Pristine white sand covers miles of camera cord, lighting equipment overheats in the tropical sun, and the cast of Lost portrays marooned survivors just feet away from their flossy oceanfront villas in Oahu.
    Here, the camera’s eye captures what it wants; a deserted island with mystical powers, stranded castaways fighting to get home, and a plot so complicated it twists and turns like a roller coaster. But beyond the camera lens and director’s chair lies a different story.
    Far from deserted, Hawaii boasts one of the nation’s most populated cities, Honolulu. Just miles away from the set, the airport never sleeps as tourists arrive in need of a little R & R. Contrary to its Lost counterpart, this indigenous land is occupied by white people who have come searching for tropical simplicity.
    Here RISEN finds Daniel Dae Kim shooting the fourth episode of Season 3. You may not recognize him by name, but he has been part of a long list of blockbuster projects. From Spider Man 2 to Crash, he’s no longer “that Asian guy in that one film.” For Kim, being lost is not as scary as being typecast. But his choice of roles keeps landing him on the awards show red carpet and in prime filming locations like Lanikai Beach.

RISEN Magazine: One of your high school classmates said he thought you would be a politician, not an actor.
Daniel Dae Kim: Yeah, I was one of those kids in high school. I was class president for a bunch of years and a member of all the geeky clubs. I got into acting in college as a favor for a friend.

RM: How did you get the role of Jin in Lost?
DDK: What makes my story interesting is that when I got cast in Lost I was already committed to do another job in Europe. There was a very real chance that I wasn’t going to be able to play Jin because of my prior commitment. But the generosity of J.J. Abrams allowed me to do both. J.J. is not only a talented director and writer, but he’s a really quality person. If it weren’t for his understanding, I wouldn’t be on this show.

RM: So you had to learn Korean for this role?
DDK: Yes, it was a very difficult thing. I’ve been doing this character now for two years, and I was hoping it was going to get easier. But it remains as challenging as ever.
RM: You’d think you’d have strong support from your Korean fans, but it seems they are the hardest to convince.
DDK: Yeah, it’s ironic. There’s kind of a self-hatred there. At first I took all that criticism very personally because it matters to me what my fellow Asians think of what I’m doing. But then I realized that you can’t please all the people all the time.
On the other hand, I do agree with some of the criticism. Some say my Korean accent is crap. It’s true. I don’t speak like a native, but get over it. I read somewhere that someone wanted to turn off the television because of my bad accent. If that’s enough to make you turn off the television on a quality show where there are two Asians featured for the first time ever, then turn it off. See in the end who you are actually helping.

RM: When you talk about self-hatred, are you referring to your Korean viewers or yourself?
DDK: I meant it about my Korean viewers who, on a subconscious level, don’t want to see themselves portrayed on screen. Or they are in fear of being attacked by racists out there. So they run a preemptive strike and attack first. I find it interesting that the community I’m trying to help and support has been the most vocal in criticizing me.

RM: Jin is the first character on prime-time television to speak a language other than English, right?
DDK: Yes, the episodes with my flashbacks are 30 to 50 percent in Korean, with subtitles. How many shows do you know that have subtitles to that degree?

RM: Will Jin ever speak English?