Photography by Madi Atkins for ColliderJi-young Yoo, May Hong, and Arden Cho reveal how their personal backgrounds and identities allowed them to connect deeply with their roles.
Published Feb 11, 2026, 12:00 PM EST
Taylor Gates is an Indiana native who earned her BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Evansville. She fell in love with entertainment by watching shows about chaotic families like Full House, The Nanny, Gilmore Girls, and The Fosters.
After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer, editor, and filmmaker. Today, she’s a sucker for dramedies — especially coming-of-age stories centering around complex female and LGBTQ+ characters. She has been with Collider since May 2022.
The degree to which a performer mirrors their character varies wildly. Sometimes, I’ll interview actors and find they’re nothing like the role they embody. Other times, I’ll notice that they echo their character to almost comical degrees. The experience of chatting with the actors behind the speaking roles of HUNTR/X from the worldwide phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters is definitely the latter.
Upon sitting down with the trio at the Netflix offices in the heart of Hollywood, it’s immediately clear that Arden Cho, who voices the role of Rumi, the main vocalist and head of the group, is a natural-born leader. Sitting with impeccable posture in a sheer button-down shirt under a black dress, she almost always responds to the questions first, and her answers are confident, polished, and filled with passion. May Hong, who plays Mira, the trio’s rebellious main dancer, is effortlessly cool, lounging back in her all-black outfit, edgy cutouts in her sleeves. Her words are often cloaked in the same wicked sense of deadpan humor as her character. Sandwiched in the middle and buzzing with energy is Ji-young Yoo in a ripped vest top and funky zippered pants. The youngest of the three by a decade, Yoo is similar to her character, Zoey, the group's rapper and lyricist: contagiously enthusiastic, disarmingly friendly, and wise beyond her years.
The three of them complement each other perfectly, with a lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry that casting directors dream of. They giggle at each other’s jokes, affirm one another’s experiences, and act as each other's hype women. To put it simply, they seem to genuinely enjoy being around each other as friends in addition to co-workers — and thank goodness for that. They’ve been running a press marathon since last June, when KPop Demon Hunters premiered, becoming an instant hit that has grown beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. From becoming the most-streamed Netflix movie of all time to earning two Oscar nominations, the records continue to break, the accolades continue to stack up, and more people continue to discover this global phenomenon.
For the Speaking Voices of HUNTR/X, 'KPop Demon Hunters' Couldn't Be More Personal
It makes sense that the actors reflect their characters, as they’re each quick to share how strongly their backgrounds and identities allowed them to connect to their roles. “I felt like Rumi's story paralleled a lot with my life and my journey,” Cho says, recalling being an “angsty teenager” growing up as a first-generation Korean American in a traditional, conservative family in Texas and the Midwest. “There was an expectation of what a good little Asian girl should be. It’s not like I was trying to be bad, but I was creative, and I loved art.”
Rumi’s relationship with her adoptive mother, Celine (Yunjin Kim), resonated especially hard, and Cho found acting out the storyline to be therapeutic. “When Celine tells Rumi, ‘No, you have to hide. You can't let them see,’ for me, that was not just about her patterns — it was about everything. ‘You have to be perfect. You have to be this way.’ I found a lot of healing through voicing Rumi. It was really nice for me to break down with my invisible mic wall of Celine. So much of ourselves goes into our projects and our roles. It was really nice to say it.”
Hong can relate, admitting that she, too, pulled from her upbringing to embody Mira. “It was something that I definitely was able to use. My dad was super strict, so it seeps out — the rage and confusion. I have, in the past probably five years, found a lot of healing with my family, but it was really tough. I definitely thought about that a lot and the rebellion that I felt but still feeling trapped.” Like Mira, Hong remembers being a bit of a wild child — something she believes was fundamental in making her the person she is today. “I think, if I was really obedient, that would have prevented me from meeting and spending time with lots of different types of people. Ultimately, you learn a lot about yourself as a result of the connections that you make.”
The Colorado-born daughter of Korean immigrants, Zoey’s identity is where Yoo found her strongest entry point. “She feels like she's split between two universes and can't really figure out where she fits. I didn't really have to invent too much for that.” Yoo confesses that she also shares Zoey’s people-pleasing tendencies, often burning the candle at both ends, though she also believes there’s a quiet power in trying to make others happy. “Rei Ami [Zoey’s singing voice actor] said this awesome thing where she felt that Zoey is the strongest of the main women of HUNTR/X because it takes a lot of strength to be gentle and kind in a world that is not often kind or gentle. I hope I share that quality with Zoey.”
