Bio
Archie Kao is an American actor best known for his television roles as Kai Chen in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (1999), and as Archie Johnson in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, from 2001-2012.
He also has a starring role as Detective Sheldon Jin, a tech expert in the police department discovered to be an reluctant mole working for Internal Affairs sergeant Edwin Stillwell, in the police procedural television drama series Chicago P.D..
Other notable roles include recurring appearances in ER and Once and Again, with guest appearances in Heroes, Desperate Housewives, Huff and Melrose Place.
Various feature film credits include The One with Jet Li, Purpose with Mia Farrow, Local Boys with Mark Harmon and The Hills Have Eyes II from Wes Craven.
After starring in festival favorite The People I've Slept With, Kao began expanding his presence in trans-Pacific film markets, beginning with Wayne Wang's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan opposite China's Li Bing Bing, Korea's Gianna Jun and Hugh Jackman.
He can soon be seen in the Chinese romantic comedy Love Speaks with Taiwan's Amber Kuo. Kao also stars in The Death Day Party, a psychological action thriller for Mainland China opposite former Miss Hong Kong and three-time Hong Kong Film Awards best actress winner Anita Yuen.
In late summer 2013, Kao wrapped his appearance in Michael Mann's Cyber alongside Chris Hemsworth and Asian stars Leehom Wang and Wei Tang.
Having produced and starred in Fast Money, which won numerous festival awards, Kao recently made his directorial debut with Initiation, a short film that he also wrote and which stars Ashley Bell of The Last Exorcism.
In 2010, Kao was inducted into MOCA's (Museum of Chinese Americans) inaugural class of YPX88- honoring Asian Americans in creative culture, along with actress Lucy Liu and trailblazing playwright David Henry Hwang.
In 2012, Kao was honoured with CAPE's (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) Leaders and Legends Award from Who's Who in Asian American Communities, amongst such distinguished recipients as former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, US Congressman Mike Honda and Indonesian Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal.
Born in Washington D.C. to Chinese immigrant parents, Kao graduated from George Mason University with a degree in speech communication. Elected student government president and homecoming king, Kao instituted numerous groundbreaking policies fostering support for students from underprivileged backgrounds. He had planned to attend law school and work in social reform before becoming an actor.
Currently dividing his time between the United States and China, Kao is an avid surfer, tennis player and rock climber.
Over the years he's supported several charities in various capacities - particularly those that focus on cancer research, children's welfare and combating domestic violence.