Daniel K. Isaac
Daniel K. Isaac | |
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| Born | December 5, 1988 Fullerton, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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Daniel K. Isaac is an American actor and writer. He is known for his recurring role as Ben Kim in Showtime's Billions.[1] Isaac is also known for creating the hashtag #AccordingToMyMother, which he uses to share comedic conversations between him and his mother.[2]
Early life and education[edit]
Isaac's parents are immigrants from Korea. His mother raised him in California as a single parent, and he grew up bilingual. Isaac is an only child.[3] He received his bachelor's degree in theater from the University of California, San Diego.[4]
Career[edit]
In 2015, Isaac created the hashtag #AccordingToMyMother to share comedic conversations with his mother.[3] He then started a Kickstarter campaign to finance a short film loosely based on their relationship. Isaac produced and starred in what became a television pilot, According to My Mother, with Cathy Yan and Devin Landin.[5] It premiered at the New York Television Festival in October 2016 and won the award for Best Drama. Isaac was named Best Actor in a Drama for his performance.[5]
Isaac has appeared in the role of Ben Kim in Billions since its premiere in 2016.[1] The role was initially written to be to a three-episode part, but the writers ended up making the character a series regular the first two seasons. Isaac also stars as a bike courier with a foot fetish in the BDSM-focused web series Mercy Mistress, produced by Margaret Cho.[6]
He portrayed William Inge in an off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkins' The Gentleman Caller in May 2018.[7]
Isaac appeared in a recurring role as Jeremy Delongpre in the first season of the 2019 Comedy Central series The Other Two.[8] He also played the role of "Sandwich Artist" in the May 22, 2022 Episode (#251) of the HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
In 2022, Isaac made his play-writing debut with Once Upon a (Korean) Time, which was produced by the Ma-Yi Theatre Company and performed at the historic La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City. The production was directed by Ralph Peña.[9] Also in 2022, it was announced that Isaac would star in the comedy film Plan B, alongside Jon Heder, Tom Berenger, and Shannon Elizabeth.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Isaac is gay.[3] He voluntarily participated in gay conversion therapy from the age of 13 to 16.[11][2] His mother, a devout Christian, disowned him for his sexuality when he was a freshman in college. Isaac later embraced his sexuality.[11]
Credits[edit]
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (November 2022) |
Film[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Too Big To Fail | Translator | TV movie |
| 2016 | Money Monster | Male Raver | |
| 2016 | Urban Teach Now | Vincent | TV movie |
| 2016 | Eugenia and John | Dan Eisenberg | |
| 2016 | Drew | Noah | TV movie |
| 2017 | Maggie Black | Delivery Guy | |
| 2020 | The Dark End of the Street | Keith | |
| 2021 | The Drummer | Mike |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kelsey | Tyrone | |
| 2014 | Believe | Lab Tech | Episode: Pilot |
| 2014 | Person of Interest | Virgil | 2 episodes |
| 2014–15 | Mr. Right | Justin | |
| 2015 | The Following | Paramedic | Episode: Dead or Alive |
| 2015 | Dog Park | Jacob Hart | |
| 2016 | The Jim Gaffigan Show | Foshay | Episode: No Good Deed: Part 3 |
| 2016 | Search Party | Barista | Episode: The Return of the Forgotten Phantom |
| 2016–present | Billions | Ben Kim | 55 episodes |
| 2017 | Quiet Tiny Asian | Boyfriend | |
| 2017 | Crashing | Korean Man | Episode: Barking |
| 2017 | Don't Shoot the Messenger | Michael | Episode: Episode #1.6 |
| 2018 | Ollie & Molly Can't Get Arrested | Ryan | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Puffy | Gordon | Mini series |
| 2018–19 | Mercy Mistress | Ken | 9 episodes |
| 2019 | The Other Two | Jeremy Delongpre | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Indoor Boys | Walker | Web series, 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The Deuce | Dr. Lee | Episode: Episode #3.5 |
Theater[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Level of Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Miss Electricity | Freddy | La Jolla Playhouse | Regional |
| 2013 | Shalom Shanghai | Suzuki | Shanghai Internation Arts Festival | International |
| 2015 | Underland | Taka | 59E59 Theaters | Off-Broadway |
| 2016 | Sagittarius Ponderosa | Owen | 3LD Art and Technology Center | |
| 2017 | The Ballad of Little Jo | Tin Man Wong | Two River Theater | Regional |
| 2018 | The Chinese Lady | Atung | Barrington Stage Company | Regional |
| 2018 | The Gentleman Caller | William Inge | Abingdon Theatre | |
| 2018 | The Chinese Lady | Atung | Beckett Theater | Off-Broadway |
| 2022 | Once Upon a (Korean) Time | Playwright | La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club | Off-Broadway |
| 2022 | You Will Get Sick | #1 | Laura Pels Theatre | Off-Broadway[12] |
| 2023 | Every Brilliant Thing | Narrator | Geffen Playhouse |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Feldman, Dana. "'Billions' Recap: This Week's Episode Brings Both 'Redemption' And A Striptease". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ a b "Meet the Logo30: Daniel K. Isaac | NewNowNext". www.newnownext.com. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ a b c Nichols, James Michael (2015-05-16). "This Guy's Mom Doesn't Approve Of His Sexuality. His Response Is Awesome". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ "A Gay Actor and His Born-Again Christian Korean Mother Connect in 'According to My Mother'". IndieWire. 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ a b "Indie Pilots 'According to My Mother,' 'Poor Todd' Take New York Television Festival Prizes". Variety. 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ "We're Head Over Heels for This Queer BDSM Web Series". them.us. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (2018-05-26). "Review: In The Gentleman Caller, a Talky Tennessee Williams". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ "'The Other Two' Explains Why Bottoms Don't Eat on Dates". www.advocate.com. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ "ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME".
- ^ "Jamie Lee & Jon Heder Topline Comedy 'Plan B' for Joke Zero and Future Proof Films". 16 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Isaac H. Ferman Is Opting For The Gray Area | Death, Sex & Money". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ Jesse Green (November 6, 2022). "Review: You Will Get Sick Tells the Untellable, for a Price". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
External links[edit]
- Living people
- 21st-century American male actors
- American stage actors
- American gay actors
- American male actors of Korean descent
- American male television actors
- American LGBT people of Asian descent
- University of California, San Diego alumni
- Male actors from California
- 21st-century American LGBT people
- 1988 births