James Kyson is an American actor best known for his television work. Best known for his role as Ando Masahashi on the NBC television series Heroes, his guest appearances on television series include Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sleepy Hollow, Elementary, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. Earlier in his career, Kyson was credited as James Kyson Lee or James Kyson-Lee.

Early life and education

Kyson was born Lee Ji-hoon (although his given name was later changed to Jae-hyeok) in Seoul, South Korea. His father was an electrical engineer. He moved with his family to New York City at age 10, where he later attended The Bronx High School of Science. His English name, James, is derived from James Bond. He studied communications at Boston University with the intent of being a sports broadcaster before later transferring to the New England Institute of Art. In summer of 2001, Kyson sold his car and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles with the intent of entering the acting industry. He enrolled in performing arts classes at a community college while auditioning for roles and working as a SAT tutor to pay the bills.

Acting career

After three years in Los Angeles, Kyson landed his first acting role on the military legal television drama JAG in 2003. He landed guest roles in hit network television series The West Wing and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation amongst others before being cast as one of his more widely known roles, Ando Masahashi in the sci-fi series Heroes. The role required him to speak Japanese. He later stated that he had taken a semester of Japanese in college and did not find learning the language difficult as it was grammatically similar to Korean, in which he is fluent. Since Heroes ended, he also guest-starred on Hawaii Five-0, Justified, Animals., Sleepy Hollow, Elementary, and more recently Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. His feature films work includes the romantic comedy Another Time, the thriller The Livingston Gardener – and as a mixed martial arts fighter in the action feature Banana Season. Kyson was a celebrity judge at the Miss Universe 2007 beauty pageant.

Personal life

Kyson has been married to singer and neuroscientist Jamee Kyson since 2015. He is fluent in Korean and learned Japanese to play Ando Masahashi in Heroes.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Other activities

Kyson plays basketball for charity celebrity team The Hollywood Knights and participated in Robbie Williams' Soccer Aid for UNICEF at Manchester United's Old Trafford in England. He is also an Ambassador for the International Organization Good Neighbors and their Water for Life campaign. Kyson represented the Rest of the World team in 2010 Soccer Aid, a British charity soccer match in aid of UNICEF.