John Yo-Han Cho (Korean: 조요한; born June 16, 1972) is an American actor. As a performer, he is noted for his subtle and understated style of acting. He is known for his roles as Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar film series (2004–2011), John/MILF guy #2 in the American Pie film series (1999–2012), and Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot film series (2009–2016).
Cho became the first Asian American actor cast as a romantic lead in a romantic comedy series when he played Henry Higgs in the sitcom Selfie (2014) and the first to headline a mainstream Hollywood thriller film when he starred in Searching (2018), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.
Cho has had lead roles in television series such as FlashForward, Off Centre, and The Afterparty, and recurring roles in Sleepy Hollow and Difficult People. In his early career, Cho attained recognition for guest-starring in the fantasy television series Charmed.
Cho was born as Cho Yo-Han (Korean: 조요한) on June 16, 1972 in Seoul, South Korea. He moved to the United States with his family when he was 6 years old in 1978. He was raised in Los Angeles, where his family settled after living in Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Daly City, California; and Monterey Park, California. His father was a minister in the Church of Christ and was originally from North Korea. He grew up with one younger brother. At the time, his father believed in order to survive and assimilate in the U.S., Cho and his brother would need to stop speaking Korean and speak English instead. They would also watch American television as much as they could to absorb the new culture.
Cho graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California, in 1990.
Cho attended the University of California, Berkeley. In 1994, he toured nationally for a stage production of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.
After graduation, Cho taught English literature at Pacific Hills School in West Hollywood, California, while acting at East West Players in downtown Los Angeles. There, he appeared in Edward Sakamoto's The Taste of Kona Coffee in 1996 and in Euijoon Kim's film My Tired Broke Ass Pontificating Slapstick Funk in 2000.
Cho gained attention with a small role as "MILF guy #2" in the 1999 comedy American Pie, in which he popularized the slang term MILF. Cho reprised the role in three sequels: American Pie 2, American Wedding, and the latest installment American Reunion in which he has a much larger role. His character initially had no name, but he was given the name "John" in the third film, named after Cho himself.
Cho guest-starred on Charmed as the ghost of Mark Chao, one of leading character Piper Halliwell's most prominent love interests, in the episode "Dead Man Dating" in 1998; he indicated in 2024 that it was a role that he "gets asked about... all the time". He was one of the stars of the short-lived situation comedy Off Centre from 2001 to 2002; his character, Chau Presley, became the series' breakout character.
He was a costar on the Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential, based on Anthony Bourdain's best-selling book. He had supporting roles in the science fiction comedy Evolution, directed by Ivan Reitman; Down to Earth; and Bowfinger.
In 2002, Cho had a starring role in the ensemble cast of Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, a drama focusing on the travails of a group of Asian Americans living in Southern California who are academically successful but socially discontented, and as a result engage in wantonly violent, criminal behavior. It was well received by critics, with Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times describing Cho's character's "lazy magnetism of which he is charmingly aware". Later that year, the movie Big Fat Liar was released, in which Cho played a Hong Kong-based film director. He refused to do the accent scripted for his character. The director worked with him to re-develop the role.
Cho had a successful starring role as Harold Lee in 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and reprised the role in 2008's Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay which earned $38 million at the box office, and again in 2011's A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas which made $35 million. Cho's role in the popular franchise was written specifically for him by Hayden Schlossberg, and Cho has recounted that when Schlossberg first approached him with the role, he was initially suspicious.
Cho appeared in the July 2004 issue of KoreAm Journal and, in September 2006, was cast in NBC's new comedy The Singles Table, but the series never aired due to changes in scheduling and production. In 2006 and again in 2009, Cho was selected as one of the sexiest men alive in People magazine.
In 2007, Cho was added to the cast of Ugly Betty as a recurring character. Cho plays Kenny, a best friend of accountant Henry Grubstick. Cho played helmsman Hikaru Sulu in J. J. Abrams's feature film Star Trek. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised him for making his role "ultimately and rather wonderfully [his] own".
Cho appeared in Nas' "Be a Nigger Too" music video along with various celebrities and had a guest appearance on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, in the episode "I'm Not That Guy" where he played a partner in an evil law firm. Of the latter, Staci Krause of IGN, wrote that Cho was "the scene stealer in this episode" and that she would "definitely like to see more of him" in the series.
From 2009 to 2010, Cho starred in the television series FlashForward as FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh. His character was originally slated to be killed off during what turned out to be the show's only season, but after his turn as Sulu in Star Trek boosted his popularity, the producers revised the show's storyline so that he survived, in an attempt to boost declining ratings.
In 2012, he was part of the ensemble cast of Go On as Steven.
Cho starred as Henry Higgs in the short-lived sitcom Selfie, a retooling of the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, becoming the first Asian American man to play a romantic lead on a U.S. romantic comedy television series in 2014. At the time, Keli Lee was the executive vice president of Talent and Casting at ABC who selected Cho as a candidate and also previously cast Cho in Flashforward. Julie Anne Robinson, one of the directors and executive producers of Selfie, revealed in 2021 interviews that she strongly supported casting Cho and had to persuade "top to bottom of everybody in that chain" that he was the perfect choice for the role, which took considerable time. Robinson fought for Cho and won, saying, "That's what I'm most proud of about that whole pilot." The show continued to have a dedicated fan following after its broadcast, especially in China. The slow burn romance was similar to a Korean drama, which appealed to fans. In July 2022, when Cho was asked about his thoughts on the show's cancellation, he answered, "I'm still stunned to see how many people still love that series. And yeah, I was bummed when it got canceled. I just thought that was a good show." In January 2023, Cho mentioned he had not received many offers for romantic comedy roles since Selfie. There were talks of a Selfie movie revival with Stars Collective, but plans have been stalled due to the Warner Brothers not selling the film rights.