Update: Daniel Dae Kim to play Major Ben Daimio in Hellboy

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Update: On Monday it was revealed that Daniel Dae Kim was in talks to play Major Ben Daimio in HELLBOY, and now the actor has confirmed his involvement in the remake to THR. The actor also issued a statement thanking the producers as well as Ed Skrein, who was originally cast in the role but stepped aside so that it could be cast appropriately. "I applaud the producers and, in particular, Ed Skrein for championing the notion that Asian characters should be played by Asian or Asian American actors," said Kim. "He could not have addressed the issue more elegantly and I remain indebted to him for his strength of character." Speaking of HELLBOY, have you seen the first look at David Harbour as the title character? Not bad at all.

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Last month, Ed Skrein (DEADPOOL) was cast in HELLBOY as Major Ben Daimio, but, as the character is Japanese-American in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics, an outcry over whitewashing prompted Skrein to voluntarily step down from the role so that it could be cast appropriately. In a statement, Skrein said "Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality." Afterwards Lionsgate responded, saying "It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material."

THR has now reported that Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-O) is in negotiations to join the cast of HELLBOY as Major Ben Daimio, a rugged military member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who, due to a supernatural encounter, can turn into a jaguar when angered or in pain. Should the Korean-American actor's deal go through, Daniel Dae Kim would join David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Hellboy, Ian McShane (American Gods) as Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich (RESIDENT EVIL) as the Blood Queen, Sasha Lane (AMERICAN HONEY) as Alice Monaghan, and Penelope Mitchell (Hemlock Grove) as Ganeida.

For the past seven years, Daniel Dae Kim has starred on CBS' Hawaii Five-O alongside Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, and Grace Park, but in June it was announced that Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park would be departing the series due to a salary dispute with CBS. The pair had been seeking pay equality with their co-stars, but when CBS' final offer turned out to be 10-15% lower than what O'Loughlin and Caan were making, they elected to leave.

Would Daniel Dae Kim make for a good Major Ben Daimio?