The Real Reason Daniel Dae Kim Left Hawaii Five-0

There was never a dull moment when it came to Daniel Dae Kim's portrayal of Detective Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly on Hawaii Five-0 — all the way to the end. 

Born and raised in Hawaii, Chin started out as a highly decorated officer at the Honolulu Police Department before taking the fall for a family member's crime and resigning in the face of corruption accusations. Chin's long-time friend Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) returns to the island to avenge his father's death, but gets a Governor-granted task force instead; that's when Chin exchanges his life as a security guard to join the Five-0. 

Throughout Kim's seven-season run on the show, his character's training, technological skills, and knowledge of Hawaii helped him and the team take down numerous bad guys and criminal plots across the islands — as far as Mexico and, once, an alternate reality. Like his job, Chin's personal life was busy if not interesting; he got married early on in season 2 of Hawaii Five-0 before losing his wife at the start of season 3 and later uncovering a connection between his father's murderer and his wife's brother. A seemingly random young woman's homicide eventually led Chin to the discovery a niece he never met, one he eventually takes custody of after saving after from a kidnapping. 

While always exciting, Chin's time with the Five-0 eventually had to come to an end, and season 8 of the series revealed he'd left the task force to head-up his own in San Fransisco. The departure was abrupt, with Chin's decision to leave his home and family taking place off-screen between seasons 7 and 8. His absence is explained through throwaway dialogue, but the drama around Daniel Dae Kim's real-life departure from Hawaii Five-0 was anything but brief. Here's the real reason he left the show.

The possibility of Kim's departure had already been floated following the announcement that ABC had picked up to series The Good Doctor, a then-new medical drama Kim co-created. But in the end, the CBS series veteran declining to appear on Hawaii Five-0 season 8 after nearly a decade on the show came down to contract negotiations. After news broke that Kim and his Hawaii Five-0 star Grace Park would be leaving the series, Variety reported that the former Lost actor had been seeking salary parity with his co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, who plays Detective Sergeant Daniel Williams. 

It looked as if Kim and CBS had mutually agreed to sever their ties with one another after a network offer to both Asian actors was 10 to 15 percent lower than their white co-stars. According to a later report published by The Hollywood Reporter, however, an unnamed CBS source confirmed that at one point during the negotiations, both Kim and Park had been offered "large and significant salary increases" that came within two percent of O'Loughlin's and Caan's earnings.

Before the specifics around Kim's failed contract negotiation surfaced, CBS issued a statement describing Kim and Park as "important and valued members of Hawaii Five-0" that they "tried very hard to keep." Hawaii Five-0 executive producer Peter Lenkov also directly responded to the Kim and Park controversy in an Instagram post that seemingly placed the decision of the actors' departure on them. "Both actors chose not to extend their contracts," Lenkov wrote. "CBS was extremely generous and proactive in their renegotiation talks. So much so, the actors were getting unprecedented raises, but in the end, they chose to move on." 

The backlash over CBS' apparent refusal to offer equal pay among its Asian and white actors, especially a name as recognizable as Kim's, was swift. Several days after the news broke, the actor took to Facebook to talk about the pay disparity.

"By now many of you have heard the news, and I'm sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week," Kim wrote. "Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren't able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue." 

The actor bittersweetly described his goodbye as a double-edged sword of sadness and gratitude before praising the work and support of the show's crew, writers, and creative leadership. Kim also gave a special thanks to the cast, "who have been nothing but supportive through this entire process." He then ended his post on an equally somber and bright note: "I'll end by saying that though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture. The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am." 

During a press tour leading up to The Good Doctor premiere a month later, Kim once again addressed the Hawaii Five-0 controversy. 

"That was a really important part of my life for seven years, and I'm really grateful to CBS and everyone involved with the show for giving me the opportunity," he said. "That said, it's possible to be grateful for the opportunity and respectful of the colleagues and the people that I work with and still maintain a steadfast sense of your self-worth." 

Since leaving the beautiful shores of Hawaii, Daniel Dae Kim has kept busy in front of and behind the camera. During his transition between Hawaii Five-0 and The Good Doctor, Kim told reporters that though he loves acting, he was "really content being behind the scenes" of the drama — which Kim helped adapt from a Korean series, and which has aired for three seasons and earned season 4 renewal. 

"It's been fascinating to me to watch their work as a producer," he said back in 2017 (via Entertainment Weekly). "At some point, I'd love to play with them. They inspired me, and it would be a nice opportunity."

He eventually did get into the Good Doctor acting sandbox, guest-starring on several episodes as Dr. Jackson Han, the Chief of Surgery at the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. 

Since stepping out of Chin's shoes, Kim has also appeared in movies and done voiceover work. Fans of Netflix's inclusive and kid-friendly She-Ra reboot, specifically those who have watched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power season 3, will recognize Kim's voice as King Micah — the former king of Bright Moon who was captured in battle by the Horde and rescued from an island by She-Ra's Adora and her friend Bow.

On the big screen, the former Hawaii Five-0 actor most recently starred in the Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe as the handsome and self-centric Brandon Choi, the fiancé of Ali Wong's celebrity chef Sasha Tran. That same year, Kim swapped a suit for a uniform when he was cast in the 2019 Hellboy reboot as Major Ben Daimio, a highly trained former military officer who contained a powerful jaguar spirit within him.

Daniel Dae Kim's departure from the CBS show left a cloud over the island that remains even as the Hawaii Five-0 ending nears, but he's had plenty of brighter creative days since.