Expats' Ji-young Yoo Talks Character Work, Opportunities, and Dance | Renegades
The dancer-turned-actress reflects on her career so far
Welcome to Renegades, a series spotlighting Asian Pacific leaders and creatives who are carving their own paths and defying stereotypes along the way. This week, we get to know breakout Expats star and actress Ji-young Yoo: we dive into her character work behind Mercy, her representational journey, her background in dance. Watch all 6 episodes of Expats, including the season finale, on February 22, exclusively on Prime Video.
What did you want to be when you were growing up, and how does that compare to what you do today?
When I was very young, I wanted to have a different job every hour (rockstar, veterinarian, bus driver, etc.), but I eventually settled on being a professional dancer before I discovered acting. I think my desire to live lots of lives has definitely directly translated into playing lots of different characters, and I use my dance training to build the physicality of my character on every project.
Congratulations on the release of Expats! What attracted you to this project, and how did you make the character of Mercy come to life? Did you draw upon any personal experiences to craft this incredibly nuanced role?
Thank you so much! My first encounter with Expats was reading the announcement for it in the trades, and I think I got the audition later that day. It's such an incredible team and such an interesting story, so the prospect of doing something like this was beyond exciting.
Mercy is very different from me as a person. I relish any chance to really step outside of myself when playing a role. I think what she goes through in the show is incredibly ripe for character building, so I really just relied on the novel by Janice Y.K. Lee, the scripts, and a few playlists I made for the character to build the framework. Once I was on set, the incredible costume and production design (shoutout Malgosia Turzanska and Yong Ok Lee!) helped flesh out Mercy's physical world for me. It was really important that, visually, Mercy looked like a mishmash of cultures and aesthetics. We wanted her to be very raw and with very little glamour to her—a stark contrast to the other women. All of that really encourages you to dive deep.
In just a few years, you’ve already worked alongside industry legends. What is it like being a newcomer in this world who’s working with—and holding her own against—the likes of Nicole Kidman and Sarayu Blue in Expats and Pedro Pascal in Freaky Tales?
It's so unbelievable and such an honor to be a newcomer in this world! I am genuinely just so happy to be here, and I feel like I am learning so much each and every day. I am doing my best to cherish these moments as they come. The actors I've gotten to work alongside have inspired me for years, and it's been an indescribable journey.
Congratulations (belated) on winning Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Film at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival for playing Hayoung in Smoking Tigers! What should audiences know about this film—especially about your character and how she compares to Mercy in Expats?
Aww, thank you again! Smoking Tigers is such a gorgeous film, I really hope we can share it with a bigger audience soon. Hayoung is very different from Mercy. While they both come from low-income immigrant backgrounds, Hayoung desperately wants to fit in where Mercy wishes she could stand out. Both are driven to succeed but for completely different reasons. I think Mercy believes she will never escape her troubles because she's cursed, but Hayoung has really simple dreams that can't be accomplished through hard work alone. I really, really loved getting to work on such an intimate, beautiful film. We made it with barely any money, and I can't wait to see what [So Young] Shelly [Yo] does next. She's such a talent and a phenomenal leader. She took home Best Screenplay and the Nora Ephron Special Jury Prize, both of which I think were so deserved. I also have to thank Stephanie Hsu who was a Tribeca juror. The coolest!
Despite being relatively early in your career, you’re already pushing the boundaries of Asian representation at a high level. Are there any new roles or types of roles that you’re looking to take on as you move forward in your career?
Most of the roles I've gotten were ones I never anticipated or envisioned, especially Expats and Freaky Tales. I never would have guessed that my first major role would be in a limited series with Nicole Kidman. I think keeping myself open to all opportunities is the most important thing for me. There are so many talented people out there. If there's any rule that I try to follow, it's that each project should feel at least a little bit out of my comfort zone. That's usually where all the interesting stuff happens.
We’ve heard that you also have a background in dance! Are there other cool talents you have that we should know about, and do these other skills (dance included) inform or impact the way you approach your on-screen performances?
I do dance! I still love dancing, though I don't get to do it as much these days. I'm trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and a few other styles. I'd love to put that to use someday for a role. I also played classical guitar as a kid. I'm not really sure what other cool talents I have—skiing maybe? Dance and music definitely impact my approach to a character. I think because I started in those art forms, it's still a way for me to emotionally connect in ways that sometimes even acting can't. So, whether it's finding a song that represents a character, using dance or theater techniques to change the way I move or sound, or dancing to work off my stress from a long shooting schedule, it all feeds back into the art.
What advice would you give to young people who are trying to break into the acting world, or in general? What about to your younger self?
Everyone's journey into the industry and in life is different, so I hesitate to give anyone general advice. I would encourage people to stay true to who they are. There will always be people telling you who you should be, but staying true to what you want and the person you want to be will always take you farthest. This might be the dancer in me, but I really encourage everyone to train. Take acting classes, read books on acting, read lots and lots of scripts. The more tools you have at your disposal the better. Figuring out what tools work for me and which ones don't have saved my butt when I'm working on big projects and feel in-over my head.
My advice to my younger self: girl, stop trying to work all the time. Go live a little. And go to bed lol.
What are you currently working on that’s exciting you the most?
There are a couple things I can't talk about publicly that I'm really looking forward to. What I can say I'm most excited about publicly is the release of Freaky Tales! Pedro and the rest of the cast are LEGENDARY! Also, I have to give a shoutout to Ron Yuan and the amazing stunt team. The action sequences had people screaming and hollering in the theater at Sundance. The film is crazy entertaining, has such a great message, and was so fun to make. It's a great love letter to Oakland in the 80s and to film in general. The role I play is worlds away from anything I've done before, and I think she's a character that a lot of Asian American women will enjoy watching on screen. Go watch it in theaters when it comes out, and if you can, bring a friend from the Bay!
Lightning Round
Daily Habit: Drinking lots of water
Favorite dancer/choreographer: An impossible question. I have too many. You should see my face right now.
Favorite emoji: I've been using 🤠 a lot to react to things lately.
Fun Fact: I'm the biggest Avatar: The Last Airbender fan. I got to go to the premiere last week, and it was one of the coolest moments of my life. I will be tuning in for the rest of the episodes as soon as it comes out and just want to wish the cast and crew the biggest congrats! They killed it!
Dream Role: I would love to play Silk someday. I've been a fan of hers since 2014. I'd also love to do a movie with Director Bong Joon-ho. What a legend.