Archie Kao (Chinese: 高聖遠, born 14 December 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known to American audiences for series regulars roles on Chicago P.D., Power Rangers Lost Galaxy as well as long-running hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C., Kao grew up in the suburbs of Alexandria, Virginia. His parents are immigrants from Taiwan.

While attending George Mason University, Kao joined the Sigma Chi fraternity and graduated with a degree in Speech Communication in 1992. He was recognized as a Significant Sig by his fraternity in 2025, an honor bestowed upon members that have achieved high distinction in their fields.

As an undergraduate, Kao was elected Student Government President as well as the University's Homecoming King. He initially had plans to attend Law School and work in politics before becoming an actor.

Kao also speaks and understands Mandarin because he grew up in a bilingual household with two younger sisters but is more comfortable speaking in English, especially in interviews. He also studied French for six years.

He was named one of Peoples "Hottest Bachelors" in 2006. Kao currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Beijing.

Career

Television Through the early 2000s, Kao may have been best known for his role as Archie Johnson in the hit television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as well as the role of Kai Chen, the Blue Ranger, in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, later also providing additional voices in the Power Rangers franchise, voicing Liztwin in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (in which he also reprised his role as Chen) and voicing General Venjix in Power Rangers Wild Force. He has also appeared on TV shows such as Desperate Housewives (as Steve), ER (as Yuri), NBC's Heroes, Century City, Huff (as Kane), Once and Again (as Steven), L.A. Firefighters (as Peter), Maybe This Time (as Takeshi) and more.

In 2013, Kao joined the cast of the NBC TV series Chicago P.D. (a spin-off from Chicago Fire) as a series regular, a character named Detective Sheldon Jin who is in charge of surveillance at the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Unit.

Kao shares his birthday with fellow Power Rangers actress Thuy Trang (1973–2001), who played the original Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from 1993 to 1994.

Film

Kao appeared as Sebastian in Wayne Wang's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and starred as the main romantic lead, Jefferson, in Quentin Lee's The People I've Slept With. Kao also played Edwin Luke, the brother of Keye Luke in Timothy Tau's short film bio-pic Keye Luke, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and which was Closing Night Film of the inaugural 2013 Seattle Asian American Film Festival. Kao appeared in a 2014 Chinese fil, The Deathday Party opposite Anita Yuen. It was shot in the ancient Chinese Alu Caves of Yunnan. Kao played Shum in Michael Mann's film Blackhat (2015). Kao has also had roles in films such as The Hills Have Eyes 2 (as Han), Nomad: The Warrior (as Shangrek), When In Rome (as Nobu), and Jet Li's The One (as Woo).

Kao provided the voice of Kenji in the videogame Need for Speed: Carbon.

Kao wrote, directed and produced a short film entitled Initiation (2011), which starred Ashley Bell and Kao's CSI co-star Marc Vann. The film is about an assassin trainee (Bell) who struggles with initiation day jitters under her mentor (Vann). Kao also produced and starred in a short film (as Jin) directed by Jerry Chan entitled Fast Money (2006).

In 2021, Kao starred in the holiday romance film Christmas at the Ranch with Amanda Righetti, Lindsay Wagner, Laur Allen and Dia Frampton playing the character Charles.

Personal life In May 2014, Chinese actress Zhou Xun posted a picture of Kao and herself on her team's Weibo account, announcing that they were dating.周迅凌晨公开与美国华裔演员恋情：请多关照 On July 16, Kao and Zhou were officially married on stage after a charity event in Hangzhou, China.周迅大婚:在今晚举行的ONE NIGHT公益晚会上，周迅 一袭婚纱压轴出场 On December 23, 2020, Zhou announced on her Sina Weibo account that they have divorced, to which Kao acknowledged a comment to her update.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1997The PlayerIntern2001Thank HeavenSam LeeThe OneWoo2002PurposeKikoLocal BoysDavid KamelamelaAgainst All EvidenceMinh Van CanhWhen In Rome (V)Nobu2006Fast MoneyJinNeed for Speed: CarbonKenjiVideo GameNomad: The WarriorShangrek2007The Hills Have Eyes 2Han2008The People I've Slept WithJefferson2011Snow Flower and the Secret FanSebastian2012Keye LukeEdwin Luke2013Love SpeaksShaodong2014The Deathday PartyEric2015BlackhatShumUlterior MotiveLing Feng2016Provoking Laughter2017Into the RainbowSongLegend of the Ancient SwordXie Yi2018Dream BreakerNan Yan 2021Christmas at the RanchThe Disappearance of Mrs. WuDavid Wu2025Captain TsunamiGus

Television Year Title Role Notes1996L.A. FirefightersPeter"Fuel and Spark" (Guest Appearance)Maybe This TimeTakeshi"Break a Leg" (Guest Appearance)1999Power Rangers: Lost GalaxyKai Chen / Blue Galaxy RangerMain cast 45 episodesOnce and AgainSteve / Steven"The Past is Prologue" and "A Dream Deferred" (2009) (Recurring Role)2000Power Rangers Lightspeed RescueKai Chen / Blue Galaxy Ranger / LiztwinVoice, 3 episodes2001–2012CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationArchie JohnsonRecurring role (2001–2012), 100 episodes (Also in 1 episode as M.Blaze)2002Power Rangers Wild ForceGeneral VenjixVoice, Episode: "Forever Red"2004HuffKane"That Fucking Cabin" (Guest Appearance)ERYuri"Abby Normal" and "Just a Touch" (Recurring Role)Century CityBartender"To Know Her" (Guest Appearance) 2006 Heroes Doctor "Chapter Five 'Hiros'" (Guest Appearance) 2008 Desperate Housewives Steve "Hello, Little Girl" (Guest Appearance) 2014 Chicago P.D. Detective Sheldon Jin Main cast (Season 1) 2017 Fighter of the Destiny Jin Yulü Special appearance Nothing Gold Can Stay Tu'er Dan Special appearance My Dear Boy Xiao Yeshi Main Cast 2018 Love Is in the Air Chu Tian Qi Main CastNever Gone Xu Zhiheng Special appearance 2020 The Flight Attendant Ani's Client "Other People's Houses" 2021 Breath of Destiny Qiao XiangWan Main Cast 2023 Rabbit Hole Elliot Gao Main Cast 2024 Interior Chinatown Uncle Wong Main Cast

References

External links

10 Things You Didn't Know about Archie Kao Kao on about.me

Archie Kao: Jack of All Trades | Taipei 543 Zhou Xun and Archie Kao Wed in Surprise Public Ceremony in China