---
name: "Sonja Sohn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sonja-sohn"
fi1m_id: "sonja-sohn"
imdb_id: "nm0812308"
tmdb_id: 203683
wikidata_id: "Q441836"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 May 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-23T04:12:06.300318+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sonja Sohn

## Identity

Sonja Sohn

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sonja-sohn
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sonja-sohn
- **IMDb ID:** nm0812308
- **TMDB ID:** 203683
- **Wikidata ID:** Q441836
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonja_Sohn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q441836, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0812308/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/203683

Actor. Born 9 May 1964 in Newport News, Virginia.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 May 1964, Newport News, Virginia
- **Active:** 2002–present
- **Also known as:** 소냐 손, 宋雅·孫
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 90 (1), 2010s 78 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonja_Sohn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q441836, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0812308/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/203683

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Wire*](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md) (90)
- **Netflix:** [*High Flying Bird*](https://film.one/film/high-flying-bird.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Sonja Sohn

> Sonja Sohn convinces us that her characters know their jobs, and that doing them can hurt. We rate her most highly in *The Wire*; her directness is less effective when a script turns a conversation into a speech.

In *The Wire* (2002), Sonja Sohn’s Kima Greggs can make a difficult professional decision understandable without stopping the conversation to explain it. Alongside Lance Reddick’s Cedric Daniels, she helps make the pressure of ambition and expedience felt in ordinary exchanges. We cared about Greggs even when we disagreed with her, because Sohn let us follow her reasoning without turning it into a speech. That is a substantial part of why we recommend the programme even to people who tend to avoid police dramas.

Sohn began as a slam poet before Marc Levin cast her in *Slam* (1998), which she also co-wrote. Her spoken-word background helps explain why that directness can feel so personal. Supporting film parts led to Greggs, and her later work has repeatedly placed her in law-enforcement and other professional settings. She has also moved into documentary directing with *Baltimore Rising* (2017) and *The Slow Hustle* (2021), working beyond the kinds of roles she is usually offered.

*High Flying Bird* (2019) shows where that directness can become a limitation. In Steven Soderbergh’s film, she plays Myra, representing the players’ association during an NBA lockout, with Tarell Alvin McCraney supplying the dense negotiating talk. We liked the quick exchanges and the sense that nobody is negotiating only about the subject being discussed. But some of Sohn’s speeches sound addressed to a room rather than to the person opposite her, and we become too aware of the point the speech is there to make. The writing bears some responsibility, but Sohn does not quite make those passages sound like conversation.

Casting her as Amanda Wagner in *Will Trent* (2023) continues the association with professional authority. There is nothing wrong with returning to what an actor does well, provided the writing gives her something beyond the job title. We would welcome more parts that let Sohn negotiate and reconsider, rather than simply establish who is in charge. Start with *The Wire*, even if another police drama is the last thing the evening appears to need.

## Biography

Sonja Sohn is an American actress, filmmaker and activist. She began her career as a slam poet before co-writing and starring in the 1998 independent film *Slam*, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. She is best known for playing Detective Shakima 'Kima' Greggs in the HBO series *The Wire* (2002–2008).

Sohn has appeared in films including *Bringing Out the Dead* (1999), *Shaft* (2000), *Step Up 2: The Streets* (2008) and *High Flying Bird* (2019), and in television series such as *Body of Proof*, *Star Trek: Discovery* and *Will Trent*. She founded the Baltimore community programme ReWired for Change, which works with at-risk youth, and has directed documentaries including *Baltimore Rising* (2017).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *High Flying Bird* (2019), Fi1m 78, as Myra — [page](https://film.one/film/high-flying-bird.md)
- *The Wire* (2002), Fi1m 90, as Kima Greggs — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Breakwater* (2023), as Bonnie
- *Big George Foreman* (2023), as Nancy Foreman
- *Will Trent* (2023), series, as Amanda Wagner
- *The Slow Hustle* (2021), Director
- *Interrogation* (2020), series, as Marjorie Thompson
- *Godfather of Harlem* (2019), series, as Nell
- *High Flying Bird* (2019), as Myra — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/high-flying-bird.md)
- *The Chi* (2018), series, as Laverne Johnson
- *Baltimore Rising* (2017), Director
- *Star Trek: Discovery* (2017), series, as Dr. Gabrielle Burnham
- *Domain* (2017), as Atlanta
- *Shut Eye* (2016), series, as Detective
- *Incorporated* (2016), series, as Chairman Fisher
- *Marvel's Luke Cage* (2016), series, as Captain Betty Audrey
- *The Missing Girl* (2015), as Franny
- *The Originals* (2013), series, as Lenore
- *The Wire: The Musical* (2012), as Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs
- *Body of Proof* (2011), series, as Det. Samantha Baker
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, as Sonya Rucker — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Step Up 2: The Streets* (2008), as Sarah
- *Burn Notice* (2007), series, as Olivia Riley
- *Brothers and Sisters* (2006), series, as Trish Evans
- *Cold Case* (2003), series, as Toni Halstead
- *The Killing Zone* (2003), as Jennifer
- *The Wire* (2002), series, as Kima Greggs — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *G* (2002), as Shelly
- *Shaft* (2000), as Alice
- *Bringing Out the Dead* (1999), as Kanita
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Lisa Carter
- *Getting to Know You* (1999), as Lynn
- *Slam* (1998), as Lauren Bell · Screenplay
- *Work* (1997), as June

## Gallery

- ![From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. Top, from left: Donnie Andrews (the inspirati (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-c21e66cc46e1.jpg) From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. Top, from left: Donnie Andrews (the inspirati (2011) — Tim Pierce, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Cast_of_The_Wire_-_Andrews_Boyd_True-Frost_Sohn_Hector_Royo.jpg/1280px-Cast_of_The_Wire_-_Andrews_Boyd_True-Frost_Sohn_Hector_Royo.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. From left: Jim True-Frost, Andre Royo, Sonja  (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-5838617b34f9.jpg) From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. From left: Jim True-Frost, Andre Royo, Sonja  (2011) — Tim Pierce, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Cast_of_The_Wire_-_True-Frost_Royo_Sohn_Hector.jpg/1280px-Cast_of_The_Wire_-_True-Frost_Royo_Sohn_Hector.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. From left: Sonja Sohn, Jamie Hector, Michael  (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-3971b2c284f5.jpg) From the April 12, 2010 presentation on "The Wire" at Charles Ogletree's seminar at Harvard University Law School. From left: Sonja Sohn, Jamie Hector, Michael  (2011) — Tim Pierce, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Cast_of_the_Wire_-_Sohn_Hector_Williams.jpg/1280px-Cast_of_the_Wire_-_Sohn_Hector_Williams.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-f749ea75e47d.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Tim Pierce, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Sonja_Sohn.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-0fdc34d17f0d.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Image via TMDB
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-107267007c44.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Image via TMDB
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-061cdd2f89c2.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Image via TMDB
- ![Sonja Sohn speaking at a panel discussion at Harvard University Law School. (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-e2f530b86261.jpg) Sonja Sohn speaking at a panel discussion at Harvard University Law School. (2011) — Tim Pierce, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Sonja_Sohn_at_Harvard_Law_School.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-9941bbd96141.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Image via TMDB
- ![Sonja Sohn](https://film.one/media/person/9312/gallery-8f5a11924ad5.jpg) Sonja Sohn — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sonja-sohn