Most people are familiar with Daniel Day Kim from his work on Lost and Hawaii Five-0. He has advocated for diversity in Hollywood and spoken out against prejudice throughout his career.
In fact, Zander and Jackson Kim were the reason Daniel Dae Kim made the decision to join Hawaii Five-0.
The actor revealed in a Vulture interview that he chose to be on Hawaii Five-0 because he didn’t want his sons to experience the same alienation as he had while growing up.
One of my sons was in elementary school and the other was about to start high school at the time, and I really wanted them to have a consistent experience as they grew up.
He continued, remembering how, growing up in a steel town, he felt very much like the Other for most of his upbringing. “I also valued what Hawaii had to give to an Asian American family,” he said.
Kim made it clear in the same interview that his wife and sons were his top priorities.
Daniel Dae Kim (Pinterest)Family of Daniel Dae Kim and Mia Kim
Mia Haeyoung Rhee and Kim have been partners for more than 27 years. On June 12, 1993, the two got married and started a family with two kids.
Zander Kim, the couple’s first child, was born in July 1996. At the moment, he works as an editorial assistant for Black Dog & Leventhal, a company that publishes books with illustrations for readers of all ages.
His official website states that he typically writes on non-fiction subjects like basketball, pets, and Schitt’s Creek.
Zander earned his degree from Brown University and worked as a staff writer and co-creator of the baseball site Ex-Bullpen until 2018.
Jackson Kim, another son of Kim and his wife, was born in January 2002. Jackson is a fashion model with Wilhelmina Models and is a student at New York University.
Daniel Dae Kim (Pinterest)What Caused Daniel Dae Kim to Leave “Hawaii Five-0”?
After seven seasons, Kim left Hawaii Five-0 in 2017. He left the series—one of his biggest works—because he couldn’t equal the salaries of other original cast members Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan.
Kim wasn’t the only person attempting to renegotiate cast member pay fairness.
Grace Park, who portrayed Kono Kalakaua in the series, fought for equal pay as well. Ultimately, after their requests weren’t granted, both of them quit the program at the conclusion of season 7.
Kim has been open about his experience on Hawaii Five-0 in the aforementioned interview with Vulture. He called the income disparity between himself and Alex and Caan “substantial.”
Kim also said that he had significantly reduced his remuneration. He continued, “One thing that has never been completely covered is the amount of pay reduction I took from ‘Lost’ to ‘Hawaii Five-0.’ It was substantial, and it was never made up.
The actor went on to say that the aim of the negotiations was to turn all of the cast members into the cohesive unit he had initially believed them to be. Additionally, he requested that his income be increased to the level it was prior to his role as the lead in Lost.