John Cho's understatement makes him good company in crowded films and a credible centre when he gets the lead. We value that quietness, though his larger films do not always give him enough to do.
Fi1m perspective
John Cho keeps his acting understated, a useful quality in a film as busy as Star Trek (2009). As Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, he fits easily into the brisk, funny company assembled by J.J. Abrams. We warmed to this crew because the humour made them seem worth spending time with between the action scenes. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto give the familiar crew its fresh start, but Cho's unshowy presence helps make the ensemble inviting.
The DBA Emissary in Steven Soderbergh's Solaris (2002) was one of the minor parts that preceded his leading work. Soderbergh wrote, shot and cut a film whose quiet concentration we admired, though it tells us relatively little about Cho. He had attracted notice in American Pie (1999), but playing Harold Lee in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) gave him a proper lead. His comic partnership with Kal Penn allowed an Asian American protagonist to be a participant in the foolishness without his identity having to supply the joke. That was a substantial opportunity well before the later dramatic leads.
Cho returned as Sulu in two sequels; across these films, the role includes physical action and a romantic life. That makes use of an actor who can stay understated without disappearing in a large cast. The limitation is how much room the ensemble leaves for him. The thin villain and overworked action in Star Trek are more pressing faults than anything in the casting. We recommend it with those caveats, and would still send anyone curious about Cho towards a leading part.
The later leads in Columbus (2017) and Searching (2018) are the useful next step for anyone following the actor. They gave his understated style more space in independent films, with Searching also putting him at the centre of a mainstream thriller. Those roles matter because a dependable supporting player can otherwise spend a long time being praised for making somebody else's film work. Start with Star Trek for the company; go to Searching for Cho.
Biography
John Cho is an American actor. Born Cho Yo-Han on 16 June 1972 in Seoul, South Korea, he moved to the United States with his family as a child and was raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in English and began acting with the East West Players theatre company.
Cho's early film roles include appearances in American Beauty (1999) and American Pie (1999). He is known for playing Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar film series (2004–2011) and Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot films (2009, 2013 and 2016). He played a DBA Emissary in Solaris (2002). He is married to actress Kerri Higuchi.
