Daniel Dae Kim Heather Gershonowitz
The play by David Henry Hwang, nominated for three Tony Awards, will be available to stream on PBS beginning May 16.
Daniel Dae Kim has been a beloved household name for two decades, having been in Lost and Hawaii Five-O. But his 2025 Tony Award nomination for his performance in Yellow Face is the first time the actor has been recognized by a major awards body for his work. With his nomination in the category of Lead Actor in a Play, Kim is the first Asian American actor to be recognized in that category—it's a history-making moment the actor is not taking lightly.
"When I think about the fact that I'm the first Asian-American to be nominated in this category, that feels especially significant," he tells Playbill the morning he found out he was nominated (when he was getting ready to get on a plane to shoot Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix). "I remember how many Asian American actors there were before me who never received any kind of recognition despite the incredible work and hard work that they were doing for generations earlier...It says a lot about where we are now as a community, and it's meaningful. It's more meaningful for that reason than it is for me as an individual achievement."