Daniel Dae Kim Tops Record-Breaking List of Asian American Tony Award Nominees
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 06 May, 2025

Daniel Dae Kim, who is now the first Asian to be nominated for “Lead Actor in a Play,” joins a sizable list of AAPI’s who have secured 2025 Tony nominations.

Daniel Dae Kim is now the first Asian in history to be nominated for a Tony Award for “Lead Actor in a Play.” In addition to Kim’s feat, this year’s Tony nominations — dubbed “The Oscars of Broadway theater — have recognized at least seven AAPI actors, a record number.

Kim received the nomination for his role in Yellow Face, a comedic play about Asian identity in which he portrays David Henry Huang, a fictionalized version of the show’s playwright. 

Daniel Dae Kim is certainly having a moment. Just last month he cracked Time Magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People of 2025.” Per director JJ Abrams, who penned Kim’s profile for the issue, “When we made the Lost pilot, Kim insisted his character’s arc defy stereotypes.”

The first Asian to ever win a Tony for acting was BD Wong in 1988. Wong’s performance in M. Butterfly — which was also written by David Henry Huang — earned him a win for “Best Featured Actor in a Play.” Today Wong remains just one of three Asians winners, which is, coincidentally, also the number of non-Asians who have won for performing in yellowface (portraying Asian characters while not being Asian).

Other 2025 nominees include Glee alum Darren Criss whose mother is Chinese and FIlipino. Criss was nominated for “Lead Actor in a Musical” for Maybe Happy Ending.  Nicole Scherzinger whose parents are Filipino and Native Hawaiian was nominated for “Lead Actress in a Musical” for Sunset Boulevard. 

Additionally, Chinese American Francis Jue and Filipino American Conrad Ricamora received nominations for “Featured Actor”.  Iranians Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat also received “Featured Actress” nominations for the play English, for which Iranian playwright Sanaz Toossi was also nominated.

Darren Criss has already won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in the 2018 miniseries “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” which means that should he take home the Tony, he will be just an Oscar shy of the coveted EGOT (the term used to describe winning all four major awards).

Criss’s own relationship with his identity appears to be a complicated one. When asked if he identifies as Asian American during a 2018 interview with Vulture, he had the following to say: “No. I think that’d be unfair. I think that’d sound like I’m reaching for the minority card on a college application…maybe if I looked a little more pan-Asian and I was put in that box then I would be like, “Yeah, I identify as Asian-American.” 

“I think if it was thrust upon me I would embrace it, because I love that I’m half-Filipino,” he added.  “But I’ve never been put in that corner, like, ‘We need an Asian-looking guy. Call this guy.’ Criss does, however, identify as “culturally queer” despite the fact that he is straight.

Aside from reasons to celebrate this year's nominations, there was one sore spot: Actress Helen J. Shen, who acted opposite Criss in Maybe Happy Ending, did not receive a nomination in what many are calling a snub. While theater fans have been expressing their disappointment given the strength of Shen’s performance, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus that her disappointment was due to any reason beyond a tough field this year.