Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Ji-young Yoo Talks ‘Expats,’ Working With Nicole Kidman, And Her Favorite Action Films

Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast!

I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline. Today I’m chatting with Ji-young Yoo, who has some anticipated performances on the horizon. It’s no wonder Variety named her one of the 10 Actors to Watch for 2023. 

Ji-Young stars as a co-lead in the six-part limited series Expats, which is based on the Janice Y.K. Lee’s international best-selling novel, The Expatriates. Directed by Lulu Wang (The Farewell), the series also stars Nicole Kidman and Sarayu Blue. Set in Hong Kong 2014, the story centers on three American women – Margaret Mercy  and Hilary – whose lives intersect after a sudden tragedy. The series made its debut at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and was released on Prime Video in January.

The actress attended Sundance 2024 for the premiere of the immersive film Freaky Tales alongside Pedro Pascal and Jay Ellis. From Captain Marvel helmers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, the film is set in Oakland in 1987 and is composed of four interconnected stories each featuring distinct characters, real life locations and noteworthy historical events (some real, some imagined). Earlier last year, she starred in the poignant coming-of-age drama Smoking Tigers, which had its World Premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2021, Ji-young made her feature film debut in Amy Poehler’s Moxie for Netflix. She was then cast in her first major film role in the adaptation of the popular YA novel The Sky is Everywhere for A24 and Apple TV+. Directed by Josephine Decker and written by Jandy Nelson (who also wrote the novel), that film centers around a high school girl, Lennie, struggling to cope with the death of her older sister. In 2022, Yoo was featured in Man of God in at the Geffen Playhouse debut where the ensemble was nominated for a LA Drama Critics Circle award.

In this episode, we about what it was like working with Nicole Kidman and Lulu Wang, the process of auditioning, and chat about our favorite action films. 

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