Yila Timothy Kang (born March 16, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Kimball Cho in the television series ''

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...

'' and Gordon Katsumoto in the CBS/

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

reboot series '' Magnum P.I.''

Early life and education

Kang was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and is the eldest of three brothers. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

from Harvard's

Institute for Advanced Theater Training The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre (ART/МХАТ) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was founded in 1987 as a training ground for the new American Theater by the Robert Brustein and the American Repertory ...

at the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to n ...

and the Moscow Art Theatre. Kang began acting at age 26. He had been working in the finance industry at the

Pacific Exchange The Pacific Exchange was a regional stock exchange in California, from 1956 to 2006. Its main exchange floor and building were in San Francisco, California, with a branch building in Los Angeles, California. In 1882, the San Francisco Stock an ...

when he passed by the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Americ ...

and signed up for night acting classes on a whim. In an interview with the Korea Society, he stated that he decided to switch to acting full-time when he realized that he could no longer concentrate on his day job at the exchange.

Career

Kang was a series regular on CBS's ''

'' as Special Agent Kimball Cho. He appeared in '' Rambo'' (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

) and also on such TV shows as '' The Office'', ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

'', '' The Vampire Diaries'' and ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

''. He returned to his theater roots for Julia Cho's new play ''Aubergine'', playing one of the lead characters, Ray. It premiered at the

Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley. History The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident ...

in February 2016 before touring to various theatres. In 2012, Kang launched a production company named ''One Shoot Films'' with its first film project focusing on child abduction and sexually abused children. Kang recurred as Ivan Hess on Marvel's '' Cloak & Dagger''. He is a series regular as Detective Gordon Katsumoto on the 2018 reboot of '' Magnum P.I.''. After four seasons led to cancellation on CBS, he is set to continue in the role following the series's pickup by

Personal life

Kang has a black belt in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

. With wife actress Gina Marie May, Kang has a daughter, Bianca Jooyung Kang, born November 7, 2009. Kang is a national spokesman and active supporter for the

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pres ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Tim 1973 births American male film actors American male actors of Korean descent American male television actors Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni 21st-century American male actors