# Christopher Sean
**Christopher Sean** is the screen name of Christopher Sean Friel (born 1985), an American actor known for playing Paul Narita on the NBC soap opera *Days of Our Lives*, voicing Kazuda Xiono in the animated series *Star Wars Resistance*, and voicing Ken Sato and Ultraman in the 2024 Netflix film *Ultraman: Rising*[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/christopher-sean-948964/film-credits) • [2](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-resistance-interview-christopher-sean-kaz) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/christopher_sean). He was born in Oak Harbor, Washington[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/christopher-sean-948964/film-credits), and identifies as a multiethnic American with Japanese heritage[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Christopher Sean Friel, born 1985 in Oak Harbor, Washington[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/christopher-sean-948964/film-credits) |
| Signature TV role | Paul Narita on *Days of Our Lives*, credited from 2014 to 2026 with 348 episodes on IMDb[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/) |
| Breakout primetime role | Gabriel Waincroft on CBS's *Hawaii Five-0*[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt) |
| Star Wars role | Kazuda "Kaz" Xiono in *Star Wars Resistance* (2018), 42 episodes[2](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-resistance-interview-christopher-sean-kaz) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/5900/christopher-sean) |
| Film lead | Ken Sato/Ultraman in *Ultraman: Rising* (2024), his highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 85%[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/christopher_sean) |
| Notable game voices | Dick Grayson/Nightwing in *Gotham Knights*; Toyman and Hiro Okamura in *Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League*; The Musician in *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach*[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/christopher-sean/) |
| Recognition | Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2026 for *Days of Our Lives*[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt) |
| Off-camera roles | Published DC Comics author and Cultural Ambassador for the KAKEHASHI Project, representing the Consul General of Japan[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/) |
## Early life and path to acting
Sean has described his family as one with a history of Navy service: his father and grandfather both served, and Sean expected to follow until he decided otherwise[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). His interest in performing began during his father's deployments, when his father recorded himself reading books onto tapes sent home; his mother filmed Sean and his sisters on a camcorder to send back, and he says he was always comfortable on camera[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/).
He has said that as a young actor he found few role models on screen who looked like him, naming [Bruce Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-lee), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and [Michael Jordan](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jordan) as the figures whose approach he admired[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/). By the time of a 2025 interview he counted 21 years pursuing acting and 11 years working on camera as a professional[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/).
His first television job was playing a waiter on *The Bold and the Beautiful* in 2010[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). He credits his *Hawaii Five-0* guest appearance as his breakthrough: while telling jokes on set, he impressed executive producer Bryan Spicer, who told him "We'll see you next season"[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/).
## Screen career
**Days of Our Lives.** In 2014 Sean became a series regular on *Days of Our Lives* as Paul Narita, a gay Asian American baseball player[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). He called booking the character a milestone "obviously in my career, but also for inclusion and diversity, and the business entirely"[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). The role ran on and off for more than a decade, reaching 348 episodes on IMDb's count through 2026[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/), and earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2026[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt). He has also reprised Paul in the spin-off *Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem*[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/5900/christopher-sean).
**Hawaii Five-0 and other primetime work.** On CBS's *Hawaii Five-0* he played the recurring villain Gabriel Waincroft[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt), in 13 episodes by IMDb's count[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/). Earlier television credits include a guest role as Phillip on *The Mindy Project* and a starring role as Bing Lee in the acclaimed web series *[The Lizzie Bennet Diaries](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-lizzie-bennet-diaries)*[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/5900/christopher-sean) • [6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt). In 2021 he appeared in four episodes of the third season of the Netflix thriller *You* as Brandon[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/5900/christopher-sean).
**Film.** His listed film credits on Rotten Tomatoes are *King Eternal* (2010), *No Place Like Home* (2019), and *Ultraman: Rising* (2024)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/christopher_sean). Fandango also lists him among the cast attached to several upcoming 2026 releases, including *Project Hail Mary*[1](https://www.fandango.com/people/christopher-sean-948964/film-credits).