Yoo remembers her upbringing being less strict than that of her castmates, crediting her family with getting her interested in film. Her mother is an avid horror movie fan who learned English through The Omen and Bela Lugosi films, while her father picked it up from the children’s show The Electric Company. She fondly remembers going to Blockbuster every week to browse and purchase the $3.99 DVDs. “I definitely think that I was raised in a household that really appreciated film and the arts.”
“Following your passion will usually lead you to the right place.”
Their familiarity with cinema helped Yoo convince her family to support her acting dreams. Though she originally wanted to be a professional dancer, her family was encouraging but concerned about the lifestyle and short lifespan of the career. The pivot actually came as something of a relief to them. “When I said I wanted to be an actor, they went, ‘Oh, Maggie Smith and Ian McKellen are super old. They're still working, so go for it.’ At that time, the big movie franchises were X-Men and Harry Potter, so those were the ones that came to mind. And Donald Sutherland as President Snow in the Hunger Games.”
Cho and Hong didn’t always dream of becoming actors either. Though her parents pressured her into pursuing a career in law, after getting into the K-pop scene in her teens, Cho was always inspired by music. “H.O.T., S.E.S., Fin.K.L, Baby Vox — these were the groups that I was like, ‘Whoa, super cool. Hot Asians dancing and singing.’ But we didn't have the internet back then, so it was really hard to see it. You’d have to fly all the way to Korea to go to a concert. I remember sneaking out to go to an H.O.T. concert with my cousin and being like, ‘Mom, there are Asian singers — they're just not in America, but they're there.’”
Hong was drawn to the visual arts, even attending the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts for the specialty after making a portfolio of around 20 pieces for the rigorous application process. “It’s crazy to make a body of work as a 12-year-old,” she laughs. “Not to diminish what you're able to do at that age or anything, but I think it's a seriousness in your practice that you're required to prove — that you feel passionate enough to create something, to really dedicate a lot of time to it.” Despite her traditional household, Hong’s parents supported her attendance. “It was part of the confusion of my dad being so strict,” she admits. “He was in theater, and that was his passion when he was younger in Korea. It's really rare for immigrant parents of that generation to be so encouraging of following what you want to do, but they've always been really supportive of that and the ‘if you do what you love, money will follow’ attitude — don't chase the bag.”
Yoo lives by that motto, too, and she knows firsthand how well it can work out. Several of her hobbies and interests have actually helped her book jobs, including learning her parents’ native language. “I taught myself Korean,” she reveals. “I have used it on almost every single job I've worked on, including this one. I didn't do it because I was hoping that it would turn into some professional advantage; I did it because it was important to me and was something I felt passionate about. Following your passion will usually lead you to the right place.”
The ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Cast Reveals What Exactly Went Into Making a Masterpiece
Photography by Madi Atkins for ColliderIn addition to the visual arts, Hong also worked as a model for several years. Though she confesses she “didn’t love it” and considers herself retired now, only occasionally working with friends and those she admires, she says it was an invaluable experience when it came to developing confidence and a sense of self. “You really learn what you don't like and how much you're willing to compromise or sacrifice, or how much you allow people to push or pull you in any direction. Modeling teaches you how to carry yourself in a way that commands more respect. It's ‘very fake ‘til you make it’ with body language.”
Despite her background, Hong was more excited than ever to jump into voice work with KPop Demon Hunters. “It's the exact opposite of modeling. It’s just the inside and not the outside at all. I really wanted to know what it felt like to spend an extended amount of time developing a character, working on a project, and committing to something that's really, truly just internal.”
KPop Demon Hunters marked the first time Hong did voiceover work, but it wasn’t Yoo’s introduction to the medium. She’s credited as a voice actor on an episode of We Baby Bears and did loop grouping — providing background noises like screams and chatter — for Spider-Man: Far from Home. Yoo says this was a big plus when she stepped into the soundbooth to perform as Zoey. “There's a sense of play and improv in the loop grouping where you give them a lot of options. I think it helped a lot.”
