Actor Tim Jo poses for a portrait to promote the Onyx Collective television series "Reasonable Doubt" during the Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif, July 17. AP-Yonhap

When he was young, Korean American actor Tim Jo was an extremely quiet and introverted boy who was almost "invisible." The Texas-born star considered himself an extreme minority in the communities where he was raised and had only one person to speak Korean with — his mother. However, his life took a 180- degree turn after he went on a church trip to Korea when he was 16.

"It was there that a new spirit was birthed inside me," Jo recalled in a recent email interview with The Korea Times.

"I immediately fell in love with my culture, people, and country. In Korea, I finally learned to love myself. As soon as I came back to the U.S., I no longer wanted to be silent. I no longer wanted to keep my thoughts, my art, and my creativity to myself. I began to feel an unbelievable urge to express myself. Suffice it to say, I eventually found that outlet through acting."

Jo made his acting debut in 2009 with the film, "The 2 Bobs," and has since appeared on numerous works, including the American musical romantic comedy drama film, "Bandslam" (2009), and the sitcom, "The Neighbors" (2012-14). But as a minority, his acting journey was a not walk in the park.

"In the U.S., most main roles are written with white being the default race," Jo said. " If you are a minority, you have a lot fewer opportunities to play characters of depth and are usually given supporting roles. In Korea, I understand there are archetypes as well — the handsome leading man, the cute boy, the gangster. In the U.S., however, the biggest challenge is that my archetype is the color of my skin. It is my responsibility to not be deterred by this fact and in turn continue to focus on my unique artistry that is not defined by the color of my skin, but rather the voice of my soul."

Thanks to his endless endeavor, Jo has been carving out his own niche in the acting industry, joining the cast of acclaimed series like "Reasonable Doubt," the American legal drama produced by actress-producer Kerry Washington. Jo, who assumed the role of Daniel Kim in the first season in 2022, will reprise his role in the second season, which will premiere on Aug. 22. Kim is an investigator working with Jacqueline "Jax" Stewart, a defense lawyer played by Emayatzy Corinealdi.

"For the second season, with my newfound acceptance and love for my character, my motto was 'courage,'" Jo noted. "Daniel is a ridiculous and unpredictable character, so I gave myself the task of being exciting, unpredictable, and loose. I love to follow rules, but with Daniel, I had to have the courage to show up to work and be willing to break them all."

However, when he was offered the role of Daniel Kim, he was actually turned off because the character seemed to be an stereotype of an Asian American actor.

"My mission statement for the first season was 'surrender,'" Jo explained. "As an Asian American actor, many supporting roles are written as one-dimensional, comedic caricatures. I have spent so much of my career fighting against those archetypes because our community deserves more depth than many of the opportunities offered to us."

He added, "(So,) when I was initially presented with the character of Daniel, I admit I was turned off. He was written as 'an intelligent private investigator, a nerd who grew up to be hot, but doesn't know it yet.' I resisted the opportunity because I did not want to play this archetype."

But he changed his mind after having a talk with his wife, who told him that he was also "a nerd who grew up to be hot and still does not know it."

"With this simple personalization, I decided to dig into the character and accept him fully, and in turn, I was challenged to accept myself as well," he revealed. "Throughout the first season, whenever I felt the urge to fight against Daniel's 'nerdy' qualities, I told myself to surrender and dissect the characters' humanity. What may seem like a simple, lighthearted performance was one of my most difficult because I had to constantly surrender my ego and learn to trust the story, the writers, and myself."

Actor Tim Jo / Photo by Paris Libby

Jo will also be featured in the musical horror-thriller "Art of a Hit," which will be released this fall. It revolves around a late-90s rock band that visits a 1,000-year-old French chateau to record a comeback album. In the movie, Jo plays Timmy, a cocky guitar prodigy with hair down to his shoulders, chain- smokes cigarettes and argues with everyone.

"I have never been given the opportunity to show this side of myself, so I am extremely excited to see the final product and am eager to hear people's reactions toward the character," Jo said. "Another fun fact is that I recorded all of the guitar and bass guitar tracks for the movie's soundtrack."

Jo added that the global popularity of Korean culture, such as K-pop and K-dramas, has affected his life in many different ways.

"Growing up as an extreme minority for most of my life, I could never have imagined that people would be so passionate about my culture," he said.

"Yoo Jae-won, my character in the drama 'This Is Us' (2016-22) was specifically written to be Korean, with a Korean name and introduced in an episode titled 'Kamsahamnida' — meaning 'thank you' in Korean. Daniel Kim in 'Reasonable Doubt' was also specifically written as Korean. There are many fun moments and jokes in the second season where I made choices that were specifically inspired by my Korean heritage. Without the popularity of Korean pop culture, I truly believe that these characters would not have existed."

For Jo, Korea is like heaven on earth.

"I am never happier than when I am back in my home country," he said. "As proud as I am of everything Korea has done to impact worldwide culture, I hope that my work is able to make my fans in Korea proud as well ... My only dream for the future is that I continue to stay in love with acting and that my artistry continues to redefine and transform itself as I grow older."