## Voice acting
*Star Wars Resistance* (2018) was Sean's first voice project[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). He voiced Kazuda Xiono, a young New Republic pilot recruited by [Poe Dameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/poe-dameron) as a Resistance spy, in the [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) series created by [Dave Filoni](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-filoni) and set after *Return of the Jedi*[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/). Character Media noted that, aside from Doctor Aphra, an Asian woman who had led her own *Star Wars* comic series beginning in 2016, no *Star Wars* tale had previously been led by an Asian hero[9](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/) • [13](https://www.starwars.com/news/the-personal-impact-of-doctor-aphra). Sean described learning the craft from experienced castmates such as Scott Lawrence, Suzie McGrath, and Josh Brener, and adapting to a medium where, as he put it, "they can't hear your eyebrow raise"[2](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-resistance-interview-christopher-sean-kaz). He later voiced Asu in the anthology *Star Wars: Visions*[10](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Sean).
**Ultraman: Rising.** In the 2024 animated film *Ultraman: Rising* he voiced Ken Sato, a Japanese American baseball player who returns to Japan to continue his father's legacy as Ultraman. The actor Eijiro Ozaki told Sean that Ultraman is "such a core, Japanese cultural character" and that he was honored Sean would play the Japanese American version[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/) • [11](https://mixed-asian-media.squarespace.com/giving-them-something-to-talk-about-christopher-sean-is-our-latest-ultraman-rising). The film is his highest-rated screen work on Rotten Tomatoes, at 85 percent with critics and 91 percent with audiences[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/christopher_sean).
**Video games.** Sean's game credits include [Dick Grayson](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-grayson)/Nightwing in *[Gotham Knights](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-knights-video-game)*; Toyman and Hiro Okamura in *Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League* (2024); roles in *Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition* (as Arokkeh), *Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut*, *Fallout 76: Atlantic City*, *[Slitterhead](https://www.edgepedia.org/slitterhead)*, and *Secret Level*; The Musician in *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach* (2025); roles in *Ghost of Yōtei* (2025) and *The Outer Worlds 2* (2025); and Kazuki in *Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties* (2026)[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/christopher-sean/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/).
## Representation and identity
Sean speaks about casting from the position of a multiethnic actor. "You're not Asian enough to play Asian, and you're not white enough to play white," he told Discover Nikkei in 2025, describing ethnically ambiguous parts as his opportunity[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/). He has framed his career as a way to increase visibility for marginalized performers and to provide the mentorship he lacked as a child[4](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/).
In a 2018 Soap Opera Digest interview about the Paul and Sonny storyline, he said that "being Asian-American, telling a gay story, coming out on television, all of this is very groundbreaking in my eyes," and that he was proud to be a representative as an Asian-American actor[12](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/icymi-christopher-sean-freddie-smith-and-chandler-massey-interview/).
## Other work
Beyond acting, IMDb describes Sean as a published [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) author whose graphic novel anthology reached #1 on Amazon and whose children's book was an Amazon #1 new release, and as a Cultural Ambassador for the KAKEHASHI Project, serving as a representative of the Consul General of Japan[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/).
## References
1. [Christopher Sean Filmography and Movies, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/christopher-sean-948964/film-credits)
2. [Welcome to the Resistance: Meet Christopher Sean, the Voice of Kaz, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-resistance-interview-christopher-sean-kaz)
3. [Christopher Sean Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/christopher_sean)
4. [Christopher Sean: Fighting Now for the Next Generation, Discover Nikkei (July 14, 2025)](https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2025/7/14/christopher-sean/)
5. [Christopher Sean, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268478/)
6. [Christopher Sean Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/christopher-sean/umc.cpc.jnembwm4x31wd8h3vplpptyt)
7. [Christopher Sean, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/5900/christopher-sean)
8. [Christopher Sean, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/christopher-sean/)
9. [Christopher Sean Voices Lead Hero of Disney's 'Star Wars Resistance', Character Media](https://charactermedia.com/christopher-sean-voices-lead-hero-of-disneys-star-wars-resistance/)
10. [Christopher Sean, Wookieepedia](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Sean)
11. [Giving Them Something to Talk About: Christopher Sean is Our Latest Ultraman: Rising, Mixed Asian Media](https://mixed-asian-media.squarespace.com/giving-them-something-to-talk-about-christopher-sean-is-our-latest-ultraman-rising)
12. [ICYMI: Christopher Sean, Freddie Smith and Chandler Massey Interview, Soap Opera Digest](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/icymi-christopher-sean-freddie-smith-and-chandler-massey-interview/)
13. [The Personal Impact of Doctor Aphra](https://www.starwars.com/news/the-personal-impact-of-doctor-aphra)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames S to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license