Growing up in Rochester, New York, Devin Kawaoka dreamt of competing in the Olympics as a downhill skier. However, life’s twists and turns led him from snowy slopes to the bright lights of Hollywood.
As an actor, Kawaoka is currently captivating audiences in two standout television projects. On October 16, he reprised his role as Charlie, the fiancé of Michael Urie’s character Brian, in the highly anticipated second season of Shrinking, Apple TV+’s acclaimed comedy series starring Jason Segal and Harrison Ford. On the same day, fans also saw him return as the arrogant and ambitious first-year surgical resident Dr. Kai Tanaka-Reed in the newest season of NBC’s Chicago Med.
Previously, Kawaoka has appeared and guest starred on several television shows including Lucifer, Marvel’s The Runaways, and Criminal Minds. In 2022, he took the stage in Jeremy O. Harris‘ award-winning Slave Play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, where his portrayal of Dustin brought a powerful LGBTQ+ Asian American voice to the production.
Relevant, raw, and revolutionary, Slave Play was hailed as “one of the best and most provocative new works to show up in years” by The New York Times and earned 12 Tony nominations, becoming the most nominated non-musical play in history.
Instinct recently caught up with Kawaoka to talk more about his thriving career and latest works, as well as how he discovered his love for entertainment, navigating Hollywood and a queer and biracial actor, and the kinds of projects he hopes to pursue in the future.
Check out the full video interview below.
Related: https://instinctmagazine.com/exclusive-interview-with-devin-kawaoka/
Devin Kawaoka…
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