Daniel Henney is a reliable presence in roles built around authority and care. We like the courtesy he brings to Missing, though we would welcome a part that asks him to be less accommodating.
Fi1m perspective
In Missing (2023), Daniel Henney's Agent Park has the official position, while Storm Reid's June does the useful work. Henney lets the FBI agent be politely ineffective without competing with the performance that carries the film. We were amused by that politeness, because it makes June's impatience with adults seem entirely reasonable. It is a small contribution, well judged. We rate him as a supporting actor who understands when another performer needs the space.
The agents and warriors do not tell the whole story of his casting. His Korean breakthrough as Dr. Henry Kim in My Lovely Sam Soon (2005) was followed by the dramatic work of My Father (2007). American action films and procedural television became a substantial part of the work, from Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), his US film debut, to Matt Simmons in Criminal Minds. The leading role of al’Lan Mandragoran in The Wheel of Time (2021–2025) gives that familiar protective figure more prominence, although the recurring attraction for casting departments remains clear: someone credible with responsibility.
Big Hero 6 (2014) gives him a different kind of supporting work as the voice of Tadashi Hamada. Henney has described the recording sessions as physically strenuous, a useful reminder that voice acting need not be sedentary work. We recommend the film for its warm, funny and precise first hour, with a caveat about the familiar superhero business that follows. Baymax is its chief attraction; our enthusiasm for the film should not become an inflated claim for Henney's contribution.
The reservation about his casting is how often it returns to people expected to reassure or protect. Missing finds a comic use for that expectation, putting his official courtesy alongside Reid's quickness and rudeness. The script eventually spends too much plausibility on its twists, but Henney's modest contribution remains useful without becoming a reason to recommend the whole film. We would welcome a role that lets him be the difficult person in the conversation.
Biography
Daniel Henney is an American actor and model. He was born on 28 November 1979 in Carson City, Michigan.
Henney began modelling in 2001 and first gained prominence in South Korea with his role as Dr Henry Kim in the television drama My Lovely Sam Soon (2005). He later appeared in Spring Waltz (2006) and films including Seducing Mr. Perfect (2006) and My Father (2007). His international credits include Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), a voice role in Big Hero 6 (2014), Agent Phil Hayes in The Last Stand (2013), Matt Simmons in Criminal Minds (2015–2020), al’Lan Mandragoran in The Wheel of Time (2021–), and Agent Park in Missing (2023).
In 2023 he married Japanese-American actress Ru Kumagai.
