Randall Duk Kim (born September 24, 1943) is an American stage, film, and television actor.

Life

Kim was born and raised in Hawaii. He is married to actress and fellow American Players Theatre co-founder, Anne Occhiogrosso.

Career

Theater

Kim began doing theater when he was 18 years old. He has portrayed a wide variety of roles on the stage, focusing upon Western classical works, including

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

. He has spent most of his career in theater. Kim starred in the first play written by an Asian American to be produced professionally in New York, '' The Chickencoop Chinaman'' by

Frank Chin Frank Chin (born February 25, 1940) is an American author and playwright. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Asian-American theatre. Life and career Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California on February 25, 1940; until the age of s ...

, which was mounted by The American Place Theatre in 1972. Kim co-founded the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright in 1977. He was the theater's artistic director. In 1974, Kim starred in Chin's second play, ''The Year of the Dragon''. Also that year, he became one of the first Asian-American actors to play a leading role in an American production of a Shakespeare play when he played the title role in The New York

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

's 1974 production of ''

Pericles, Prince of Tyre ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was p ...

''. Kim played the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' at the

Guthrie Theatre The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

in 1978–79. He played Kralahome in the 1996 revival of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, later succeeding to the leading role. Other Broadway credits include Golden Child and the revised version of ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

'', both written by

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yel ...

Film and television

Kim portrayed the

Keymaker The Keymaker is a fictional character, portrayed by Korean-American actor Randall Duk Kim, in the 2003 film ''The Matrix Reloaded''. He is a computer program that can create shortcut commands, physically represented as keys, which can be used ...

in the film ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...

'' (2003). He was originally asked by casting director

Mali Finn Mali Finn (March 8, 1938 – November 28, 2007), born Mary Alice Mann, was an American casting director and former English and drama teacher. She cast numerous actors in successful films, including Edward Furlong, Brad Renfro, Leonardo DiCaprio, ...

for the role. In 2008, he played mathematician Dashiell Kim in the episode "

The Equation "The Equation" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series ''Fringe''. The episode follows the Fringe team's investigation into the kidnapping of a young musical prodigy (Charlie Tahan) who ...

" of the television series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

.'' He played Grandpa Gohan in the live action '' Dragonball Evolution'' (2009)''.'' Kim voiced Po's teacher, Grand Master Oogway, in '' Kung Fu Panda'' (2008) and '' Kung Fu Panda 3'' (2016).

Filmography

Film

TV series

Video games

References

External links

* * * 1943 births American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Living people American male actors of Korean descent People from Spring Green, Wisconsin 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors {{US-theat-actor-1940s-stub