The actors fit into their roles so perfectly it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the character, but Yoo and Hong initially auditioned for all three members of the trio. “I auditioned for Rumi first," Yoo reveals, "and then they called me back about six months later for Mira, and then, about six months after that, for Zoey. I pushed my voice really low for Mira, and I’m not an alto, so I was just having trouble.” Hong, hilariously, had the opposite problem. “It was very clear from the beginning that Mira was the one for me,” she laughs. “It was really funny to do Zoey. Imagine me being super bubbly in my tone.”
Cho’s experience was a bit different, as she first read for Celine. “I pitched my voice as low as I could to be as ‘mature adult mom’ as I could,” she recalls. “I thought I did a pretty good job.” A year later, however, she got a callback for Rumi, despite never auditioning for the role. Her experience with Celine’s material turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “I can't share too much because of the NDA, but when I auditioned for Celine, I was given some information that I think was helpful to understand Rumi later. So many people experience love in a way that can actually be traumatizing. There's no rule book or guidelines for parents, so they're just trying to love and protect you in the way that they know best. Celine was just doing her best, but I 100% understand and empathize with Rumi being like, ‘This is not fair. This is not right, and you've pushed me to this point.’”
The news that they each had booked the role was exciting but, by their own admission, a bit anticlimactic. “None of us knew that this would happen,” Yoo says, referencing the surprise success of the film. “I didn't actually know this was still possible, really, to happen at this global scale, so it's not very romantic. I got a call from my agents when I was probably in my room or cooking lunch or something. There was no Zoom call where they recorded my reaction.”
Cho was relieved that her decision to fly in and do her final callback in person, rather than opting for a Zoom session, had been worth it. “I've definitely booked things on Zoom,” Cho disclaims, “but I feel like, every once in a while, if it's possible, I do love doing it in person. I love meeting directors, writers, and producers in the room and just vibing it out. It was the one time where I was like, ‘Yes, it was definitely worth it.’”
Hong’s enthusiasm stemmed less from her own involvement in the project and more from the fact that the project was moving forward at all. “I was very, very excited that the project was moving through and that it was going to happen. It was like, ‘Thank God it's being made.’”
I didn't actually know this was still possible, really, to happen at this global scale.
Once the trio had booked their respective roles, it was time to get to work, and they each had different strategies for getting into character. For Hong, it was all about the perfect look. “I got really sick nails before recording that whole week in LA,” she reveals. “Getting a fresh set puts you in a different headspace. And my friends have a sweatsuit company — the silhouette is so good, and they feel like really sexy sweatpants. They’re really baggy, so it felt very ‘off-duty K-pop star’ with the nails.”
In the past, Cho has relied on wardrobe to get her into character, too — particularly Ingrid’s stilettos for Partner Track — but this project forced her to find alternative methods. “For voiceover, it's interesting. We are in our street clothes or in pajamas most often, because you have to be in clothes that don’t make a lot of sound,” Cho explains. “You don’t want to be jingling with buckles and zippers, so I struggled a lot with feeling really cool and badass. I felt like it was really easy to record Rumi when she was broken or soft and vulnerable, but every time she had to be the leader, the badass demon hunter, I would be in my head.” Cho once again looked to music for inspiration, listening to “anything bad girl, bad bitch vibes,” including 2NE1’s ‘I’m the Best,’ K/DA’s ‘I’ll Show You,’ and the discography of Blackpink, Aespa, and even BTS.
Yoo also relied on music to get her in the zone, she reveals, “I make playlists for all my characters. There's a lot of traveling and waiting you do as an actor, so I'd rather be listening to music and kind of getting into the zone rather than ultimately scrolling on my phone.” As far as what her curation looked like? “Anything that made me feel like I had the energy to do Zoey for several hours, because she speaks so fast and is so energetic.” These playlists included everything from K-pop to ‘80s Brit pop to Kendrick Lamar.
But for these voice actors, getting into character was just the first part of the challenge of KPop Demon Hunters. It turns out activities you might not think much of, including snacking, screaming, and panting (known as “efforts” in the business), are no joke in an animation booth. While it may sound like a luxury, getting to eat on the job, Cho explains that it’s often more of a necessary evil for the voice work to sound more authentic. She even recalls getting physically ill from a combination of eating and efforts. “I happened to do a day where I did all my food sounds and then all the efforts after, which included running around the room, doing jumping jacks, all sorts of crazy things. I legit threw up after work because I felt so sick from eating all these random things — clementines, three bags of chips, so much water — then jumping up and down and then eating more things.” But her most difficult non-food-related effort comes from Rumi's reaction to Jinu’s first appearance. “Disgusted to adoration in one breath is very hard to do without words. I think we spent a good, I'm not even kidding, two hours on that.”
