- John Cho
-
John Cho 
John Cho in 2008Born John Yohan Cho
June 16, 1972
Seoul, South KoreaOccupation Actor Years active 1997–present Spouse Kerri Higuchi (m. 2006–present) Korean name Hangul 조요한 Revised Romanization Jo Yohan McCune–Reischauer Jo Yohan John Yohan Cho (born June 16, 1972) is an 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.
Contents
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 1991. 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.
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 TV 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]
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. Cho is also an avid practitioner of the trombone, spending much of his free time practicing Charlie Parker lines and singing in falsetto.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1997 Wag the Dog Aide #3 Shopping for Fangs Clarence Independent film 1998 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 Star Trek Sequel Hikaru Sulu 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 John Cho, 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 (2008-03-12). "John Cho". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/224268/John-Cho/biography.
External links
- John Cho at the Internet Movie Database
- John Cho at AllRovi
- John Cho at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
Categories:- 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
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
