Lawrence Kao is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tommy Wah in the Netflix series Wu Assassins, Donnie Lu in the Fox series Sleepy Hollow, Van in the CW series The Originals and Tim in the AMC series, The Walking Dead.
Lawrence Kao | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lawrence Kao |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Irvine (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, dancer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | https://www.iamlawrencekao.com/ |
Early life
editKao was born and raised in Hacienda Heights, California, where he later graduated from Glen A. Wilson High School.[1] He played Lysander in his high school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, during one of the in-class previews of the show, Kao was falsely arrested for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, the minimum sentencing would have been 40 years behind bars. Kao was later released in the absence and lack of probable cause, giving him enough time to make it before the closing night of the show. After being forced to contemplate his life inside jail, Kao realized he wanted to pursue acting as a profession.[2]
Kao received his B.A. in theater from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where he was a part of Kaba Modern dance team. Within the dancing community on campus, he befriended the Kinjaz dance team cofounders Mike Song and Anthony Lee.[2]
Career
editActing
editHe pursued a full-time career as an actor.[3] Starting out, he found that including his dancing credentials on his resume would always elicit a dance request at auditions, so he removed it after several incidents.[2]
In 2012, Kao made his television acting debut in the AMC post-apocalyptic horror series The Walking Dead. Following on from his first role, Kao won other roles on a variety of TV shows and films including Hawaii Five-0, Sleepy Hollow, Girlboss, Lucky Fifty, Silver Lake, NCIS: Los Angeles and The Purge.
On October 17, 2018, it was announced that Kao had been cast in the series regular role of Tommy Wah on the Netflix crime drama series Wu Assassins.[4][5] Kao reprised his role in the sequel film Fistful of Vengeance.[6] It was released on February 17, 2022.[7]
Dance
editAfter graduating from UCI, Kao continued working as a dancer, and later competed in the first season of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew with his college dance team, Kaba Modern.[3]
As of June 2019, Kao is dancing with the Kinjaz dance team.[3]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Circle | Asian Kid | |
| 2017 | I Hate You | Chi | |
| 2018 | Silver Lake | Eric | |
| 2019 | Lucky Fifty | Jay | |
| 2022 | Fistful of Vengeance | Tommy Wah |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Walking Dead | Tim | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Hawaii Five-0 | Ty Amano | Episode: "A ia la aku" |
| 2014 | NCIS: Los Angeles | John Stikler | Episode: "One More Chance" |
| 2015–2016 | The Originals | Van | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Sleepy Hollow | Donnie Lu | 2 episodes |
| Girlboss | Sonny | Episode: "Motherf*ckin' Bar Graphs" | |
| 2019 | The Purge | Andy Tran | 2 episodes |
| Wu Assassins | Tommy Wah | Main cast | |
| 2021 | Leverage: Redemption | Joseph Cheng | Episode: "The Double-Edged Sword Job" |
| 2022–2023 | Walker: Independence | Kai | Main role |
| 2024 | Law & Order | Chris Wu | Episode: "Inconvenient Truth" |
References
edit- ^ Daswani, Kavita (April 17, 2022). "Lawrence Kao talks Netflix's Fistful of Vengeance and Wu Assassins, and drawing from his own life for his next project". South China Morning Post. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^ a b c Vu, Jes (October 15, 2015). "The Originals' Lawrence Kao talks Kinjaz, Witches & the Pursuit of Acting". Kollaboration. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c Davenport, Rashod (June 17, 2019). "Entering the Wu: Lawrence Kao". Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 17, 2018). "'Wu Assassins': Lawrence Kao And Celia Au Join Netflix Martial Arts Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ Fishman, Scott (August 7, 2019). "Lawrence Kao on Why Netflix's 'Wu Assassins' Isn't Just Any Martial Arts Series". TVInsider. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 26, 2021). "'Wu Assassins' Standalone Movie Set At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ Massoto, Erick (January 20, 2022). "'Fistful of Vengeance' Trailer Reveals the 'Wu Assassins' Standalone Movie Coming to Netflix". Collider. Retrieved January 20, 2022.