John Cho is an American actor, screenwriter, producer and musician of Korean descent. He is best known to the general public for his roles in the comedies Harold and Kumar Going Away and American Pie, the science fiction blockbuster Star Trek and the series Selfie, Start, and Remember What Will. In total, during his career he participated in more than one hundred projects.
Childhood and youth
John Cho was born on June 16, 1972 in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Real name is Cho Ye-khan. He moved to the United States at the age of six with his family. Changed the name to the more familiar for Americans, John Johan Cho.
Cho grew up in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from high school, he entered the prestigious Berkeley University, received a bachelor's degree in English. He taught at the school for some time and played in the theater in his free time.
Carier start
In 1997, John Cho made his acting debut in the film "Cheating." Later, he played a cameo in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty and several other projects. Appeared in small roles in the popular TV series "Charmed" and "Felicity."
A major breakthrough in the filmography of John Cho was a small role in the youth comedy "American Pie." He later appeared in several sequels of the picture. Also in the next few years, the actor played episodic and secondary roles in Stephen Soderberg’s film “Solaris”, the comedy “Big Fat Liar” and the blockbuster “Evolution”. In 2001, John joined the main cast of the sitcom "Out of Center", which was closed after the second season.
Most Notable Roles
In 2004, the youth comedy “Harold and Kumar go ahead” was released, with John Cho and Kal Penn playing the lead roles. Later in the interview, the actor stated that he agreed to the project in order to play an atypical Asian character, a relaxed young man who smokes marijuana, as he was tired of stereotypical Asian characters in Hollywood films.
The picture became a hit and gained cult status. In subsequent years, John Cho appeared in two full-length sequels and several short films. Also in the next few years, he played small roles in the TV series Doctor House and How I Met Your Mother.
In 2009, one of the most significant films with John Chow was released. He played Hikaru Sulu in a new film based on the legendary series Star Trek. The film of JJ Abrams proved to be excellent at the box office, and later two more sequels were released, negotiations are currently underway on the filming of the fourth part of the series.
Also in 2009, John received one of the central roles in the science-fiction series Remember Back. The project was closed after the first season, but managed to gain a strong fan base and cult status. In the next few years, Cho also played a major role in the sitcom “On Start”, which was closed after the first season, and appeared in several episodes of the series “Sleepy Hollow”.
He also appeared in the science fiction blockbuster "Remember Everything" and the comedy "Catch a Fat Woman, if You Can." In 2014, John Cho got the lead role in the series Selfie, becoming the first actor of Asian descent to play the main character of the comedy series on American television. Sitcom was closed after the first season, despite excellent reviews from critics.
In 2017, the list of John Chow films was replenished with the independent drama Columbus, where he played a major role. The picture was warmly received by critics. A year later, he portrayed the protagonist of the thriller Search, which also received positive reviews from journalists and performed well at the box office.
At the moment, several television and full-length projects with the participation of John Cho are in development.
Personal life
John Cho has been married to actress Kerry Higuchi since 2006. The couple has two children, a son and a daughter. John's wife often plays small roles in the series with him. The family lives in Los Angeles.
John is interested in politics and supports the US Democratic Party, participates in campaigns to raise funds for the election campaigns of its candidates. He is the frontman of a grunge group consisting of graduates of the University of Berkeley.
reference Information
John is sometimes confused with another South Korean actor, despite his impressive list of successful series and films. Cho John Suk is an actor known for several dramas. Unlike his American counterpart, he never emigrated and works at home. In English, his name is spelled differently, but when writing in Russian two actors can be confused.