Yoo recalls her now iconic battle caw being the trickiest to master. “[Directors] Maggie [Kang] and Chris [Appelhans] went, ‘Could you just caw like a bird, but make it like you're going to battle?’ I think that had been the same session where we had been working on the popcorn coming out of my eyes, so that request was no longer weird.”
Hong’s favorite effort is when Mira and Healer Han growl at each other (though she reveals she still hasn’t met Daniel Dae Kim, who voices him, in person yet). “Kids love that so much. I think the best thing about efforts is that they make everyone laugh. Often, when you’re doing lines, everyone's listening for the takes and waiting for the right one to happen, but the efforts are so silly that everyone kind of has to hold their laughter. Once the take is over, everyone's giggling together, and that's so fun.”
In addition to the unique physical challenges of voice acting, there are also psychological difficulties. Hong explains that there were cameras in each of their booths for the animators to use as references — a fact that proved highly intimidating. “I was spiraling. It’s like a look into your diary.”
Cho agrees, recalling her first meeting with the artists and animators. “They know us so well," she says. "They were hugging me and being like, ‘Oh my gosh, all I've been doing is looking at your face for three years,’ and you’re like, ‘Hi, I'm so sorry, we've only just met.’ There’s all this weird footage of me, after every take, being super self-critical and doing all of these warm-ups, face stretches, and sound stretches — things that would normally be ‘off camera’ — because it's recording from when we walk in to when we leave that in that six-hour session. It makes me feel so vulnerable and naked.” Still, Cho believes the discomfort was ultimately worth it. “It’s fun when you watch the movie, because there are all these weird, quirky things that the girls do, and I’m sure some of those little things are from us.”
From James Cameron to Jacob Elordi, Everyone Has HUNTR/X Fever
Photography by Madi Atkins for ColliderJust as everyone knows whether they're a Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, or Charlotte, we all know now whether we're a Rumi, Mira, or Zoey as well. The fan reaction to KPop Demon Hunters has been unprecedented and, for the cast, extremely humbling. “There are a lot of monotone people who come up to me like, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Hong reveals, “or they somehow feel really represented hearing that. I don't think I realized that it's not very common to hear lower-toned women's voices in animation, and that's really cool.”
Yoo admits she’s “shed some tears” from the messages she’s gotten. “There was a friend of a friend whose daughter wanted to dress up as Zoey for Halloween. She was talking about how she's always felt very shy and in her older sister's shadow, but since seeing the movie, she’s felt so much more comfortable embracing who she is and being more confident.”
Cho echoes the feedback she’s gotten from kids, in particular, including her nephews, who she brags know every line that the trio has. She didn’t expect the early response to be so immediate from this smaller demographic. “I remember Netflix had this screening for the movie quite early on, and I [invited] my friends with kids, just thinking the ones with daughters would want to come. Everybody responded, and I had, like, 40 kids that wanted to come — I had a waitlist of 7-year-olds.”
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This love goes far beyond the actors’ immediate circles. “To have colleagues and mentors — people I look up to — wanting me to send a video for their kid is such a big deal,” Cho says. “At the Critics' Choice Awards, I met Kristen Bell and had an incredible conversation with her about how much I love her work and Frozen, and her being like, ‘Stop it — all we do is watch KPop Demon Hunters. My kids are obsessed.’ As women, sometimes you feel like age limits you, but for her to also share like, ‘Yeah, I started in my 20s, and I'm 45, and I still sound like Anna,’ that was a really special moment. And I totally fangirled.”
Hong shares that she received a similar sentiment from the Dragon Ball Z voice cast. “They were like, ‘Welcome. Voice acting is evergreen. You will always be the soul of this character, and everyone will always love you so much for it.'”
Yoo’s most memorable celebrity endorsements include James Cameron, Jacob Elordi, and Park Chan-wook, who spoke about crying during the climax of the film. “I also had the pleasure of watching Sandra Oh, Korean Canadian icon, walk up to Maggie, another Korean Canadian icon, and gush about the movie to her, so that’s been unbelievable and amazing.”
