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"{I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful back then," reveals the actress, who portrayed the lead character in Netflix's chart-topping movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, 40, recalls her early years in the southern state, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her journey toward belonging in the United States.

In the film, which tells the story of a girl group who must save the world from evil forces, the protagonist has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first saw the screenplay, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, identifying as American but having people treat me like I'm not, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.

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

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised many parts of me and I longed to become someone else.

"As kids, your surroundings shapes your development and it seems I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in June, KPop Demon Hunters registered millions of streams in just 14 days, and reached the top 10 of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "a dream come true" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their mixed background and culture.

"In my view K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, inspiring travel to Korea, now," she comments.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and the actress says she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"I feel like it's unfortunate to say this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like a gamble," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she adds.

The film was launched 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," says Cho. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Reports have suggested that up to 150,000 individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an grown-up, she understood that the racism she had experienced when in her youth was largely due to a lack of education, as people didn't know what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"But now, in this day and age, when it seems the world and people should know better, it's deeply disheartening and at times it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

Because of this, it's particularly meaningful, she notes, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for some hope and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the film industry, creating the potential that in future it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

The actress acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I know they already exist. I know performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I hope the public have some respect and desire for something real."

The film has also been leading the global music charts, with seven tracks from its score featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

She tells us she wishes she could answer the question of if a sequel is planned – but both she and fans will have to wait for the platform or the studio, which produced the movie, to give it the green light.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "Only time will tell, and I believe fans everywhere would riot if there wasn't."

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