Ellen Tamaki is an American actress who played Niko Hamada in ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

'' (2018–19) and Drea Mikami in ''

Manifest Manifest may refer to: Computing * Manifest file, a metadata file that enumerates files in a program or package * Manifest (CLI), a metadata text file for CLI assemblies Events * Manifest (convention), a defunct anime festival in Melbourne, Au ...

'' since 2020.

Early life

Tamaki is from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She studied acting at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

, graduating in 2013. During her time as a student in London, she had theatre appearances as Lady Anne in ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' and as Casca in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

''. Tamaki moved to the United States to study at the

Boston University College of Fine Arts The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of Boston University. Founded in 1872 with the establishment of the College of Music, it is an institution that trains artists, scholars of th ...

, graduating in 2014.

Acting career

Tamaki was working on the One Year Lease Theater Company and Stages Repertory Theatre's production ''Balls'' at

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a venue presenting a year-round curated program of live theater. The three theater building is located in New York City. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is ...

in New York when the show's protagonist Billie-Jean King (played by Tamaki) showed up in real life to watch the play. After having several small roles in films and television from 2015, her first big break came in 2018, while working in New York theatre, she was offered a main role as the police detective Niko Hamada for 16 episodes of series 1 of the television series ''

''. Tamaki followed that television success with the recurring role of police officer Drea Mikami in the second series of ''

'' in 2020. She continued in the role through to season 4 in 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaki, Ellen Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Brooklyn American television actresses American film actresses American actresses of Japanese descent Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)