Cho shares that the film has actually led to her becoming friends with Bada, a member of S.E.S., whom she grew up listening to. “She invited me to her house and cooked for me, and now, she’s like my unnie. She’s one of the loveliest people in the world.” Hong can’t help but cut in at this revelation. “Are you serious? That’s so sick.”
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Revolutionized Representation Forever
Image via by Ricky Middlesworth / NetflixAsian representation is at the forefront of what KPop Demon Hunters is all about. Cho recalls getting bullied for her appearance as a child, which made her feel she had to hide her love of Korean food and music. Progress, she notes, was slow and minimal when she was young. “Growing up, the closest thing I had to something Disney was Mulan or Aladdin. Aladdin's not even the same, but in my mind, I was like, ‘Oh, but Jasmine is a closer skin color to me.’ You settled for it. I remember getting super excited when Big Hero 6 came out. I love Kung Fu Panda. I love all these stories, but nothing was Korean. Now, we’ve come full circle. How cool is it that now my friend's kids or my nieces and nephews are the absolute coolest at school just because they're Korean? Their friends don't even know that they know me. Once they know they know me, then it's game over.”
Hopefully, the success is quite validating that an original IP and Asian-led stories, something very culturally specific, might not be a risk — that it can be very rewarding, and fresh, and special.
The fact that Cho didn’t grow up with any kind of positive representation made her all the hungrier to be that representation for someone else, which included intentionality in picking her projects. “If I saw something that I felt like was super stereotypical for Asians, or I felt like it would set us back a couple of years, I said no. It's tough to say no in this business, but looking back now, it was probably the right choice. It led me to getting to work on projects like this, so I'm very happy.”
Cho hopes that this is the beginning of studios investing in a wealth of different Asian projects. “Obviously, this is a tough, tough industry to tell our stories at times. They say a woman-led film is a risk, an Asian-led film is a risk, a new IP is a risk — everything is a risk these days. Hopefully, the success is quite validating that an original IP and Asian-led stories, something very culturally specific, might not be a risk — that it can be very rewarding, and fresh, and special.”
Yoo knows firsthand that representation goes beyond acting and starts behind the scenes, as the majority of directors she’s worked with have been women, from So Young Shelly Yo on the Tribeca-winning film Smoking Tigers to Josephine Decker on The Sky is Everywhere. “Sometimes, it can feel like we're not making as much forward progress in the industry as we would like," Yoo confesses, "but I do think the number of women I've gotten to work with is evidence of a changing industry. Things are still evolving, and there are people who want this industry to be more inclusive, diverse, and dynamic. Early on in my career, my biggest champions have been and continue to be women. I feel very lucky for that and very grateful to be entering the industry at the time I am.”
Yoo recalls Amy Poehler being a particularly strong advocate as a director on Moxie — the job that landed her a SAG card — despite only working with her for half a day. “There are very few things that can describe the feeling of Amy Poehler laughing at a line you say. I've been really enjoying listening to her podcast because I think it's been reflective of, though I worked with her for a very brief period, how she works. I was listening to the episode she did with Mike Schur, and they talked about how they had a lot of silly names in Parks and Recreation. That was done partially as a joke, but also because they would read actors' resumes and feel a little sad when their credit was, like, Man #2. I actually started crying during that episode because my character [in Moxie] had a name, and I remember being so excited. I had no idea it was intentional. There's a level of generosity, and gratitude, and kindness that she clearly seems to lead with.” At that, I suggest that she and the other KPop Demon Hunters cast need to get on Poehler's podcast, Good Hang. “I would love to!” she replies. “It's on the vision board.”
The vast majority of Hong’s projects have seen her play LGBTQ+ characters, from Tales of the City to Fantasmas to Hacks. “The joke that I make is that, on camera, 100% of the time, I’m gay,” she says. “Even after KPop Demon Hunters came out, Twitter was full of screenshots of Mira manspreading and her mannerisms and being, like, ‘Gay! Lesbian!’ I was like, ‘How? Is it just my voice that’s undeniable? Is it oozing out of me?’
Jokes aside, playing these characters helped Hong embrace her own queer identity. “That was a bit of a turning point of really breaking that part of myself apart and examining myself more,” she shares, “but I also feel like it's just part of the whole. It’s just part of my identity. I'm not, for instance, every day walking out being like, ‘Here I am, a Korean woman in the world!’ I’m just in my body and living, and that's the same with queerness," she explains. "I don't know if it's something that I fixate on — it's just part of me. I think I'm more interested in blurring all the lines of everything.”
