John Cho

John Yohan Cho (born June 16, 1972) is a South Korean born American actor and musician. He starred as Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar films and played the character John, MILF Guy No. 2 who popularized the term "MILF" in the American Pie films. He also starred in the critically acclaimed Asian American films Better Luck Tomorrow and Yellow. Cho has portrayed the Star Trek character Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot film series, has starred in the Total Recall remake and the comedy Identity Thief. On television, he played FBI agent Demetri Noh in the sci-fi television drama FlashForward, as Chau Presley on the sitcom Off Centre and his recurring role as Andy Brooks in the horror drama Sleepy Hollow. He played Henry Higgs on the sitcom Selfie, co-starring Karen Gillan where he became the first Asian-American romantic male lead on American television. Early life Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States in 1978. He was raised in Los Angeles, where his family settled after living in Houston, Seattle, Daly City, California, and the Monterey Park, California. His father was a minister in the Church of Christ, and was originally from North Korea. Cho graduated from Herbert Hoover High School, in Glendale, California, in 1990. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1996 with a BA degree in English, and taught English at Pacific Hills School in West Hollywood, California while working at East West Players's theater in downtown Los Angeles. Acting career Cho began his career after graduating from Berkeley, when he moved to Los Angeles and worked with the Asian American theatre company East West Players. There, he appeared in Edward Sakamoto's The Taste of Kona Coffee in 1996, and in Euijoon Kim's movie My Tired Broke Ass Pontificating Slapstick Funk in 2000. He gained attention with a small role as "MILF Guy #2" in the 1999 comedy American Pie, in which he popularized the slang term "MILF". Cho reprised the role in three sequels: American Pie 2, American Wedding, and in the latest installment American Reunion in which he has a much larger role. The character initially had no name but he was given the name "John" in the third film, named after Cho himself. He had a successful starring role as Harold Lee in 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and reprised the role in 2008's Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which raked in $38 million at the theaters, and again in 2011's A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas which made $35 million. Cho's role in the popular franchise was written specifically for him by Hayden Schlossberg, and Cho has recounted that when Schlossberg first approached him with the role, he was initially suspicious. Personal life Cho married actress Kerri Higuchi in 2006 and have a son, born in 2008, and a daughter, born in 2013. They currently reside in Los Angeles, California. He supported the 2012 re-election campaign of Democratic U.S President Barack Obama. Though his character in Harold & Kumar is so associated in smoking marijuana, he has indicated that he does not partake in the use of the drug through a Larry King interview.