James Kyson[2] is an American actor best known for his television work. Best known for his role as Ando Masahashi on the NBC television series Heroes, his guest appearances on television series include Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, Elementary, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. Earlier in his career, Kyson was credited as James Kyson Lee or James Kyson-Lee.

James Kyson
Kyson at the opening of the Animal Museum in December 2016
Born
Lee Ji-hoon[1]

Seoul, South Korea
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active2003–present
Spouse
Jamee Mae Berg
(m. 2015)
Children2

Early life and education

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Kyson was born Lee Ji-hoon (although his given name was later changed to Jae-hyeok)[1] in Seoul, South Korea. His father was an electrical engineer. He moved with his family to New York City at age 10, where he later attended The Bronx High School of Science.[3] His English name, James, is derived from James Bond.[1] He studied communications at Boston University with the intent of being a sports broadcaster before later transferring to the New England Institute of Art.[2][1]

In summer of 2001, Kyson sold his car and 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 pay the bills.[4]

Acting career

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Kyson at the premiere of Heroes

After three years in Los Angeles, Kyson landed his first acting role on the military legal television drama JAG in 2003.[4][5]

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.[4][6] 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, in which he is fluent.[7][6]

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 as a mixed martial arts fighter in the action feature Banana Season.

Kyson was a celebrity judge at the Miss Universe 2007 beauty pageant.[8]

Personal life

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Kyson has been married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson (née Berg) since 2015.[9]

He is fluent in Korean and learned Japanese to play Ando Masahashi in Heroes.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Titel Role Notes
2006 Asian Stories Jim Lee
Big Dreams Little Tokyo Murakami
2007 Doberman Johnny the Bartender Direct-to-video
2008 Shutter Ritsuo
Akira's Hip Hop Shop Akira
2009 White on Rice Tim Kim
Hard Breakers Evan
Necrosis Jerry
How to Make Love to a Woman Aaron
Star Runners Lei Chen
WWII in HD Jimmie Kanaya Voice
Why Am I Doing This? Eric
2010 Despicable Me Additional Voices Voice
2013 Plush Coat, Tie Fan
2014 Ragamuffin Matt Gast
2015 Fourth World Legion
The Livingston Gardener Pierce Lawrence
2016 Convenience Store Diet Jacked Bro Voice
2017 Boone: the Bounty Hunter Cameo
No Trace Detective Phil Chung
The High Life Chevy Lee
2018 Another Time Kal
Breaking & Exiting Peter
Banana Season Sun
2019 Walk to Vegas Wing
2023 Godzilla Minus One Yōji Akitsu 2024 Netflix English dub
TBA Werewolves Miles Chen Post-production

Television

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Year Titel Role Notes
2003 JAG Lieutenant Pak Episode: "Close Quarters"
All About the Andersons Josh Episode: "Joe's Big Break"
2004 Threat Matrix Vargas Killer Episode: "PPX"
Unsolved History Mysterious Man Episode: "Flight KAL-007"
The West Wing Chinese Translator Zheng Episode: "Impact Winter"
2005 Xtreme Fakeovers James Parker Episode: "Xtreme Fakeover"
2005–2006 Untold Stories of the E.R. X-Ray Doctor, Reenactments, Resident Park 3 episodes
2006 Stranger Adventures Mysterious Man Episode: "Helen Beaumont"
Heist Universal Studio Guide Episode: "Ladies and Gentlemen... Sweaty Dynamite"
2006–2010 Heroes Ando Masahashi 61 episodes
2007 Las Vegas Joon Ho Park Episode: "Wagers of Sin"
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Officer Kwan Episode: "Say Uncle"
2011 Hawaii Five-0 Sean Leung Episode: "Ma Ke Kahakai (Shore)"
2012 Chasing the Hill Curt Barboa Episode: "Send in the Dancing Chihuahuas"
Daybreak Gregg Harding Episode: "Chapter 1"
Have You Met Miss Jones? Jacob 3 episodes
2012; 2016 Adventure Time Trami, Big Destiny (voices) 3 episodes
2013 Very Smart Brothers Marcus Television film
Armed Response Charlie Scortino
Non-Stop Kevin Television
Between Bullets Johnny Parker 3 episodes
2014 Justified Yoon 2 episodes
2015 The Startup Mikio Episode: "Welcome to LA"
2016 Animals Floor Manager (voice) Episode: "Rats"
NCIS: Los Angeles James Kang Episode: "Seoul Man"
School of Rock David Kwon Episode: "We're Not Gonna Take It"
2017 Blade of Honor John 'Hoss' O'Tekjac Episode: "Frying Pan"
Sleepy Hollow Mark Wong Episode: "Columbia"
Elementary Joey Ng Episode: "Rekt in Real Life"
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Detective Joon-Ho Kim Episode: "Pretty Like Me"
Preacher The Technician Episode: "Sokoasha"
2017; 2019 We Bare Bears Additional Voices (voices) 2 episodes
2018 Glimpse Scientist Schulze Episode: "Sebastian Moller"
2018–2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Bam Ui Pati Actor, Additional Voices (voices) 2 episodes
2020 Film Lab Presents Theodore 2 episodes
Lovecraft Country Byung-Ho Episode: "Meet Me in Daegu"
Nächste Bill Zhai Episode: "FILE #7"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Big Destiny, Handbag Helmet (voices) Episode: "Destiny"
Scavengers Reign John Episode: "The Mountain"
2024 BMF Officer Kang 5 episodes

Video games

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Year Titel Role Notes
2004 Shellshock: Nam '67 Monty, Vietnamese Soldiers, Prisoners and Civilians #4
2006 Family Guy Video Game! Train Conductor
2007 The Darkness Cop, Peter Chen
2008 Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Shang Tsung
2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population
2014 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Additional Voices
2015 Battlefield Hardline Additional Voices
2019 Anthem Dr. Harken

Other activities

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Kyson plays basketball for charity celebrity team The Hollywood Knights [10] and participated in Robbie Williams' Soccer Aid for UNICEF at Manchester United's Old Trafford in England.[citation needed] He is also an Ambassador for the International Organization Good Neighbors and their Water for Life campaign.[citation needed]

Kyson represented the Rest of the World team in 2010 Soccer Aid, a British charity soccer match in aid of UNICEF.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Actor James Kyson". Seoul Journal. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Vanni, Olivia (November 24, 2008). "TV Hero James Kyson Lee was once hometown student". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Nuytens, Gilles (April 5, 2007). "James Kyson Lee interview - Heroes". The Scifi World. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Leung, Julie (Fall 2008). "James Kyson Lee: The Sidekick's Story". Mochi.
  5. ^ "Ten Questions with Heroes Actor James Kyson Lee". TV.com. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Wolley, Leann (March 2, 2010). "Cross-cultural Acting: an interview with James Kyson Lee and Eriko Tamura". Asia Pacific Arts. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017.
  7. ^ Cohn, Angel (January 22, 2007). "Heroes Preview: Is Ando More Than Just a Trusty Sidekick?". TV Guide.
  8. ^ "Miss Japan wins Miss Universe 2007". Kokomo Tribune. Associated Press. May 28, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Kantor, Jonathan H. (August 26, 2017). "Heroes: Where Are They Now?". CBR. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  10. ^ Ordona, Michael (September 10, 2009). "James Kyson Lee is mortal again and loving it". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ "Soccer Aid - Rest of the World team". itv.com. ITV Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010.
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