James Kyson

James Kyson (born December 13, 1975) 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.
Early life and education
Kyson was born Lee Ji-hoon (although his given name was later changed to Jae-hyeok) 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. His English name, James, is derived from James Bond. He studied communications at Boston University with the intent of being a sports broadcaster before later transferring to the New England Institute of Art.
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.
Acting career
After three years in Los Angeles, Kyson landed his first acting role on the military legal television drama JAG in 2003.
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. 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.
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.
Personal life
Kyson is married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson since 2015.
He is fluent in Korean and learned Japanese to play Ando Masahashi in Heroes.
Filmography
Film
Shutter (2008) – Ritsuo
Akira's Hip Hop Shop (2008) – Akira
White on Rice (2009) – Tim Kim
Hard Breakers (2009) – Evan
Necrosis (2009) – Jerry
How to Make Love to a Woman (2009) – Aaron
Star Runners (2009) – Lei Chen
WWII in HD (2009) – voice of Jimmie Kanaya
Why Am I Doing This? (2009) – Eric
Despicable Me (2010) – Additional Voices
Plush (2013) – Coat and Tie Fan
Ragamuffin (2014) - Matt Gast
Fourth World (2015) – Legion
The Livingston Gardender (2015) – Pierce Lawrence
Convenience Store Diet (2016) – voice of Jacked Bro
Boone: the Bounty Hunter (2017) – Cameo
No Trace (2017) – Detective Phil Chung
The High Life (2017) – Chevy Lee
Another Time (2018) – Kal
Breaking & Exiting (2018) – Peter
Banana Season (2018) – Sun
Walk to Vegas (2019) – Wing
Television
Video games
Other activities
Kyson plays basketball for charity celebrity team The Hollywood Knights and participated in Robbie Williams' Soccer Aid for UNICEF at Manchester Uniteds Old Trafford in England. He is also an Ambassador for the International Organization Good Neighbors and their Water for Life campaign.
Kyson represented the Rest of the World team in 2010 Soccer Aid, a British charity soccer match in aid of UNICEF.
See also
Masi Oka — Kyson's co-actor on Heroes
References
External links
Interview with girl.com on White on Rice
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American male actors of Korean descent
1975 births
Boston University College of Communication alumni
The Bronx High School of Science alumni
Living people
Male actors from New York City
New England Institute of Art alumni
Male actors from Seoul
South Korean emigrants to the United States
21st-century American male actors