Tom Choi
Tom T. Choi (born in Daegu, South Korea) is a South Korean and American actor best known for Teen Wolf and his voice work on the Mortal Kombat video games and the first season of Squid Game. He has acted in numerous movies and television programs. Choi is also a producer, director, and writer. Tom Choi wrote the screenplay and starred in the award-winning short film: Lone Hunter.
Tom Choi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tom T. Choi Daegu, South Korea |
| Alma mater | University of Washington |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | Jill Renninger |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | tomtchoi |
Early life
Choi was born in Daegu, South Korea and moved to Des Moines, Iowa when he was four years old.[1] After graduating high school, Choi moved to Seattle, Washington, where he graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in drama. He then moved to Los Angeles and continued acting in film, television, and commercials. He attended the LACC School of Cinema and Television and now produces, directs, and writes in addition to acting.[2]
Career
Choi began working in film and television in 1998. He has made appearances in multiple blockbuster films and network television shows, and is best known for his roles as Ken Yukimura in Teen Wolf and Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat series.[3]
He runs the independent production company Tension Films[4] and was elected in 2015 and 2017 as a board member for the Los Angeles local of SAG-AFTRA, the union's largest local.[5][6]
As a filmmaker and writer
He made a short film called Singularity in 2016.[7]
Choi has claimed there are not many film and television roles for Asian Americans. Tom Choi wrote the screenplay for Lone Hunter, and then starred in the short film.[8]
Choi also has a web site called Tension Films to feature his work as a filmmaker and writer.
Personal life
He married Jill Renninger and has a son.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Nowheresville | Young (The Waiter) | |
| 2002 | Minority Report | Payment – Agent No. 2 | |
| 2004 | The Plight of Clownana | Actor | Short Film |
| 2006 | The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and His Little Friend | Guy in Crowd | TV movie |
| 2007 | The Gene Generation | Dad | |
| 2008 | Starlight Mints | Brett | Short Film |
| Trauma | Doctor, director, writer, producer | Short Film | |
| 2009 | Operating Instructions | Reporter | TV movie |
| Un-Broke: What You Need To Know About Money | Real Estate Agent | TV movie | |
| Road to the Altar | Ping | ||
| 2011 | Untitled Kari Lizer Project | Martin | TV movie |
| iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo: Live Action Remake | Sales Guy | Short Film | |
| Hall Pass | Asian Husband | ||
| Speaking Meteorically | Tom | Short Film | |
| 2012 | Applebaum | Pastor Park | TV movie |
| Surprise | Bartender | Short Film | |
| God's Country | Yakomoto Brother No. 1 | ||
| Letting Go | Executive | ||
| 2013 | Reincarnation of Frank | Buddha | Short Film |
| 2014 | In Your Eyes | Male Nurse | |
| 2015 | Lone Hunter[9] | Lee, producer, writer | Short Film
Nominated: Best Actor at the Maverick Movie Awards (Tom Choi) Nominated: Best Actor at the Milledgeville Film Festival (Tom Choi) Won: Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Milledgeville Film Festival |
| 2016 | April's Way[10] | Sung-Min | Short Film |
| Singularity | Singularity Device, director, editor, producer, writer | Awarded Honorable Mention at Justin Lin's Interpretations Short Films Initiative in the NBCUniversal Short Film Festival | |
| 2017 | Friend Request | Dean | Short film |
| Snatched | Colonel | ||
| Geostorm | Chinese Representative Lee | ||
| 2018 | Truth or Dare[11][12] | Officer Han Chang | |
| Beautiful Boy | Lecturer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pacific Blue | Charlie | Episode: "Cruz Control" |
| 2004 | The Shield | Sheriff | Episode: "Streaks and Tips" |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Fluoroscope Tech | Episode: "No Man's Land" |
| Wanted | Paul Shin | Episode: "Rubbing One Out" | |
| Las Vegas | Mr. Nakamura | Episode: "The Real McCoy" | |
| 2006 | Heist | ER Doctor | Episode: "Strife" |
| Vanished | A/V Tech | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| The Chelsea Handler Show | Squiggle | Episode: #1.10 | |
| Bones | FBI Agent | Episode: "The Boy In the Shroud" | |
| Criminal Minds | Special Agent Nick Casey | Episode: "Empty Planet" | |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | SGT Keller | Episode: "No Man's Land" |
| General Hospital | Jim Harlow | Episode: #1.11265 | |
| Brothers & Sisters | Steward | Episode: "An American Family" | |
| 2007–08 | Women's Murder Club | Police Officer / Uniformed Officer | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Miss Guided | Ed the Wheelchair Man | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| Prison Break | Feng's Driver | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Jake | Episode: "Acceptance" |
| Ghost Whisperer | Volunteer | Episode: "Greek Tragedy" | |
| Lie To Me | Groom | Episode: "Love Always" | |
| ER | Chris Zafares | Episode: "Old Times" | |
