![Daniel Dae Kim arrives for the Independent Spirit Awards in March 2023.](https://cdn.pickleball.com/news/1721444104424/shutterstock_2335042699.jpg?width=1320&height=528&optimizer=image)
Kim thought pickleball 'was just mini-tennis' before getting hooked like the rest of us
DALLAS, TX - You can add actor-producer Daniel Dae Kim to the ever-growing list of celebrities who geninuely enjoy pickleball as part of their fitness regimen.
In an interview with InsideHook writer Tom Ward published on Friday, Kim revealed that he wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of America's fastest-growing sport right away.
The 55-year-old workout enthusiast eventually came around, though, and the rest is history.
"Paddle sports were big in my childhood. When pickleball first came along, I thought it was just mini-tennis," admitted Kim, who's well-known for his roles in Lost, Hellboy, Hawaii-Five-O and Angel. "I was a bit dismissive of it, until I started seeing my son and my wife starting to play, and then I started seeing a lot of ex-tennis players move into pro pickleball. I realized it can get pretty intense. It is a real sport. I started to play, and I’ve been enjoying it."
That's a nod to tennis stars like Jack Sock, Donald Young and Genie Bouchard, of course, who've successfully made the jump to the 20x44 and continue to impress.
Pickleball has clearly become a go-to activity for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards winner.
"Whenever I get free time I consider it a luxury. It’s either pickleball, or if I can squeeze in a round of golf, that’s great. But I might just go for a run. All of those things are fantastic," explained Kim, an Asian Hall of Fame inductee. "Pickleball is like tennis in that you need to find good partners. Sometimes they’re hard to find on short notice. I usually play with friends and family rather than any famous faces."
Back in 2022, he joined forces with one of those "famous faces" in the two-hour sports comedy special PICKLED on CBS.
Kim played with fellow actor, Luis Guzmán, on Team Daniel Dae Luis.
His game has likely evolved quite a bit since then, as evidenced by this reply to a question about changing his mindset from tennis to pickleball.
"As a tennis player, I like to hit the ball hard. If you played pickleball like I played tennis, you’d be called a dinker," shared Kim. "Dinking is good in pickleball, but it took me a while to get my mentality right about the importance of dinking."
That's where the advice of a seasoned pro could come in handy, right?
Enter Hurricane Tyra Black.
According to Ward, Kim has "signed on as co-captain of the Advil Pickleball Team" alongside Black, so it's safe to say that he has a perfect resource on speed dial.
Click here to read Ward's full interview with Kim.
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