'Lost' actor stars in West End's 'King'

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LONDON, June 18 (UPI) -- Daniel Dae Kim is spending his summer hiatus from the U.S. television drama "Lost" starring in a West End production of "The King & I."

Kim plays the King of Siam opposite Maria Friedman's governess Anna in the revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show, playing through June 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

The stage-trained actor, who is appearing in his first musical, told the BBC he is determined to make the royal role his own, despite Yul Brynner's iconic performance in the 1956 film version of "The King & I."

"I am bound to be compared to other people who have played the king, but I will bring something different to it," Kim told the British broadcaster. "It always makes me laugh that in productions of 'The King and I,' every single person who played the king either shaved their head or put on a bald cap and I thought if that's not a lasting testament to the work of one actor then I don't know what is. ... People think that everyone who plays this role should be bald when in fact, the king himself was not bald -- it was only Yul Brynner who was bald."

Brynner won a Tony in 1952 and an Oscar in 1956 for his performance as the king.