What exactly went wrong with Daniel Dae Kim’s contract negotiations with Hawaii Five-0 that forced the American-Korean actor to leave the CBS crime drama following season seven? And how did the dispute affect Kim’s friendship with his former colleagues Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan and Co? There has been a great deal of uncertainty regarding all of this since 2017. But now there are some new revelations.
Kim and Grace Park, the two of them People of Color in the cast of the series, are known to have fought for equal pay. They didn’t realize that they earned so much less than their white co-actors. When negotiations failed, Kim and Park left production in protest.
Daniel Dae Kim now opposite Vulture: „One thing that has never been properly reported is the size of the pay cut I took for ‘Hawaii Five-0’ following ‘Lost’. It was really drastic and was never compensated once more.“
This personal step backwards and the difference to his white colleagues would have led him to persistently ask for more money when his expiring contract had to be renegotiated following season seven. “make us equal Makes us the ensemble I thought we were and takes me back to what I deserved on ‘Lost’‘ Kim reportedly said to CBS.
„I didn’t think it was such an impossible position‘ Kim continues. “It was simple and clear. I’ve been very transparent regarding this from the start with my castmates, my showrunner, and the studio. It only became dramatic because of the way the negotiations broke down.“
To this day, CBS maintains that it was trying hard to keep Kim and Park and offered significant raises. Of course, nothing more is known regarding the exact sums from either side.
Kim also first confirmed that because they’re both Asian-American, it was logical that he and Park hooked up. “The two things we had in common were that our contracts expired at the same time and we were both Asian Americans on a show in Hawaii where the Asian American population is significant.“
Daniel Dae Kim on the lack of support from his peers
If the cast was fair, one might have expected O’Loughlin and company to stand behind Kim and Park and threaten, for example, to leave the ship if CBS didn’t meet their colleagues and equalize the salaries. As is well known, that never happened, instead the last three seasons of Hawaii Five-0 ran without the two Asian-American main characters.
Kim still hesitates to judge anyone: “I think every time you have a cast of actors, all of the goals are unique and individual. It is difficult for me to generalize whether (my colleagues) were allies in this area. I know the way things turned out in the end changed my relationships with them.“
Most recently, the actor has appeared in medical series such as The Good Doctor and New Amsterdam (2018). Soon he will also be starring in the new season of The Hot Zone, this time regarding the anthrax attacks.