There’s a Bright Future Ahead for the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Trio
Photography by Madi Atkins for ColliderIn perhaps the least shocking news ever, Netflix has already announced plans for a KPop Demon Hunters sequel, set to premiere in 2029, and the possibilities for what might happen are truly endless. “It's not really a bowtied happy ending,” Cho says of the first film’s conclusion. “Sure, the Honmoon is sealed, the world is safe, the demons are gone, but does Celine accept Rumi? We don't know. Does she have a family? We don't know. But we do know she has her girls; she has her friends.” She also teases the potential for more characters like Rumi — part-demon, part-hunter — to be introduced. “In our world of KPop Demon Hunters, we think she's the only one, but she can't possibly be.”
There’s the opportunity to expand the world in the other direction through prequels as well, particularly since we get a montage at the beginning of the film showing the demon hunters of the past. When I ask what era the trio would be most interested in exploring, Cho and Hong immediately throw out the idea for a film set in the early 2000s, while Yoo’s ideas go further back. “I love Pansori, the traditional Korean singing,” she says. “Ejae does her spin on that in the intro to the movie when you hear her almost wailing vocal, so I would love to see ancient dynastic Korea. Or I'm really fascinated by the period from about the late 1800s to 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. I don't know if that would be like a family movie — I think it would be a very, very serious movie — but I would be very tuned in for that era of KPop Demon Hunters. That would be our Andor.”
Although the trio has a lot of love for KPop Demon Hunters, they’re also craving new roles and collaborations. “Because I'm mostly from a TV background, there's still so much desire to work with a really talented film director who can bring out the best actor in me,” Cho says. “I would love to work with Park Chan-wook. I would love to do something really character-driven. Some woman-centered, crazy thing with probably some killing that’s hysterical, and wild, and dark, like James Bond, or Dexter, or Walter White. And then, I also love rom-coms. I will always be a rom-com girl. What happened to all those good ‘90s rom-coms?”
Yoo is looking to continue doing more comedy, as well as make her way to the stage — eventually. “For dream roles, one that I will have to wait a very long time for is The Mother in The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, because I think she's really funny and very dramatic,” she says. “I would be terrified to ever attempt to fill my friend's shoes, but Maybe Happy Ending was one of my favorite shows that I saw last year, and Helen [J. Shen] is a friend of mine, and she's so good in that role. It's such a meaty role to do that I would want to try it, but eight shows a week of singing on Broadway is the Olympics of acting, so I would do a long think before actually attempting that one.”
It's not really a bowtied happy ending. Sure, the Honmoon is sealed, the world is safe, the demons are gone, but does Celine accept Rumi? We don't know. But we do know she has her girls — she has her friends.
At just 26 years old, Yoo has already worked with some of the greats, including Lulu Wang and Nicole Kidman on the Prime Video series Expats, which required her to leave college. Was that a difficult decision, I wonder, or the easiest one she’s ever made? “It was definitely a bit of both,” she admits. “I was really burnt out from school at the time. In some ways, I was relieved because Expats was such a no-brainer to say yes to. Like, work with Nicole Kidman? Yeah, I’ll put school on hold. That's something you put a pause on the rest of your life for. But I was also worried. It's maybe funny to say to people who aren't actors, but you don't really know when your next job is going to be, and there's always a little bit of a fear that maybe it's a one-off — maybe that's not going to happen again — so I was worried that it was such a huge thing. What the heck was I going to do after Expats that would make leaving school justifiable? But I’ve been very, very lucky that I've continued to work.”
Yoo has stayed in touch with her Expats co-stars, who have all supported her through this new whirlwind of fame. “Sarayu Blue and Brian Tee and I run into each other often at Asian American Hollywood things, and I have gotten very sweet messages from the cast and crew. I actually got a very sweet text from Bonde Sham, who played Charly in the show. There was a big KPop Demon Hunters pop-up in Hong Kong, and she sent me a photo of it and some very kind words.”
Hong and Cho have already begun to branch out beyond acting, too. Hong reveals that she’s co-written a pilot, and Cho has produced a psychological thriller that’s coincidentally also about K-pop called Perfect Girl starring herself, Hong, and Adeline Rudolph. Directed by Hong Won-ki, the film has nine Asian and Asian American female leads and focuses on three generations of women. “It's very, very wild and fun. It is very cutthroat,” Cho says.
