Biografia
Korean-American actor-writer-producer Douglas Kim was born in Yonkers, New York. He grew up in Westchester County, New York, in a successful and elite educational, first generation Asian-American family.
Although naturally introverted, Douglas was always theatrical growing up. He used the escapist side of being and experiencing another life or story outside of his own to overcome his shyness. He learned how to express himself through play acting and imitating famed character actors while also honing his musical artistry by learning the violin and guitar. He fully immersed himself in all formats of storytelling, soaking in movies, listening to a wide array of music and playing role-playing video games. It wasn't until high school that Douglas fully found his passion for the performing arts, and exposed his hidden inner talent for singing and acting. He frequently performed live music and played at an Asian culture show in college.
In 2002, while studying economics and computer science at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Douglas began playing poker recreationally. He read books, joined online forums and started using statistical analysis software in order to understand the mechanics of the game, ahead of playing professionally online.
Although he graduated Cum Laude and launched a promising career in a New York strategy consulting firm, Douglas continued to play poker. In 2006 he decided to play in the World Series of Poker at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas that August. He finished 7th, at the highly publicized annual event. He took home around $2.4 million dollars, making him, at the time, the youngest player to make the final table at the world-series. Douglas helped pioneer the movement of the young Internet professional poker player into live tournaments, by dominating the media drenched main event.
During the financial crisis in 2008, Douglas found himself searching in a new direction. He realized that acting for an Asian within the American media was finally growing beyond the stereotypical roles, and so enrolled in the two year Meisner acting program at the William Esper Studio in New York. On graduating, he began taking specialized classes and expanding his experience by acting in student and short films. He soon realized that in order to pursue acting in film and television, he needed to move to Los Angeles, and moved in late 2012.
Dedicated to the entertainment industry, Douglas in 2013 joined a screen writing summer program and took improvisation classes at Upright Citizens Brigade. He made a music video, 'I'm (Asian) American', as a response to how Asian Americans are perceived by Americans and Asians in the community. He became SAG-AFTRA eligible later that year and signed with management firm, Spotlight Entertainment.
In February 2014 Douglas assisted in the award-winning short film 'Room 731', as a production coordinator with actor-producer friend Tim Kang. He continued to dabble in music and in May that year, he released the provocative Korean music video 'Forever Hyung' a parody of the Jay-Z song 'Young Forever'. Douglas also served as an executive producer for the film 'Las Vegas Story', a film directed by Byron Qiao.
Over the last few years, Douglas has successfully cemented himself as a well-rounded Asian-American actor - writer - producer. He has continued to nurture his chosen craft by attending different conservatories and training studios including: the Scott Sedita Acting Studios for comedy, a summer acting program the prestigious Manhattan Film Institute, audition technique training at Margie Haber Studios and Sketch classes at Upright Citizens Brigade.
Douglas is currently writing his debut scripted TV show 'Just Dougie'. The semi-autobiographical show, set in New York, lightly explores the esotericism of an Asian-American former professional poker player and young urban professional transitioning into the entertainment industry. 'Just Dougie' will show viewers a slice of the modern Asian-American life, through a more realistic lens yet to be shown on American television.
