Born and raised in the Los Feliz suburb of Los Angeles, Elbert Kim attended UC Berkeley for his undergraduate work before settling in Boston after completing law school. While at Berkeley, he was the men's Taekwondo Team Captain where he led his team to 4 consecutive national collegiate team titles. He was awarded the Male Collegiate MVP of the Year during his junior year and represented the United States at the World University TKD Championships in Guadalajara Mexico where he won the bronze medal. He currently holds a 7th degree black belt with the World TKD Federation.
He was trained by his father, Master Yong Kil Kim, who owned one of the very first TKD schools in Los Angeles in the early 1970s (formerly located prominently in the Hollywood area on Vermont Avenue, across from Los Angeles City College). His students were regular guests opposite John Belushi's Samurai character during the early years of Saturday Night Live.
He recently played the role of personal attorney for Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin's character in the 2022 Oscar Best Picture winner CODA. He also played a small role as a fellow gambler opposite Tsai Chin (Joy Luck Club) in the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival sponsored Lucky Grandma, and Dr. Albert Kim in the Hulu comedy Vacation Friends starring John Cena, Meredith Hagner and Robert Wisdom.
