Daniel Dae Kim, Actor, Director and Producer

In this episode of Talks at GS, actor, director and producer Daniel Dae Kim discusses his career in television, how his experience as a Korean-American has shaped his career, and his views on the recent surge in hate incidents directed at Asian-Americans, a topic on which he recently testified before Congress. 

On advocating for equality: “It matters to me that I live in a country where people don't kill each other because of what we look like. That matters to me. And that goes beyond the Asian-American community. That's about, again, humanity. And I have to believe that there are a lot of people who think like us, that we can be better. We can live together in a more harmonious way. And that's what drives me forward. I think what's been going on in the Asian-American community is just one part of a larger conversation about how we treat one another.”

On the Bamboo Ceiling: “You have, in my industry, a lot of representation now in comparison to what used to be. At the same time, if you look at how many are leading roles, how many are actually the number one on the call sheet, the lead, we still have a real big disparity. And that's also true in the executive levels of our business. We have a lot of people going to agencies and studios and networks, but not many of them are rising to the decision-making levels. And so this is what is commonly known as the bamboo ceiling.”

 

 

The episode was recorded on May 17, 2021.