Regarding whether the experience made her want to step behind the camera more often to produce or even direct, Cho says she’s certainly open to it. “I think, inevitably, the [deeper I get] in my career, I can't help but want to be more involved, mainly because I care so much. It’s interesting, you are like the tenth person this week who’s asked me that. I’m like, ‘Wait, have you talked to somebody? Did somebody tell you to ask me that?’” (No one has, for the record. Cho’s natural leadership and passion just make her seem like a natural-born director.)
The same can be said for Yoo, who spent her childhood obsessively watching those Blockbuster DVD bonus features (especially the featurettes on the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and was majoring in Cinema and Media Studies at USC before Expats came along. “I was very lucky that I got a very holistic view of cinema outside of just acting,” she says of the program, “and I do think that helps a lot with acting, whether it's film or voice acting or even theater.” She’s less sure that directing is in her future, though she’s not writing it off. “Probably? Maybe? When the inspiration hits? Question mark. We'll see what happens. Life is long.”
Self-Care Is Key for Demon Hunters
Photography by Madi Atkins for ColliderIt’s hard enough navigating the world today. Throw being part of a relatively new global sensation on top of that, and the stakes are even higher. The KPop Demon Hunters cast constantly stresses how grateful they are for this opportunity. “The stuff we've been doing for KPop Demon Hunters has been so wonderful, because it's less work-like promotion and more like a celebration,” Cho says. But they’ve also had to find new ways to take care of themselves, especially since some of the fan interactions can get heavy. “A lot of people who have unharmonious family dynamics feel really seen by Mira's character, and they'll share a lot of stories about how it's hard for them,” Hong says. “I'm honored and humbled to be someone whom they feel safe talking to, even for that moment, but it's a lot to absorb from people.”
Hong swears by lymphatic massages, journaling, and therapy to cope. “I try to write and do morning pages to check in with myself. Shoutout to The Artist’s Way — shoutout to Julia Cameron. It’s important to catch up with yourself, because I feel like you can really get swept away in doing a lot of stuff and not really checking in and seeing how you're feeling. It’s super important to hear your own voice, to hear yourself talk out loud.” There’s a beat as Hong smirks. “That’s funny as a voice actor. Anyway, mental health is huge.”
Cho echoes the need for lymphatic massages, adding that she likes to indulge in baths, quiet cups of coffee, and technology detoxes as well. Yoo, on the other hand, admits that she’s still finding a healthy balance between her personal life and career, as work can feel all-consuming. One step she’s taken is to adopt a stage name. “When there's wonderful news, that’s very exciting, but I wanted to feel like it is my business that's in the news, not me as a human.”
I’m trying to be a little more present in the moment, because it moves so quickly. I don't want it to pass without actually having been there.
Another factor that went into the decision was that her birth name, SunHee Seo, was constantly getting mispronounced. I’m curious if there was any mourning or frustration there. “I don't think there was,” she assures me, “because it didn't feel like a compromise. I didn't make my name less Korean. I specifically chose Ji-young Yoo because I liked the way that it sounded, and those are all things that exist in the English language, so if you can't say it…”
“Look within?” I offer.
“Yeah, look within,” she agrees. “So I don't think there was really sadness. I think it was more protective of the name my family gave me that I love, and I was just a bit tired of seeing it mispronounced and misspelled.”
Yoo’s also trying to remember to slow down and enjoy the ride. “There's been so much to take in that it almost feels impossible to process it all, but I’m trying to find pockets — like when we're on the Critics’ Choice carpet — to take a breath and look around at the people that we're able to be alongside and that we're being honored amongst. I’m trying to be a little more present in the moment, because it moves so quickly. I don't want it to pass without actually having been there.”
KPop Demon Hunters is now streaming on Netflix.
Photography: Madi Atkins | Location: Netflix, Los Angeles
Glam Credits:
- May Hong: Hair — Lauren Palmer Smith | Makeup: Grace Ahn | Stylist: Akua Murray
- Ji-young Yoo — Hair: Rena Calhoun | Makeup: Allan Avendano | Stylist: Wayman + Micah
- Arden Cho — Hair: Steven Mason | Makeup: Sangwon Jeon | Stylist: Amanda Lim
KPop Demon Hunters
Release Date June 20, 2025
Runtime 96 minutes
Director Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang
Writers Hannah McMechan, Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, Danya Jimenez
English (US) ·