We are excited to welcome Jake Choi to Columbus as the 2019 HRC Columbus Visibility Award recipient. The son of Korean immigrants to the United States, Jake Choi is a former semi-professional basketball player turned actor, who was born and raised in Queens.  Fluent in English and Korean, Jake is a series regular on the ABC comedy series SINGLE PARENTS. He plays “Miggy”, a 20-year-old, sleep-deprived dad raising a baby boy alone after the child’s mom departs for college. In 2019, he will be seen in supporting lead roles in the WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S sequel from MGM Digital, KEEP HOPE ALIVE, playing a surfer-dude tech wiz working on a senate campaign, as well as the MGM and Warner Bros. feature film THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR (to be released theatrically on May 17, 2019).

“Being an actor means that you are truthfully reflecting human experiences. Gay people are people, too. Human-beings aren’t defined by their sexuality…As an artist, it shouldn’t matter: you’re telling a story.”

–Jake Choi

Previously, Jake was the lead of the 2015 independent film FRONT COVER, a gay romantic dramedy tackling the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality. Jake’s television credits include roles on the HBO drama SUCCESSION and the Darren Star / TV Land comedy series YOUNGER, as well as guest stars on Hulu’s DIFFICULT PEOPLE and Comedy Central’s BROAD CITY.  He has also appeared on LAW AND ORDER: SVU, MYSTERIES OF LAURA, GOTHAM, UNFORGETTABLE, LETHAL WEAPON, and HAWAII FIVE-0.

Jake’s personal hobbies include basketball, boxing, yoga, and reading, as well as anything to do with house plants. He is a staunch advocate for rights, protections and positive media representations of members of marginalized communities, especially people of color and LGBTQ individuals. On a recent cover of The Advocate magazine, Jake stood shoulder to shoulder with Nico Santos and Vincent Rodriguez III, for a feature titled “Crazy Amazing Asian-Americans: These Out TV Stars are Changing More Than Just Hollywood”.

In 2018, Choi came out as sexually fluid. In an interview with The Advocate he stated, “I feel like a lot of people understand it better if you just say ‘bisexual,’ which is not the same thing, but it’s like sometimes when people say, ‘Oh, so you’re bi?’ — I don’t even want to argue anymore.