Monthly Archives: September 2008

Tim Kang in The Mentalist on CBS

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You may have seen Korean American Tim Kang in Rambo 4 as En-Joo earlier this year or even in commercials for Home Depot, Dairy Queen, and AT&T/Cingular. Tim is originally from San Francisco. His mother is a nurse, while his father was the publisher of the Korea Daily News. He graduated from the UC Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and later received an Master of Fine Arts from the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard University. Currently, the 35-year-old actor resides in Los Angeles. Now, Tim Kang plays a supporting role as Kimball Cho in CBS’s The Mentalist. 15.5 Million Viewers in watched the debut of the Mentalist yesterday. Here’s more about The Mentalist.

THE MENTALIST stars Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker (“The Devil Wears Prada”) as Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. Within the Bureau, Jane is notorious for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium, whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. Jane’s role in cracking a series of tough high-profile cases is greatly valued by his fellow agents. However, no-nonsense Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney, “Prison Break”) openly resists having Jane in her unit and alternates between reluctantly acknowledging Jane’s usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and dangerous lack of boundaries. Lisbon’s team includes agents Kimball Cho (Tim Kang, “Rambo”), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman, “The Nine”), and rookie member Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti, “The O.C.”), who all think Jane’s a loose cannon but admire his charm and knack for clearing cases. Bruno Heller (creator of “Rome”) is creator/executive producer, and Emmy Award winner David Nutter (“Band of Brothers”) is the executive producer for Warner Bros. Television.”

A clip from The Mentalist

Learn more about The Mentalist

Tim Kang in the Home Depot Commercial (poor quality)

Tim Kang in the Dairy Queen Pregnant Wife Commercial

Tim Kang in Cingular Commercial

Mr. Hyphen 2008 Contestants

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Hyphen and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center presents the 3rd annual Mr. Hyphen, celebrating the men of the Asian American community who devote themselves to worthy community causes. The event has rounds of talent, fashion and Q&A. The man who is crowned Mr. Hyphen wins a $1000 cash donation to his nonprofit organization. Here are this year’s contestants:

Scott Chan
Scott Chan
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics

 Aristotle Garcia
Aristotle Garcia
Filipino-American Arts & Exposition		 Mike Liu
Mike Liu
Spring Buds / California Dragon Boat Association
Maurice Seaty
Maurice Seaty
Southeast Asian Student Coalition		 Eric Tam
Eric Tam
Asian American Donor Program		 Rockson Yan
Rockson Yan
API Legal Outreach Youth Program

Find out who wins on Saturday, October 4 at 7 – 10pm. The event takes place at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Oakland Chinatown. Buy tickets here.

This was last year’s Mr. Hyphen contest promo. (it give you a taste of what you can expect)

Heroes Season 3 Villians premiere

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All our posts about Heroes Season 3: Villians has finally come to fruition. Of course, we spotlight the Asian stars as your favorite Heroes characters : Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, James Kyson Lee as Ando Masahashi, and Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh. Here’s our previous posts – the Heroes Teaser, a Heroes Commercial, Heroes at Comic-Con, and the Heroes Preview.

Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura

Masi Oka stars as Hiro Nakamura, a Japanese nonconformist computer/anime geek. Hiro’s ability to pierce the space-time continuum and manipulate time has empowered him with foresight into a dangerous future — and what he must do to change it. “Heroes” follows the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.

Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to Los Angeles at age 6, where he currently resides. He is fluent in Japanese and proficient in Spanish. His hobbies include kendo/Japanese sword fighting, fencing, playing table tennis, watching romantic comedies, playing the piano and singing. His birthday is December 27.

Check out The Heroes Premiere Party for Season 3 hosted by Masi Oka.

James Kyson Lee as Ando Masahashi

James Kyson Lee stars as Ando Masahashi, a quiet Tokyo executive who embarks on wild adventures with his time-traveling friend Hiro Nakamura.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lee moved with his family to New York City at the age of 10. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science and continued his education at Boston University and New England Institute of the Arts, where he studied communications. It was at New England where Lee enrolled in music, dance, and improvisation courses. Inspired by his newly discovered passion for performing, he sold his used car for $1,800 in the summer of 2001 and purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. Lee began training as a jazz singer, and eventually made the transition from music to acting. Lee currently resides in Los Angeles. His birthday is December 13.

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh

Sendhil Ramamurthy stars as Dr. Mohinder Suresh, a genetics professor from India driven to confirm and champion his father’s theory that there are people with extraordinary abilities living among us. Suresh’s father died at the hands of one of these special people and he has adopted another, Molly (Adair Tishler). “Heroes” follows the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.

