Local Hawaii Five-0 star shares a special scene with her real-life dad

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Local actor Kimee Balmilero is used to working with Hollywood stars on the set of the CBS drama ‘Hawaii Five-0.’

The Castle High School grad stars as Dr. Noelani Cunha, the show’s chief medical examiner.

But in Friday’s episode, she shares a scene with one of her biggest heroes ― her dad.

Kimee says the show’s casting directors were looking for someone to play her Noelani’s father in an upcoming episode when they asked if her real-life dad would be interested in the part.

“I said, ‘I’m not sure, he’s never done anything like that before, so I’ll ask him,’” said Balmilero. “Thinking that he would be like, ‘Oh, no thank you.’ I called him and he was like, ‘YES!’”

But the part wasn't just handed to Roy Balmilero. He had to earn it by auditioning.

The 66-year-old worked in supermarkets most of his life, and had never tried acting.

But with some pointers from Kimee, he gave it a shot and beat out all the other wanna-be dads.

“Was kind of intimidating at first, because the people there, they really looked professional,” said Roy. “It was like an opportunity of a lifetime. Something I can cross off my bucket list.”

The scene was a serious one, taking place at a family member’s funeral.

"It meant something to look at your real parent and feel that emotion, so he definitely brought more things out of me, so I thought that was really cool," said Kimee.

Kimee says her dad is one of her biggest supporters. He was actually the first person to encourage her to perform publicly.

Roy remembers the moment he realized his daughter had a special talent, when she was a young contestant on the local singing competition Hawaii Stars.

"I was really nervous because I never heard her sing before. And when she actually started to sing, tears just started flowing. She was awesome, and even to this day, we're so proud of her. She really works hard," said Roy.

Kimee and Roy's Hawaii Five-0 episode airs Friday night on KGMB at 8pm.

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