Renegades, Issue 3: Ian Anthony Dale

Fighting his way to a 21-year career in Hollywood

Ian Anthony Dale

Actor, Producer, Director

Welcome to Renegades, a series spotlighting Asian Pacific leaders and creatives who are carving their own paths and defying stereotypes along the way.

This week, we’re featuring Ian Anthony Dale, an actor, producer, and director best known for his roles in Hawaii Five-O, Murder in the First, and Salvation. Ian next stars in Accused, airing April 4th on FOX. Ian tells us about how fellow actor, Daniel Dae Kim, shaped his career trajectory, what drew him to Howard Gordon’s series, Accused, and what’s left on his Hollywood bucket list.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

What did you want to be when you were growing up, and how does that compare to what you do today? 

When I was really young, I had a passion for sports. My father was a professional hockey player, and he also played for the 1968 Olympic hockey team. So, I got to have my greatest idol be somebody who was able to reach such a wonderful height of accomplishment in that profession. Like him, I wanted to pursue a career in baseball, but that for most people never ends [in] making it to the major leagues. My career was cut short from too many injuries.

Somehow I stumbled into the theater when I was 16 years old, and I was this very sort of insecure, shy, quiet person who was terrified of putting themselves out on a stage and letting people inside. The first time I ever auditioned for a play and faced those fears head-on, I came out of it unscathed and arguably with a tiny bit more confidence. I realized, “Wow, this is something that could be beneficial to my development as a human being and certainly as an adult.” I decided, “Okay, let's give this a try. If I can't do baseball anymore, let's give this theater thing a go.”

Were you the first to pursue acting in your family?

I was and am still the only. My father was a hockey player, and my mom had a long career in nursing. But arts were an important part of my childhood. My father, in addition to being a professional athlete, was also an artist/painter. So, that idea of finding a passion and then pursuing the dreams associated with that passion [was] not uncommon to my parents. They certainly were very encouraging when I did decide to explore a new creative avenue that I might find a passion in as well.

In addition to acting, you’ve directed television shows, and you have a deal with CBS Studios for your development and production company, 20k. How do you balance being all three?

When I made the decision to become more involved in directing and producing, it coincided with a time in my life where I was becoming very close with Daniel Dae Kim. I remember [we] were playing tennis one day and shared with him this desire to start my own company. At that point, he had been doing it for probably six years with 3AD and had been through the challenges and struggles. He asked, “Are you ready for this?” Because at the time, my wife was pregnant, [and] I was juggling both Hawaii Five-O and another series, Salvation. He [said], “Well, I had the luxury of starting my company when my kids were all well into their teens and about to fly the coop. And I had more time to focus on all the enormous responsibility that comes with adding producing and directing to [my] slate.” I [said], “Well, you know what, man? If you could do it, I can do it.” I had this very ambitious attitude. After about a year of trying to wear all these different hats, I remember having a conversation with Daniel being like, “Oh my God, you were right, man. This is a challenge.”

The way I try to find balance in this impossible juggling act is if I can end each day knowing that I put a certain effort into accomplishing my mission, whether it be in a character I play on screen, a project we’re developing, or an episode of television I'm trying to direct. As long as I stay focused on the goal of trying to promote and provide a conduit, and create greater representation for the Asian American community, I feel like I can rest easy at night. As long as I'm able to feel that sense of accomplishment each night, I know that I've found enough of a balance for all to work together.

How would you compare Asian and Pacific Islander representation in entertainment across the different decades you’ve been in the industry: 2000’s vs 2010’s and now 2020’s?

At the beginning of my career in the early 2000s, there wasn't a lot of opportunity. My [Asian American] peers and I, who came up at the same time, would jokingly say [of] the opportunities that we [received], it was as if we were all gladiators fighting to the death for the reward of a dead chicken. We weren't actually getting to portray characters that had an enormous amount of depth and dimension, but if we could just get a guest star here or a pilot there, we could stay in the game. We could try to take each one of those opportunities, bring a positive representation of an Asian American, and put that on television.

Cut to 2010, I landed one of my first significant series-regular roles in The Event. It was the first time I reached a point of being recognized for the work I had been doing, and I got to play a very important character in the series with a lot of history and depth. As opportunities started to grow in 2010, I started to get better characters to play. I went from playing a lot of bad guys to suddenly playing more heroic type characters. It wasn't until about five, six years ago [when] things really started to open, and it coincided with a really flourishing time in my career where I got to be on Hawaii Five-O, Salvation, and Murder in the First.

