Grace Park has been cast for the new television remake of “Hawaii Five-O.” Grace Park will play Kono Kalakaua, the neice of Detective Chin Ho Kelly – a role filled by LOST actor Daniel Dae Kim. According to Hollywood Reporter, Kono is a “beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett recruits her to join his team.” It’s good to see the beautiful Grace Park back on television. She had a great stint on Battlestar Galactica where she built a great following.
The Wall Street Journal caught up with Grace Park of “Battlestar Galactica” fame and a couple of her friends in Vancouver. Grace is originally from Vancouver and she shared a little bit of what do do while you’re in her hometown for the Winter Olympics.
Kim Yunjin of LOST fame will be featured alone on an upcoming cover of Entertainment Weekly. She had previously been on numerous entertainment magazine covers but with other cast members of LOST. She’s currently filming in Hawai’i for the last season of LOST. She’s familiar on both sides of the Pacific ocean having previously starred in Korean movies like “Shiri” and “Harmony.” I’m all for more Korean women on magazine covers.
The very popular (especially in Europe) show Ugly Betty makes its big fall premiere in a 2 hour special on Friday night. Another prominent Korean-American actress will be in this successful network show on ABC. Smith Cho will be in the early part of the Ugly Betty season in a reoccurring role as Betty’s officemate, Megan.
Smith Cho is a veteran of Hollywood. She’s been on the big screen and on TV. She was previously on Knight Rider, and this season she’s on Ugly Betty. We also hear she’s going to be on a new network show next season. The girls got talent!
Korean actress and former Kpop singer Jung Ryeo Won came across the Pacific to meet with executives at a Hollywood movie studio last month. It looks like the Korean wave may be continuing. What we do know is that she’s one of the more talented actresses in Korea and she is fluent in English, albeit with an Australian accent. We shall see.
According to her representatives, “It is correct that Jung Ryeo Won is planning to enter Hollywood, however there are no specific arrangements yet. She recently went to the US for a photoshoot, and it is believed that she met the (studio) official then…… But with Ryeo Won having a beneficial advantage in English, if there is an opportunity, then there is certainly a desire to debut in Hollywood. Of course, trying hard in domestic activities is her first priority.”
You’ve seen Grace Park before: for men it was the Maxim photo shoot, and for everybondy else, it was probably Battlestar Gallactica. Today you can see Grace Park on A&E’s The Cleaner. Grace Park has been on a PR junket to promote her upcoming season of The Cleaner, which airs on Tuesday nights. Among the interesting interviews we discovered this week, the lesbian and bi-sexual website AfterEllen.com had some interesting questions for Grace related to her Korean and Asian background.
AE: Have you ever thought that your race was an obstacle in your career?
GP: I haven’t found that at all but it wasn’t like when I turned 20, I turned Asian. It’s not like Cinderella.
I found that I didn’t realize some of my beliefs until I went to another country. I went to Hong Kong for a year and was in a fashion show and I’d say 80% of the girls where Chinese. I thought, “That’s weird!” I was so used to being the token Asian. There was this realization that I was in the majority, after I hadn’t realized I was the minority. I know that that is a perspective for a lot of different people whether you’re gay or Jewish or Asian. It could be anything.
There are so many ways to identify yourself with a smaller group and it also gives you a sense of togetherness, but it actually can give you a sense of distance and separation depending on how you see it.
I don’t find it for myself but I certainly have noticed there’s a lot more exposure of Asians now. I was looking through Oprah’s magazine about a year ago and after the fourth ad of an Asian person, I had to put it down. [laughs] “What is going on here? This is really weird!”
Then I realized that four is a phenomenal amount, and that was just the first half of the magazine.
AE: And if Oprah’s doing it, everyone else will follow!
GP: Exactly! If Oprah’s doing it…
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About The Cleaner: Inspired by the true story of real life “extreme interventionist” Warren Boyd, who also co-executive produces the series, “The Cleaner” stars Benjamin Bratt as William Banks, a recovering addict who must balance his unwavering dedication to helping others get clean with an increasingly rocky personal life and the ghosts of his addictions. Banks and his teammates Akani Cuesta (Grace Park) and Arnie Swenton (Esteban Powell) employ an unconventional – and often by any means necessary – approach to getting addicts and those who surround them to realize they’ve reached rock-bottom and help them begin the process of recovery. With every success and failure, William wrestles with his commitment to his work and his love for his wife Melissa (Amy Price-Francis) and their children through an unusual relationship with God.
Grace Park has been cast for the new television remake of “Hawaii Five-O.” Grace Park will play Kono Kalakaua, the neice of Detective Chin Ho Kelly – a role filled by LOST actor Daniel Dae Kim. According to Hollywood Reporter, Kono is a “beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett recruits her to join his team.” It’s good to see the beautiful Grace Park back on television. She had a great stint on Battlestar Galactica where she built a great following.
