Kai on “Walker Independence”

Lawrence Kao stars as Kai in The CW’s highly anticipated new series WALKER INDEPENDENCE. Kai is a younger Chinese laborer who runs a local laundry and eatery. A former railroad worker, Kai has settled into his new life in Independence... or is he escaping from a darker past? Kai quickly befriends Abby (Katherine McNamara), offering her first meal and a friendly word of advice about staying in Independence. Kai keeps his feelings for burlesque dancer, Kate Carver (Katie Findlay), to himself while hoping his gift at being a budding costume designer will gain her attention and possibly the admiration of everyone at the town's dance hall.

Kao is best known for his leading roles on “Wu Assassins” and its spin-off film “Wu Assassins: Fistful of Vengeance.” His recurring/guest roles include “The Originals,” “The Walking Dead,” “Leverage Redemption,” “The Purge,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and “Sleepy Hollow.” Film projects include “Silver Lake” and “Max Steel,” amongst others.

A Southern California native, Kao discovered his love of the arts at a young age when he began playing the piano and saxophone. Kao soon became interested in acting as he began performing improv sketches and theater in high school, eventually landing the role as Lysander in his school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After landing this big role, he knew acting was his true passion.

Following graduation, he went on to continue his education in theater and performance at UC Irvine. Although his true passion is acting, Kao decided he had an affinity for dance and auditioned for the Kaba Modern dance group at UC Irvine and quickly realized his natural talent as a dancer. Once he graduated from UCI, Kao continued his work as a dancer, booking gigs throughout the US as well as internationally and eventually competed on MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” finishing in third place, right before Status Quo and Jabbawockeez. After ABDC, Lawrence shifted his priorities toward his original love and passion for theater and began auditioning for television and film roles.

When Kao isn’t busy in front of the camera or on stage performing classic theater pieces, he can be found with a camera in his hand as he is an avid photographer. He also continues to dance on the side with the renowned dance group The Kinjaz, who currently have their own studios in Los Angeles and China, and perform at some of the largest dance competitions around the world.

Kao is a fierce advocate for the AAPI community as well as rescue animals and is currently raising two dogs of his own. He likes to keep fit by dancing, hiking, running marathons, and weight training.

July 2022