Ramamurthy was born in Chicago and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Ramamurthy was a pre-med major at Tufts University before taking drama as an elective. His birthday is May 17.

The Second Coming Clip – Charged with a sacred quest, Hiro opens Pandora’s box

The Second Coming (2 minute Recap)

See the full Heroes episode of The Second Coming

Butterfly Effect (2 minute Recap)

See the full Heroes episode of The Butterfly Effect

Cheryl Burke and Carrie Ann Inaba back on Dancing with the Stars

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It will be a season of surprises in what promises to be the biggest and most demanding season ever, as 13 celebrities take the ballroom floor on the hit series “Dancing with the Stars,” which returns with a three-night premiere event, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. All new surprises and twists will await viewers each week. Season Seven marks the largest cast assembled to date, the oldest and youngest competitors ever, and includes two Olympic Gold medalists, a Grammy®-winning singer, a television legend, an Oscar® winner and a Super Bowl champion. Additionally, all four professional dancers who’ve previously tasted the thrill of victory return to compete against one another for bragging rights. Can one of them reclaim the mirror ball trophy? Cheryl Burke returns to the dance floor, while Carrie Ann Inaba continues judging the the dance moves on the floor.

Cheryl is the first two-time winner of Dancing with the Stars. Cheryl and her partner singer Drew Lachey stole the show on Season 2 and sensationally won the competition. Season 3, Cheryl was partnered with football legend Emmitt Smith, and together they won the competition. Season 4, Cheryl made it to the semi-finals with actor Ian Ziering, placing fourth. In Season 6, Cheryl and Cristian de la Fuente made it to third place, while in Season 5, Cheryl and Wayne Newton finished 10th. This season she partners up with Maurice Greene.

Growing up in San Francisco, California, Cheryl came from a family who all loved to dance. At four years old, she began taking ballet lessons and performed throughout the Bay area until she was ten. It was at that time that she discovered that ballroom, “wasn’t just for old people” and decided to change her focus. She hung up her ballet shoes and began training in both standard and Latin. By the age of 13, Cheryl was traveling and competing throughout the world, later moving on to win several championships.

In the spring of 2008 Cheryl opened her first dance studio, the highly successful Cheryl Burke Dance, in San Francisco and has plans to open another studio this fall.

Carrie Ann is a former professional dancer turned choreographer and director in the television and film industry. She has choreographed numerous televised events, including American Idol Christmas 2003, Miss America 1998-2001 and 2003, All-American Girl 2003 and Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire, among many others. She has acted and danced in such films and television series as In Living Color, Showgirls and Flintstones 2: Viva Rock Vegas!, and had featured roles in Austin Powers II & III, Monster Mash and Freak.


Inaba has toured with Madonna (The Girlie Show International Tour) and twice with Ricky Martin (Living La Vida Loca Promo Tour and Shake Your Bon Bon).



Inaba is also skilled in hula, videography, editing, singing, martial arts and Japanese.

Cheryl Burke and Carrie Ann Inaba back on Dancing with the Stars

Writer Chuck Kim from Heroes

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Chuck Kim wrote Heroes episode Chapter Nineteen .07%. In this interview, he answers questions about missing episodes from Volume 2, character from the web comics being on the TV series, and Peter’s hidden powers. (It’s great to see Asian Americans both in front of and behind the camera for Heroes.) Chuck also occasionally writes for Marvel and DC Comics.


Volume 3 of Heroes entitled Villains started yesterday. Watch Heroes on Mondays on NBC.

Writer Chuck Kim from Heroes

Cashmere Mafia DVD release

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Cashmere Mafia lasted only one season and now you can get the complete series including the much talked about kiss between Lucy Liu and Jack Yang on prime time TV. The show is over, but you can still catch Lucy Liu on the second season of Dirty Sexy Money.

Cashmere Mafia synopsis

Set in glamorous New York City, four women stay close as they strive for success in the business world. Affectionately known as the Cashmere Mafia, they rely on each other for support in both their careers and their often-tumultuous personal relationships. Publisher Mia (Lucky Liu), CEO Juliet (Miranda Otto), top business executive Zoe (Frances O’Connor) and key marketing executive Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville) are bright, driven and dedicated, supporting each other through rocky marriages, rival colleagues, kids’ recitals and the hunt for the perfect loft. Their ambition comes with a price – although they consistently outpace their male colleagues and husbands in salary and title, they must watch out for scheming rivals, eager to bring them down. But how better to climb to the top of the corporate ladder than with your buddies at your side?

Buy Cashmere Mafia DVD

Lucy Liu talks about her character Mia Mason