Tamlyn Tomita

Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Tomita
	Tamlyn Tomita on April 5, 2010
Born	Tamlyn Naomi Tomita; January 27, 1966; Koza, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
Education	UCLA
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1986–present

Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming web series Cobra Kai (2021). She is also well known for her role as Waverly in The Joy Luck Club (1993). Additional films include Come See the Paradise (1990), Picture Bride (1994), Four Rooms (1995), Robot Stories (2003), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am (2005).

Tomita also has played several recurring roles on television series, including 24, Glee, Teen Wolf and How to Get Away with Murder. She starred on the Epix drama series Berlin Station (2016), and in 2017 began starring in the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor. In 2020, she had a recurring role in Star Trek: Picard.

Early life

Tomita was born on a military base in Okinawa, but grew up in Los Angeles.[1][2][3] Her Japanese-American father was in an internment camp during World War II.[2][1] He met her mother while stationed in Okinawa between the Korean and Vietnam Wars.[3] Her mother was half-Japanese, half-Filipino (Ilocano), born in Manila and had emigrated to Okinawa after World War II.[3][1] Her father became an LAPD officer upon returning to Los Angeles.[1]

Tomita graduated from Granada Hills Charter High School[1] and attended UCLA, where she studied history and planned to become a history teacher.[1][4] While a junior at UCLA, she participated in Nisei Week (where she was crowned its 1984 queen).[1][5] It was during this time that she responded to “Helen Funai, a former 1963 queen of the pageant and also a dancer, actress, singer,”[6] who made a request that she audition for a part in The Karate Kid II.[1][6] She promised her parents that she would finish UCLA, and then explore acting.[6]

Career

Film

After The Karate Kid II, Tomita had major roles in a number of independent movies. Her biggest role was in the 1990 drama film Come See the Paradise.[7] In 1993, she co-starred opposite Ming-Na Wen in the ensemble cast drama The Joy Luck Club and the next year she had a role in the 1994 independent film Picture Bride. In 1995 Tomita appeared alongside Antonio Banderas in the Robert Rodriguez-directed segment of the vignette anthology comedy Four Rooms.[8]

In the 21st Century, Tomita has had roles in other independent films and co-starred in several major Hollywood productions, including playing Janet Tokada in The Day After Tomorrow. In 2005, she starred in the Brazilian drama film Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am and also had a leading roles in the independent films Robot Stories in 2003. She was also in Only the Brave about the Japanese American segregated fighting unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, which included two other Karate Kid stars, Yuji Okumoto and Pat Morita.[9]

Television

Tomita appeared as a character named Ming Li on the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara from May to September 1988.[10] In 1994, she guest-starred in the first episode of season 3 of Highlander: The Series. In 2008, she made her return to daytime soaps with a recurring role on ABC's General Hospital.[11] In 2012, she had another recurring role on NBC's Days of Our Lives.

From 1996 to 1997, Tomita was a regular cast member in the short-lived UPN drama series, The Burning Zone as well as the pilot movie for Babylon 5. During her career she has guest starred on shows such as Seven Days; Quantum Leap; Living Single; Murder, She Wrote; Chicago Hope; Will & Grace; Nash Bridges; The Shield; Strong Medicine; Stargate SG-1; Stargate: Atlantis; The Mentalist; Private Practice; True Blood; Zoo; Tour of Duty; Criminal Minds; and many other dramas and comedies. She had longer term recurring roles on Crossing Jordan, JAG, 24, Eureka, Heroes, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Glee, Teen Wolf, Resurrection, How to Get Away with Murder, and Chasing Life.

In 2016, Tomita played a series regular role on the Epix drama series Berlin Station. From 2017 to 2019 she was a series regular on the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor.[12]

Tomita began a recurring role as the Vulcan/Romulan hybrid Commodore Oh on the CBS All Access web television series Star Trek: Picard in 2020.

