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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," reveals the actress, who portrayed Rumi in the streaming platform's highly successful animated film, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, 40, recalls her early years in Texas, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the movie, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when she first saw the screenplay, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Asian-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she explains.

These elements were aspects of her early life that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"Truthfully, at different points in my existence, I despised many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, your surroundings influences your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the top 10 of the Netflix charts in 93 countries. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the type that she lacked when she was young.

Cho notes many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first instance of their dual heritage and cultural roots.

"In my view Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and Cho says she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

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

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to meet the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she says.

The movie was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Reports have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in the modern era, when it seems the society and individuals ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes I feel like there's a sense of despair," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that the film could bring "optimism and happiness 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 all together."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the film industry, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is aware that technology is already being used to replicate performers' vocals, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Sure, I believe they're going to have AI actors and singers. I'm aware they already exist. I understand performers' voices are already being altered, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for authentic creations."

The film has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its soundtrack featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and viewers globally are calling for a follow-up.

Cho reveals she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both everyone involved will have to await the platform or the studio, which made the film, to give it the green light.

"I'm aware rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't."

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