- Born
- Birth nameJohn Yohan Cho
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- John Yohan Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Los Angeles, California as a child. His father was a Christian minister. Cho was educated at Herbert Hoover High School at Glendale, before moving on to the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied English literature. Upon graduation, he moved back to Los Angeles, working for a while as a teacher at Pacific Hills School where he taught 7th grade English. He also began acting with the famed Asian American theatre company East West Players.
A screen acting career began with small roles in projects such as Wag the Dog (1997), Bowfinger (1999), and the critical favorite Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). His breakthrough came when he appeared in the teen romance comedy American Pie (1999) and helped coin the phrase "MILF". Other roles followed, and he scored another hit in the slacker comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). Cho also starred in the hugely successful franchise reboot Star Trek (2009), in the sought-after role of Hikaru Sulu, and has continued working steadily in Hollywood, starring in the indie drama Columbus (2017), thriller film Searching (2018), and the horror follow-up The Grudge (2019). As well as acting, Cho is also a singer and performs in the band Viva La Union.
He is married to actress Kerri Higuchi, and they have two children.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpouseKerri Higuchi(2006 - present) (2 children)
- ChildrenKage ChoChild
- John immigrated to Los Angeles, California in 1978, when he was just six years old.
- Received his Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley (1996).
- In April 2009, along with several of the cast and crew, he visited Camp Arijan in Kuwait to show Star Trek (2009) to a group of US service members.
- Lead singer of the Los Angeles-based band Left of Zed, which has recently been renamed Viva La Union.
- His father was a Christian minister.
- With music, I get to feel real ownership with what I do. I write it, I perform it and even if it is crap, it is mine. With acting, you are a small part of the creative process, and sometimes it is hard to feel like you are making an impact.
- [on being an Asian American actor] It's difficult having to hustle for jobs. Not knowing when the next job is coming in. It's hard. There are not enough roles out there. I try not to get wrapped up in it or I'll get depressed.
- I am interested in people who are on top and how they stay on top. In a vague way, it's a bit like athletes and how they stay on top of their game. You know, I always root for the older athlete. I root for the second album. I root for solo careers after the rock star breaks the band apart. I've become more interested in second and third acts, and a lot less interested in that splashy debut. For me, the most interesting thing is longevity and sustaining a career, because that's what's truly difficult.
- [observation, 2012] Thankfully, I'm not sweating too much about how to climb the ladder, and I'm not sweating too much about the money. I'm trying to think of making work that I'm proud of. And I think everything falls into place after that.
- When I was starting out, it was really hard. I tried to do things like turn down auditions I thought were stereotypical. That sort of thing, small as it was, was difficult. Now it seems like I don't even have to make those decisions anymore. People understand what I do.
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