In 2021, she reprised her 1980s role as Kumiko for 2 episodes in Season 3 of Cobra Kai, a modern television sequel to the Karate Kid movies.[13][14][4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Karate Kid Part II	Kumiko	Debut role
1987	Hawaiian Dream	Karren Saito
1990	Vietnam, Texas	Lan
1990	Come See the Paradise	Lily Yuriko Kawamura / McGann
1993	The Joy Luck Club	Waverly Jong
1994	Picture Bride	Kana
1994	Notes on a Scale
1995	Four Rooms	Wife	Segment "The Misbehavers"
1995	Requiem	Fong	Short film
1997	The Killing Jar	Diane Sanford
1997	Touch	Prosecutor
1998	Hundred Percent	Thaise
	Soundman	Butch's Wife
	Living Out Loud	Mrs. Nelson
1999	Life Tastes Good	Julie Sado
2000	Betty Anderson	Detective Miyamoto	Short film
2003	Robot Stories	Marcia
2003	Day of Independence	Choir Member	Short film
2004	The Perfect Party	Mom
2004	The Day After Tomorrow	Janet Tokada
2005	Gaijin 2: Love Me as I Am	Maria Yamashita Salinas
2005	True Love & Minosa Tea	Rebecca Nakasone	Short film
2006	Only the Brave	Mary Takata
2006	Peace	Sandy Sakai	Short film
2007	Pandemic	Melissa Lo	Short film
2008	The Eye	Mrs. Cheung
2008	Finding Madison	Beth
2009	Why Am I Doing This?	Donna
2009	Tekken	Jun Kazama
2010	The Mikado Project	Viola
Nómadas
Starlight Inn	Grace Kim	Short film
2011	The Charles Kim Show	Herself	Short film
2012	White Room: 02B3	Five	Short film
2014	Awesome Asian Bad Guys	Tamlyn / Pamlyn (2013)
	Teacher of the Year	Vivian Lew
	Operation Marriage	Lee	Short film
2015	Daddy	Sharlene Hong
2016	The Good Neighbor	Heather Cromwell
	The Unbidden	Lauren Lee
	Seppuku	Linda	Short film
2017	Real Artists	Anne Palladon	Short film
2019	The Living Worst	Chita Montague
2020	I Will Make You Mine	Julia

