Lee Jae-hyeok (, born Kim Ji-hoon []; 12 December 1975), known professionally as James Kyson, is a South Korean and 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 Kim 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.
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.
Kyson was a celebrity judge at the Miss Universe 2007 beauty pageant.
Personal life Kyson has been 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 Year Title Role Notes2006 Asian Stories Jim Lee Big Dreams Little Tokyo Murakami 2007 Doberman Johnny the Bartender 2008 Shutter Ritsuo Akira's Hip Hop Shop Akira 2009 White on Rice Tim Kim Hard Breakers Evan Necrosis Jerry How to Make Love to a Woman Aaron WWII in HD Jimmie Kanaya (voice) Why Am I Doing This? Eric 2010 Despicable Me Additional voices 2013 Plush Coat, Tie Fan 2014 Ragamuffin Matt Gast2015 Fourth World Legion The Livingston Gardener Pierce Lawrence 2016 Convenience Store Diet Jacked Bro (voice)2017 Boone: the Bounty Hunter Cameo No Trace Detective Phil Chung The High Life Chevy Lee2018 Another Time Kal Breaking & Exiting Peter Banana Season Sun 2019 Walk to Vegas Wing 2023 Godzilla Minus One Yōji Akitsu (voice) English dub 2024 Werewolves Miles Chen 2025KPop Demon HuntersAdditional voices
Television Year Title Role Notes2003 JAG Lieutenant Pak Episode: "Close Quarters" All About the Andersons Josh Episode: "Joe's Big Break"2004 Threat Matrix Vargas Killer Episode: "PPX" Unsolved History Mysterious Man Episode: "Flight KAL-007" The West Wing Chinese Translator Zheng Episode: "Impact Winter" 2005 Xtreme Fakeovers James Parker Episode: "Xtreme Fakeover" 2005–06 Untold Stories of the E.R. X-Ray Doctor, Reenactments, Resident Park 3 episodes2006 Stranger Adventures Mysterious Man Episode: "Helen Beaumont" Heist Universal Studio Guide Episode: "Ladies and Gentlemen... Sweaty Dynamite" 2006–10 Heroes Ando Masahashi 61 episodes 2007 Las Vegas Joon Ho Park Episode: "Wagers of Sin" 2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Officer Kwan Episode: "Say Uncle"2009Star RunnersLei ChenTelevision film 2011 Hawaii Five-0 Sean Leung Episode: "Ma Ke Kahakai (Shore)"2012 Chasing the Hill Curt Barboa Episode: "Send in the Dancing Chihuahuas" Daybreak Gregg Harding Episode: "Chapter 1" Have You Met Miss Jones? Jacob 3 episodes 2012; 2016 Adventure Time Trami, Big Destiny (voices) 3 episodes2013 Very Smart Brothers Marcus Television film Armed Response Charlie Scortino Non-Stop Kevin Television Between Bullets Johnny Parker 3 episodes 2014 Justified Yoon 2 episodes 2015 The Startup Mikio Episode: "Welcome to LA"2016 Animals Floor Manager (voice) Episode: "Rats" NCIS: Los Angeles James Kang Episode: "Seoul Man" School of Rock David Kwon Episode: "We're Not Gonna Take It"2017 Blade of Honor John 'Hoss' O'Tekjac Episode: "Frying Pan" Sleepy Hollow Mark Wong Episode: "Columbia" Elementary Joey Ng Episode: "Rekt in Real Life" Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Detective Joon-Ho Kim Episode: "Pretty Like Me" Preacher The Technician Episode: "Sokoasha" 2017; 2019 We Bare Bears Additional Voices (voices) 2 episodes 2018 Glimpse Scientist Schulze Episode: "Sebastian Moller" 2018–19 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Bam Ui Pati Actor, Additional Voices (voices) 2 episodes2020 Film Lab Presents Theodore 2 episodes Lovecraft Country Byung-Ho Episode: "Meet Me in Daegu" Next Bill Zhai Episode: "FILE #7" 2023 Scavengers Reign John (voice) Episode: "The Mountain" 2023–25 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Big Destiny, Handbag Helmet (voices) 2 episodes 2024 BMF Officer Kang 5 episodes
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2004 Shellshock: Nam '67 Monty, Vietnamese Soldiers, Prisoners and Civilians #4 2006 Family Guy Video Game! Train Conductor 2007 The Darkness Cop, Peter Chen 2008 Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Shang Tsung 2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population 2014 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Additional Voices 2015 Battlefield Hardline Additional Voices 2019 Anthem Dr. Harken 2020Cyberpunk 2077Additional Voices2025Ghost of YōteiAdditional Voices
See also Masi Oka — Kyson's co-actor on Heroes
References
External links
Interview with girl.com on White on Rice