Korean-born actor Daniel Dae Kim, perhaps best known for his work on ABC’s “Lost” and CBS’s “Hawaii Five-0,” has joined the cast of “Hellboy,” Variety magazine reported Monday.

Mr. Kim will play the supporting role of Ben Daimio — in the original “Hellboy” comics a Japanese-American character — that originally was to have been played by English actor Ed Skrein. After cries of “whitewashing” by critics, Mr. Skrein announced in late August that he was leaving the production, which is slated to hit U.S. movie theaters sometime in 2018.

“It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voice in the Arts,” Mr. Skrein said in a statement at the time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I feel it is important to honor and respect that. Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately.”

When Mr. Kim departed “Hawaii Five-0” earlier this year after failing to favorably resolve a salary dispute with CBS executives, he thanked his fans in a July 5 statement on his Facebook page that touched on issues of diversity in Hollywood.

“As an Asian American actor, I know first-hand how difficult it is to find opportunities at all, let alone play a well developed, three dimensional character like Chin Ho,” wrote Mr. Kim, who was with the CBS crime drama for seven seasons. “I will miss him sincerely.”

“What made him even more special is that he was a representative of a place my family and I so dearly love,” added Mr. Kim. “It has been nothing short of an honor to be able to showcase the beauty and people of Hawaii every week, and I couldn’t be prouder to call these islands home. To my local community, mahalo nui loa.”

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