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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. Isaac is also known for creating the hashtag #AccordingToMyMother, which he uses to share comedic conversations between him and his mother.

Early life and education

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. He received his bachelor's degree in theater from the University of California, San Diego.

Career

In 2015, Isaac created the hashtag #AccordingToMyMother to share comedic conversations with his mother. 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. 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.

Isaac has appeared in the role of Ben Kim in Billions since its premiere in 2016. 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.

He portrayed William Inge in an off-Broadway production of Philip Dawkins' The Gentleman Caller in May 2018.

Isaac appeared in a recurring role as Jeremy Delongpre in the first season of the 2019 Comedy Central series The Other Two. 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. Also in 2022, it was announced that Isaac would star in the comedy film Plan B, alongside Jon Heder, Tom Berenger, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Personal life

Isaac is gay. He voluntarily participated in gay conversion therapy from the age of 13 to 16. His mother, a devout Christian, disowned him for his sexuality when he was a freshman in college. Isaac later embraced his sexuality.

Credits

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Film

Television

Theater

References

1. ^ Feldman, Dana. "'Billions' Recap: This Week's Episode Brings Both 'Redemption' And A Striptease". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
2. ^ "Meet the Logo30: Daniel K. Isaac | NewNowNext". www.newnownext.com. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
3. ^ 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.
4. "A Gay Actor and His Born-Again Christian Korean Mother Connect in 'According to My Mother'". IndieWire. 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
5. ^ "Indie Pilots 'According to My Mother,' 'Poor Todd' Take New York Television Festival Prizes". Variety. 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
6. "We're Head Over Heels for This Queer BDSM Web Series". them.us. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
7. 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.
8. "'The Other Two' Explains Why Bottoms Don't Eat on Dates". www.advocate.com. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
9. "ONCE UPON A (korean) TIME".
10. "Jamie Lee & Jon Heder Topline Comedy 'Plan B' for Joke Zero and Future Proof Films". 16 July 2022.
11. ^ "Daniel K. Isaac Is Opting For The Gray Area | Death, Sex & Money". Slate. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
12. 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

• Official website
• Daniel K. Isaac at IMDb

• Living people
• 21st-century American male actors
• American stage actors
• American gay actors
• American male actors of Korean descent
• American male television actors
• American LGBTQ people of Asian descent
• University of California, San Diego alumni
• Male actors from California
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 1988 births