For months now,
Daniel Dae Kim’s character on “
Lost” was thought to be fish food. I
mean, Jin was still on the freighter when it blew up at the end of
last season
.
Copyright 2008 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved
And Sun (Yunjin Kim) & Hurley (Jorge Garcia) were then shown
visiting Jin’s grave.
Copyright 2008 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved
Which is why jaws dropped all over America last Wednesday
night when ABC revealed that Jin was still
among the living. Mind you, the poor slob was found clinging to this piece of
wreckage out in a storm-tossed sea.Only
to then be rescued by a group of French explorers from the past which included
a much younger & visibly pregnant Danielle Rousseau (Melissa Farman).
Rousseau (Melissa
Farman) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) together again back on the island.
Photo by
Mario Perez. Copyright 2009 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved
Which is why – this past Sunday morning – when I got to sit
in on a group interview with Kim at New York Comic-Con, I couldn’t help myself.
I had to ask this “Lost” veteran the obvious question: What’s it like to be back from the dead?
To his credit, Daniel laughed at my idiotic inquiry and then
said: “It feels good … It feels nice to (have been) missed.”
Mind you, Kim had no real advance knowledge that his
character was going to be taken off “Lost” ‘s canvas in such a dramatic fashion.
“Actually, I was told about it just before the script came
out,” Daniel recalled. “I was out in Maui, and (“Lost” Executive producer)
Damon (Lindelof) called me and said: ‘You're going to read something that might
sound a little shocking. But don't worry. You're still with us.’ “
Of course, the show’s fans were obviously concerned when
they supposedly saw Jin blown to bits. But Kim kept cool. Mostly because
Lindelof and “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams had “ … never released me from my contract.
“ Which was a pretty strong indication that his character would indeed be back
for Season 5.
Daniel Dae Kim talking with reporters at the 2009 New York Comic-Con
Photo by Nancy Stadler
That said, other reporters at Sunday’s “Lost” press roundtable
asked Daniel if it was difficult working on a show like “Lost.” Where the
creators tend to be so secretive about the characters’ past, present and
future.
Kim admitted that – when he and the rest of the cast started
working on “Lost” – it was frustrating to know “ … so little about the back story
of our characters. (Which is why) whenever we got flashback episodes, the
entire cast would devour them because we were finally learning what brought us
to the island. “
But now that he’s familiar with Lindelof and Abrams’
creative process, Daniel is much more philosophical. Insisting that he equates the
uncertainty that comes with being a member of the cast of “Lost” with real
life. “You wake up, you know who you are, hopefully, and you go on with your
day,” Kim explained. “(But) you never know where you're going in real life.”
Which isn’t entirely true for Daniel Dae Kim’s case. Come
May, this actor knows exactly where he’ll be. Which is in London. Where Kim
will then begin rehearsals for his first-ever musical, “The King and I.”
The official poster for the upcoming
revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's
"The King and I" at the
Royal Albert Hall
When asked how he felt about this limited engagement (which
will be presented for one month only at Royal Albert Hall), Daniel said that he
found the whole experience has been “ … pleasantly terrifying. I've never done
a musical before, and I've been looking for a reason to get back on stage. (“The
King and I”) is a show I'd really like to do.”
As for his Anna, that role in this show will be played by
London stage vet Maria Friedman. As to whether he’ll actually be up to tackling those Rodgers & Hammerstein
songs, Kim jokingly insisted that his singing voice is getting “ … better every
day.”
All in all, Daniel came across as being this very accessible,
down-to-earth guy in Sunday’s press roundtable. Who knew when to be the good
little ABC employee (i.e. when asked if Sun & Jin will reunite this season
on “Lost,” Kim would only say that viewers “ … will be surprised, hopefully,
when [they] see it”) and when to cut loose with the reporters. Laughing about
how – because Jin wasn’t really able to speak English during the first season
of the show – he was then forced to deal with “ … all of these loud slow
talkers. “
But for now … There was only enough time for this one quick
trip to Daniel’s old stomping grounds in NYC (He actually got his M.F.A. in
Graduate Acting at N.Y.U.). After that,
it’s back to Hawaii. Where production was about to begin on Episode 14 of
Season 5 of “Lost.” After that … Well, this season’s finale is slated to be shot
in March. Then Kim goes to London to do “The King and I.”
Jin-Soo alone on the island ... for now. Photo by Mario Perez
Copyright 2009 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved
And after that ? “Should they need my services again,” Kim would
be happy to continue playing Jin-Soo for Season 6 of “Lost.”
Speaking of which: Episode 5 of Season 5 of “Lost” (which is
entitled “This Place is Death”) airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. ET / PT. Consult your
local listings for exact times and channels.
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