold Lee | ||
| 2012 | American Reunion | John | |
| Total Recall | McClane | ||
| 2013 | Untitled Star Trek sequel | Hikaru Sulu |
[edit] References
- ^ Lee, Hyo-won (2007-10-14). "John Cho Speaks About Being Asian in Hollywood". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20071218125725/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2007/10/201_11837.html. Retrieved 2008-04-22 "Korean-American actor Troy Tanizawa, 35, is becoming a household name in the United States..."
- ^ The Game-Changer: An Interview with John Cho
- ^ http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/27/john-cho-kal-penn-different-white-house-experiences-video/
- ^ EWP 34th Season on East West Players site
- ^ People Magazine Sexiest Men Alive 2009
- ^ Borys Kit (2007-10-12). "Final frontier for Cho, Pegg". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3if4ef26bbb490c2c53a944c8e92a50006.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-03-12). "John Cho: 'Trek' role is 'daunting'". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/12/john.cho.ap/index.html.
- ^ Joyce Eng (2009-05-19). "Fall TV: ABC's Official Schedule Revisits V, Moves Betty and Says Adieu to Who?". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Fall-TV-ABC-1006175.aspx.
- ^ Keck, William (June 18, 2010). "Keck's Exclusives: Gabrielle Union FlashForwards to New Series". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Kecks-Exclusives-Gabrielle-1019728.aspx. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ Jason Buchanan (2005-03-12). "John Cho". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/224268/John-Cho/biography.
[edit] External links
- John Cho at the Internet Movie Database
- John Cho at AllRovi
- John Cho at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- John Cho's twitter
- 1972 births
- Actors from Los Angeles, California
- American Christians
- American film actors
- American schoolteachers
- American television actors
- American actors of Korean descent
- South Korean Christians
- South Korean emigrants to the United States
- Living people
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Seoul
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
