After 31 years in TV, actor Daniel Dae Kim lands 1st lead role in anthrax-attack miniseries
INVISION / ASSOCIATED PRESS / JAN. 26
Daniel Dae Kim will star in a new show called “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” which will be produced by National Geographic. Kim poses for a portrait to promote the film “Blast Beat” at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Actor/producer Daniel Dae Kim, a Hawaii favorite since starring on the ABC hit show “Lost,” will star in a miniseries about the anthrax attacks that struck terror around the nation a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks.
“The Hot Zone: Anthrax” will feature Kim in the lead role as Matthew Ryker, an FBI scientist trying to track down the source of the attacks, which killed five people and sickened 17 others, according to National Geographic, producer of the six-episode miniseries. An announcement from the network said the character “risks his career to convince his superiors of the unthinkable, that the United States is under attack again.”
Kim, who has promoted social issues throughout his career, quitting “Hawaii Five-0” over equal pay issues and campaigning for Asian American actor James Hong last year to be recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, made a modest comment about the accomplishment on his Twitter feed.
“Hardly the biggest news given what’s going on in the world today, but after 31 years of working in TV, this is my first series lead,” he wrote.
Hardly the biggest news given what’s going on in the world today,
But after 31 years of working in TV, this is my first series lead. https://t.co/Z6IuoWL0f7— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) January 13, 2021
Kim, who has lived in Hawaii since his days on “Lost,” has a number of science-based roles to his credit, starring in the medical dramas “New Amsterdam” and “The Good Doctor.”
He will be joined by Tony Goldwyn as Bruce Ivins, a microbiologist whose participation in the investigation took a surprising twist.
“Tony and Daniel are both wonderfully versatile and dimensional actors who will bring complexity and depth to these characters,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of scripted and documentary films for National Geographic, in a statement. “We can’t wait for their star turns in this startling, authentic and timely scientific thriller.”
“The Hot Zone: Anthrax” is the second installment of a highly praised “Hot Zone,” anthology series based on deadly diseases and viruses. The first installment traced the battle against Ebola virus and was National Geographic’s most-watched scripted series.
Scott Free Productions, headed up by Ridley Scott, and 20th Television, a part of Disney, will join in the production, which is scheduled to begin shooting this winter in Toronto.
