Christopher Sean Friel, born on October 25, 1985, is an American actor. You might know him from his role as Paul Narita on the TV show Days of Our Lives. Before that, he was Bing Lee in a popular web series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and he also played Gabriel Waincroft on CBS’s Hawaii Five-0. Besides acting, he voiced Kazuda Xiono in Star Wars Resistance and had a recurring role as Brandon in a show called You.
Now, let’s talk about his life. Christopher was born in Oak Harbor, Washington, to Sayuri and Patrick Friel. He has two sisters named Candis and Melody. Christopher’s family has a mix of Japanese, Irish, Spanish, and German heritage. He spent a lot of his childhood in Southern California because his dad was in the Navy.
Growing up, Christopher’s dad being in the military meant he had to be away sometimes. To stay connected, his dad recorded videos of himself reading books, and his mom would record videos of the kids. This made Christopher comfortable in front of the camera and inspired him to try acting. He also speaks Japanese, picked up from his parents when his dad was stationed on the USS Tripoli. Apart from acting, Christopher is skilled in boxing, Taekwondo, wrestling, Jujutsu, and mixed martial arts.
Now, let’s talk about his career. Christopher’s journey into acting began when he was discovered while working at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in California. He started with modeling and even won the Mr. Asia USA pageant in 2007. He got a cash prize and acting classes as a reward.
Christopher faced challenges in his career due to being of mixed ethnicity. He once mentioned the struggle of not fitting into Asian or white roles. Despite initial difficulties, he appeared in shows like Hollywood Heights, The Mindy Project, and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. In 2014, he joined the cast of Hawaii Five-0 and later, Days of Our Lives.
In Days of Our Lives, Christopher played Paul Narita, a pro baseball player who comes out as gay and gets involved in a love triangle. He left the series in 2018 but returned for a limited-run series in 2022.
Christopher also lent his voice to Kazuda Xiono in Star Wars Resistance. In 2020, he joined the cast of the Netflix series You for its third season in a recurring role.