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Tour of Duty	VC Peasant Woman	Episode: "Sitting Ducks"
1987–1988	Santa Barbara	Lily Murakami, Ming Li	31 episodes
1988	Hiroshima Maiden	Miyeko Matsuda	Television film
1988	To Heal a Nation	Maya Ying Lin	Television film
1989	The Karate Kid	Additional Characters (voices)	Episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
1990	Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes	Sally	Television film
1992	Quantum Leap	Tamlyn Matsuda	Episode: "Temptation Eyes - February 1, 1985"
1992	Raven	Kim Tanaka	Episode: "Return of the Black Dragon"
1993	Babylon 5: The Gathering	Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima	Television film
1994	Time Trax	Toshi	Episode: "Return of the Yakuza"
1994	Vanishing Son II	Lanchi	Television film
1994	One West Waikiki	Taylor Chun	Episode: "'Til Death Do Us Part"
1994	Highlander: The Series	Midori Kent/Maia Koto	Episode: "The Samurai"
1994	Living Single	Mary	Episode: "Bristle While You Work"
1994	Vanishing Son IV	Lanchi	Television film
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Det. Sharon Matsumoto	Episode: "Death in Hawaii"
1995	Vanishing Son	Lan Chi	Episode: "Single Flame"
1995	Sisters	Kiri Adams	Episodes: "For Everything a Season: Part 1", "Renaissance Woman"
1996	Chicago Hope	Tina - Sutton's Ex #3	Episode: "Ex Marks the Spot"
1996–1997	The Burning Zone	Dr. Kimberly Shiroma	Series regular, 11 episodes
1997	The Sentinel	Suzane Tomaki	Episode: "Smart Alec"
1997	Raven: Return of the Black Dragons	Kim Tanaka	Television film
1998	Chicago Hope	Jennifer Watanabe	Episode: "McNeil and Pray"
1999	Seven Days	Michelle	Episode: "Walter"
1999	Will & Grace	Naomi	Episode: "I Never Promised You an Olive Garden"
1999	The Last Man on Planet Earth	Agent Kara Hastings	Television film
2000	Runaway Virus	Monique Chao	Television film
2000	Nash Bridges	Amy Chin	Episodes: "Man Hunt", "Blow Out"
2000	The Michael Richards Show	Ming	Episode: "USA Toy"
2001	Destiny		Television film
2001	FreakyLinks	Emma Reed	Episode: "Subject: The Final Word"
2001	Walking Shadow	Rikki Wu	Television film
2001	Providence	Mary Cassidy	Episode: "Civil Unrest"
2001	Crossing Jordan	Dr. Grace Yakura	Episodes: "The Dawn of a New Day", "You Can't Go Home Again", "Digger, Part 1"
2002	The Shield	Wanda Higoshi	Episode: "Pilot"
2002	For the People	Dr. Chaney	Episode: "Come Blow Your Whistle"
2002–2003	JAG	Lt. Cmdr. Tracy Manetti	Recurring role, 7 episodes
2002–2003	24	Jenny Dodge	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2003	The Agency	Elizabeth—Female Kidnapper	Episodes: "Our Man in Korea", "Our Man in Washington"
2003	Threat Matrix	Special Agent Nicole Hill	Episode: "Under the Gun"
2004	Strong Medicine	Dr. Nash	Episode: "Goodbye/Rest in Peace"
2004–2005	North Shore	Xiao	Episodes: "Illusions", "The End"
2005	Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't	Helen Morrison	Television film
2006	Commander in Chief	Randy	Episode: "No Nukes Is Good Nukes"
2006	Stargate SG-1	Shen Xiaoyi	Episodes: "The Scourge", "Crusade"
2006, 2008	Stargate Atlantis	Shen Xiaoyi	Episodes: "No Man's Land", "Remnants"
2006–2007, 2009	Eureka	Kim Anderson	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2007	Women's Murder Club	Sachiko Johannes	Episode: "Maybe Baby"
2007–2008, 2010	Heroes	Ishi Nakamura	Episodes: "Chapter Nine: Cautionary Tales", "Chapter Twelve: Our Father", "Chapter Fifteen: Pass/Fail"
2008–2009	General Hospital	Giselle	6 episodes
2008	Saving Grace	Tori Chen	Episode: "Have a Seat, Earl"
2008	Twenty Good Years		Episode: "Come Fly with Me"
2008	Two Sisters	Shakti	Television film
2009	Monk	Eileen Hill	Episode: "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"
2009	The Mentalist	Lauri Medina	Episode: "Bloodshot"
2009	Criminal Minds	Dr. Linda Kimura	Episode: "Amplification"
2009	CSI: Miami	Dr. Sarah Fordham	Episode: "Seeing Red"
2009	Private Practice	Katie's Lawyer	Episode: "Strange Bedfellows"
2010	Memphis Beat	Noreen Drake	Episode: "I Want to Be Free"
2010–2011	Law & Order: LA	Miwako Nishizawa	Recurring role, 10 episodes
2011	The Chicago Code	Prosecutor	Episode: "Bathhouse & Hinky Dink"
2011	The Protector	Katrina	Episode: "Bangs"
2011	Glee	Julia Chang	Episode: "Asian F"
2012	Days of Our Lives	Dr. Ellen Yu	6 episodes
2012	Make It or Break It	Dr. Lim	Episode: "Listen to the Universe"
2012	Touch	Kazuko Osugi	Episode: "Gyre, Part 1"
2012	Hollywood Heights	Sarah Medeiros	Episodes: "Jetsetter", "Fresno"
2013	Bones	Dr. Alice Crawford	Episode: "The Doll in the Derby"
2013	True Blood	Ms. Suzuki	Episodes: "Who Are You, Really?", "Dead Meat"
2014–2017	Teen Wolf	Noshiko Yukimura	Recurring role, 16 episodes
2014	Resurrection	Dr. Toni Willis	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2014–2015	How to Get Away with Murder	Judge Carol Marrow	Episodes: "He Deserved to Die", "Hello Rasholnikov"
2014	NCIS: Los Angeles	Homeland Security Agent Shana Rollins	Episode: "Leipei"
2015	Chasing Life	Dr. Mae Lin	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2015	Zoo	Minako Oz	Episode: "The Silence of the Cicadas"
2016	Berlin Station	Sandra Abe	Series regular, 10 episodes
2017–2019	The Good Doctor	Allegra Aoki	Series regular (season 1–2) Special guest (season 3) 23 episodes
2018	The Man in the High Castle	Tamiko Watanabe	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2020	Star Trek: Picard	Commodore Oh	Episodes: "Maps and Legends", "The End is the Beginning,", "Nepenthe"
2020	DuckTales	Inspector Tezuka	Episode: "Astro B.O.Y.D."
2021	Cobra Kai	Kumiko	Season 3, 2 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	James Bond 007: Nightfire	Makiko Hayashi

