Returning Kings Ken Watanabe & Jose Llana, Plus Lost's Daniel Dae Kim, Set for The King & I

A lineup of new and returning kings are poised to claim the throne in The King and I on Broadway. Ken Watanabe, who earned a Tony nomination for his performance as the titular King of Siam opposite Kelli O’Hara, will return to the role beginning March 1, taking over for Hoon Lee at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Jose Llana, who previously succeeded Watanabe, will do so once more beginning April 19 for two weeks. On May 3, Daniel Dae Kim will make his Broadway debut as the King for an eight-week run.

Watanabe received an Oscar nod for his performance in the 2004 film The Last Samurai. His additional film credits include Batman Begins, Inception, Letters from Iwo Jima and the 2014 reboot of Godzilla.

Llana’s additional credits include here Lies Love off-Broadway, as well as Wonderland, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song, Rent, Streetcorner Symphony and the ’96 revival of The King and I (in which he played Lun Tha).

Kim is best known for his performance as Jin-Soo Kwon on Lost. His additional credits include Hawaii Five-0 and Angel. In 2009, he played the King in a Royal Albert Hall engagement in London opposite Maria Friedman.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical, set in 1860s Bangkok, tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher, whom the imperious King brings to Siam to tutor his many wives and children. The current cast also includes Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang, Conrad Ricamora as Lun Tha and Ashley Park as Tuptim.