Arriving now in the 2020s, it's never been better. But I'm always fearful that the pendulum could swing way back to where it was in the early 2000s at a moment's notice. That could happen and would happen if the advocacy that CAPE, Gold House, [and what] I'm trying to do at 20K were to stop. Then the pendulum would swing back. So, it's just a constant reminder of how important it is to do what we're doing, and to keep doing it until the normalization has happened, [when] we don't have to advocate so hard anymore to have a seat at the table.

Do you have any bucket list items left that you want to accomplish in your career?

There's a lot I still want to accomplish as an actor. One of my goals when I first got into the business was to be the lead of my own series at some point, and nothing would sort of demonstrate how far we've come then for someone like me to be a lead of a series. I'm very encouraged by seeing Raymond Lee on Quantum Leap and how well that show is doing. Obviously, all the stuff that Steven Yeun and Ali [Wong] are doing–I can't wait to see BEEF, [and] the previews look awesome for that.

All of that is so encouraging to me because it seems all the more attainable, and all the more realistic because it doesn't come without hard work. It doesn't come without a fight. It doesn't come without laying a 21-year foundation for people to say, “Hey, okay, let's give you a shot.” What would be icing on the cake is if it could be a project that I've developed at my company. I [could] be executive producer and have a little bit more control over the types of story we ultimately present to the world. That would be fantastic.

I got into this business always just wanting to work and hopefully have the respect of my peers. That's been my focus throughout. I never had this pie in the sky, “I want to win an Academy Award. I want to chase after accolades.” Those are all fine and dandy, but I just want to work. Because when you get to work, you get to participate in how the perception of our community is formed. So, the more I get to work, the more I get to participate. It'll be a career-long effort, hopefully until I'm as old as James Hong, and I can look back at a career that I can be proud of. I can say I've done my part.

What drew you to your role in Accused?

Howard Gordon is somebody who has been on the forefront of network and premium television for a long time with 24 and Homeland. I had the luxury of working with him on a couple episodes of 24, back in season six as a bad guy. I also knew that Howard had made it his focus to build a series that was truly diverse and inclusive in the stories they were telling. The first several episodes filmed included [stories] featuring African American culture, the deaf community, the indigenous community, the trans community. I’m like, “This sounds really exciting.”

When I got the script for Jiro’s Story, I had to look no further than the front page. I saw that the episode was written by a writer named Karl Taro Greenfeld, who after a little research, I realized is half-Japanese like me. When I dug into the story, I realized it was not only an Asian American story, but a Japanese American story. I felt an instant connection to the material and an instant connection to his voice and point of view.

On top of it all, this story was just so beautiful and heartwarming, so emotionally filled with life. I thought, “How lucky am I to have this opportunity to bring this character to life, tell this story, and be part of a series that is so focused on elevating underrepresented voices?” It's certainly one of those moments in your career where you're like, “This is what I've been working towards.” This is the first time in my 21-year career that I've gotten to be the lead of the project that I'm working on, and that is another reflection of how our industry is opening up.

What are you currently working on that’s exciting you the most?

I’d love to pull the curtain back on my development slate and share a few things, but that's a little tough to do at this time. I'll say this: in our industry, as an actor, if you do anything halfway decent, and you have a little bit of talent, the town has a tendency to reward you with more opportunities doing that same thing. In the same way that the town rewards you with more opportunities of the same thing, they also develop a certain perception of you. My perception is firmly entrenched in the world of broadcast.

One of the things that I loved about the opportunity on Accused, and what drew me to this project, was how elevated this felt. This is a cable show that they're going to try make work on broadcast. Certainly in the type of story they were telling and the depth of character with Jiro, I saw an opportunity here to potentially kick my way out of any boxes I may have been placed in over the last 21 years. I do hope it leads to more opportunities to really stretch, dig deep, and invest in more complex, interesting, and emotionally enriched characters.

Lightning Round

Hometown
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Favorite Place You’ve Lived
Hawaii

Most Used Emoji 
👍

Daily Habit
Have a strong connection with my children

Favorite Time of Day
Got my children on a sleep schedule that allows for my wife and I to have 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm to do whatever we want

Favorite Comfort Food
Mayonnaise on anything, tonkotsu, fried chicken, and BLT