| 24 | Agent Park | Episode: "Day 7: 2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m." | |
| 2010 | Leverage | Russell Pan | Episode: "The Runway Job" |
| The Forgotten | Rufus | Episode: "Train Jane" | |
| Sons of Tuscan | Father | Episode: "Father's Day" | |
| Make It or Break It | Jim (a Rock Father) | Episode: "All or Nothing" | |
| The Suite Life on Deck | Mr. Hashimoto | Episode: "Trouble in Tokyo" | |
| Undercovers | Xu Chen | Episode: "Xerxes" | |
| 2011 | Chuck | Skinny Guard | Episode: "Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil" |
| Franklin & Bash | Coroner | Episode: "She Came Upstairs to Kill Me" | |
| Death Valley | Male Nurse | Episode: "Blood Vessels" | |
| The Closer | Tommy Wong | Episode: "Silent Partner" | |
| 2012 | Kickin' It | Judge | Episode: "New Jack City" |
| 2012–13 | Travel Tech | Producer, writer, actor, Host | 2 episodes |
| Static | Series Regular, writer | 3 episodes | |
| 2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Director | Episode: "Dead Air" |
| Southland | Captain Bill Choi | Episode: "Hats and Bats" | |
| Switched at Birth | Reporter | Episode: "Introducing the Miracle" | |
| House of Lies | Realtor | 2 episodes | |
| A.N.T. Farm | Mr. Hashimoto | 3 episodes | |
| 2013–16 | NCIS: Los Angeles | LAPD Officer Fong | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Days of Our Lives | Dr. Chung | 2 episodes |
| The McCarthys | Doctor Lee | Episode: "Arthur and Marjorie's Night Apart" | |
| 2014–16 | Teen Wolf | Ken Yukimura | 21 episodes |
| 2015 | NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service | Navy Commander Bradley Hall | Episode: "Day in Court" |
| 2016 | Agent Carter | Dr. Chung | 2 episodes |
| JoJoHead | Actor | Episode: "Bad First Dates" | |
| 2017 | Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn | Sophisticated Guy | Episode: "Quad with a Blog" |
| Hawaii Five-0[13] | Brian Hadley | Episode: "Ua ho'i ka 'opa i Awalua" | |
| Bizaardvark | Dr. Wong | 3 episodes | |
| 2018 | Modern Family | Bob | Episode: "On the Same Paige" |
| 2021 | Squid Game | Front Man (English voice) | 9 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe | Liu Kang (voice) | |
| 2011 | Mortal Kombat | Liu Kang (voice) | |
| 2015 | Mortal Kombat X | Liu Kang (voice) | |
| Batman: Arkham Knight | (voice) | ||
| 2019 | Death Stranding | The Collector (voice) | |
| 2020 | Fallout 76: Steel Dawn | Knight Daniel Shin (voice) |
Awards
In 2015, Choi was nominated for Best Actor at the Maverick Movie Awards for the Tension Films short film Lone Hunter.[14] In 2017, he was nominated for Best Actor and won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Milledgeville Film Festival for Lone Hunter, shared with John Heinsen and Pascal Leister.[15][16][17][18]
In 2016, he received an Honorable Mention at Justin Lin's Interpretations Short Films Initiative in the NBCUniversal Short Film Festival for Singularity. Choi both directed the film and played the leading role.[19]
References
- "Tom Choi Interview – Asians on Film". Asians on Film. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- "Tom Choi". Strawberry Festival. Strawberry Festival. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Tom Choi". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- "About". TensionFilms.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- "SAG AFTRA LA Local Results" (PDF).
- "Official Tabulation Results for 2017 SAG-AFTRA LOS ANGELES LOCAL" (PDF). SAG-AFTRA. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- Choi, Tom. "My short film Singularity just got top 15 finalist!". tomtchoi. Tomtchoi. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Award winning short film Lone Hunter about racism and gun violence to premiere on Vimeo". prlog. PRLog. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Karpan, Andrew. "A real life case of racism and gun violence in Middle America". popdust. Popdust. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "'April's Way' Captures Stories of Korean-American Merchants During L.A. Riots". NBC News. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- BERNSTEIN, ABBIE (13 April 2018). "Movie Review: TRUTH OR DARE". assignmentx. MIDNIGHT PRODUCTIONS, INC. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- N'Duka, Amanda (September 2017). "Dick Cheney Biopic Casts Stefania LaVie Owen; Robert Knepper, Armin Amiri Join '1st Born'; Tom Choi In 'Truth Or Dare'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Tom Choi". TV Guide. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "2015". MAVERICK MOVIE AWARDS: Where moviemakers honor moviemakers from all over the world!. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- "Lone Hunter is Film Shortage's Pick of The Day". Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- "Milledgeville Film Festival returns for biggest installment yet". The Union-Recorder. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- leister, pascal (24 April 2017), Lone Hunter – Official Trailer, retrieved 28 June 2017
- "Lone Hunter". lonehuntermovie.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- "Here are your 2016 Interpretations Short Film Initiative Winners & Honorable Mentions". yomyomf.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.