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This exclusive piece explores extraordinary interviews and stories from worldwide.

"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," reveals Arden Cho, who voiced Rumi in the streaming platform's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, 40, is describing her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the movie, which tells the story of a girl group who must rescue humanity from dark powers, Rumi has to come to terms with her true nature as part human, part demon – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.

These were all aspects of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

"Truthfully, at different points in my existence, I despised a lot of myself and I longed to become someone else.

"As kids, your surroundings influences who you become and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just 14 days, and reached the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the type that was missing when she was young.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and culture.

"In my view Korean pop music really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I feel like the film is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like a gamble," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to connect with the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she adds.

The film was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an person of Asian descent living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Reports have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand Korean immigrants lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had experienced when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as people didn't know what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and individuals ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears there's a sense of despair," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she says, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like the season's hit film, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element as one."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to make a movie like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still seek out art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe there will be digital performers and singers. I know they already exist. I understand performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its score appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are demanding a sequel.

She tells us she would like to confirm the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to wait for the platform or the production company, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, the feedback is positive," she says. "Only time will tell, and I believe everyone in the world would protest if there wasn't."

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