References

Block, Jenny (2018-04-23). "'Good Doctor' Star Tamlyn Tomita Says "Stop Treating Me As A Woman: Treat Me As An Equal"". swaay.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
Adato, Alison (1991-01-25). "Close-up on Tamlyn Tomita -- We talk to the actress from Come See the Paradise". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
"Tamlyn Tomita Reveals Her Parents' Love Story". Retrieved 2020-05-10.
Yamato, Jen (2021-01-01). "To reprise her 'Karate Kid' role in 'Cobra Kai,' Tamlyn Tomita had some ground rules". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
"Past Queens & Courts". Nisei Week. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
"TALKING WITH TAMLYN TOMITA: THE ACTRESS DISHES ON INDEPENDENT CINEMA AND WHITEWASHING". Center for Asian American Media. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
"Tamlyn Tomita". EW.com. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
"FILM REVIEW;Hellish Guests in Kinky Spats in 'Four Rooms'". 26 December 1995. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
"Meet Yuji Okumoto". konakitchen.com. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
"Ming Li". santabarbara-online.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
"General Hospital: Tamlyn Tomita Cast As Kate Howard Rival". Daytime Confidential. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
Petski, Denise (22 September 2017). "'The Good Doctor': Tamlyn Tomita Upped To Series Regular On ABC Drama". Retrieved 24 October 2017.
Ng, Phillana (2021-01-07). "'Cobra Kai': Tamlyn Tomita on Returning as Kumiko More Than 30 Years After 'Karate Kid' (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
Meeks, Karen (2020-12-31). "'Karate Kid II' kicked off Tamlyn Tomita's career. Now she's back, 34 years later, in 'Cobra Kai.'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-01-04.

External links

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[equal-1] Block, Jenny (2018-04-23). "'Good Doctor' Star Tamlyn Tomita Says "Stop Treating Me As A Woman: Treat Me As An Equal"". swaay.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.

[closeup-2] Adato, Alison (1991-01-25). "Close-up on Tamlyn Tomita -- We talk to the actress from Come See the Paradise". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-01-06.

[reveals-3] "Tamlyn Tomita Reveals Her Parents' Love Story". Retrieved 2020-05-10.

[yahooreprise-4] Yamato, Jen (2021-01-01). "To reprise her 'Karate Kid' role in 'Cobra Kai,' Tamlyn Tomita had some ground rules". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-01-04.

[queen-5] "Past Queens & Courts". Nisei Week. Retrieved 2021-01-07.

[talking-6] "TALKING WITH TAMLYN TOMITA: THE ACTRESS DISHES ON INDEPENDENT CINEMA AND WHITEWASHING". Center for Asian American Media. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2021-01-07.

[7] "Tamlyn Tomita". EW.com. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

[8] "FILM REVIEW;Hellish Guests in Kinky Spats in 'Four Rooms'". 26 December 1995. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

[meet-9] "Meet Yuji Okumoto". konakitchen.com. Retrieved 2021-01-06.

[10] "Ming Li". santabarbara-online.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.

[11] "General Hospital: Tamlyn Tomita Cast As Kate Howard Rival". Daytime Confidential. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

[12] Petski, Denise (22 September 2017). "'The Good Doctor': Tamlyn Tomita Upped To Series Regular On ABC Drama". Retrieved 24 October 2017.

[returningET-13] Ng, Phillana (2021-01-07). "'Cobra Kai': Tamlyn Tomita on Returning as Kumiko More Than 30 Years After 'Karate Kid' (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2021-01-07.

[sfchron-14] Meeks, Karen (2020-12-31). "'Karate Kid II' kicked off Tamlyn Tomita's career. Now she's back, 34 years later, in 'Cobra Kai.'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-01-04.