In his latest film the Korean American actor, who slayed zombies on “The Walking Dead,” plays an immigrant dad who uproots his family to an Arkansas farm – a role that continues to bring him to tears.
Steven Yeun has zombies to thank for his runaway career. For six seasons, on the mega-hit “The Walking Dead,” Yeun played fan favorite Glenn Rhee, pizza delivery guy-turned-zombie slayer. Correspondent Tracy Smith asked, “Did you have any idea what you were getting into when you read for that part?” “No. I was just trying to work, you know what I mean? Like, I was just trying to work,” he laughed. For Yeun, Glenn represented someone not seen on television before: “An Asian American character that wasn’t explicitly defined by his race, or talked about in that way.” Still, Glenn had limits. “He’s always a good guy,” Yeun said. “He has to do the right thing at all times. And it almost then felt like, in order for this Asian American character to exist, he has to be useful.” “So then, when you left ‘Walking Dead,’ was it good guy role after good guy role?” asked Smith. “Yeah. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with those things. But it’s that we can only be those things. And I think that’s the battle.” But choosing his latest complicated role in a film called “Minari” was relatively easy. “I read the script and I was blown away,” he said. “I was in tears. Seeing the words of how a life similar to mine could be put on a page was very liberating.” “And it left you in tears?” “Oh yeah. This thing continues to leave me in many, many tears. I’ve been crying throughout this whole process,” he laughed. Yeun plays Jacob, a Korean immigrant who moves his family from California to an Arkansas farm in pursuit of his American Dream. Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung based the film (which was shot in Oklahoma over 25 days) on his own family’s story: “Jacob, he’s an interesting man.
