Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Warning: This interview contains spoilers for the 2018 film, Burning.
When Burning, Lee Chang-dong’s Korean psychological thriller starring Steven Yeun and Yoo Ah-in, opened in American theaters last October, most assumed the film was going to be a big deal. Lee Chang-dong, an acclaimed cinematic auteur in Korea, had yet to truly break into the American film scene, and Burning would be that break. That’s certainly what the 35-year-old Yeun thought.
“We went to Cannes [Film Festival], and everyone was speaking about Burning as if it was gonna win the Palme d’Or,” Yeun said to Decider in a phone call. “And then it didn’t do that, or much of anything.”
Yeun—who was born in Seoul, South Korea and emigrated to Michigan with his family at age 5—was the film’s American star power. He’d recently wrapped a six-year run on AMC’s popular zombie series, The Walking Dead, where he played the sweet-faced Glenn, a fan-favorite. His character in Burning, Ben, was very different: a rich, smug asshole who may very well be a murderer. Or at least, that’s how the main character Lee Jong-su (actor Yoo Ah-in) sees Ben after he starts dating his girl, Shin Hae-mi (actor Jeon Jong-seo).
Despite the early buzz and rave reviews from critics, Burning failed to nab an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film, certainly a setback for the film’s chances at reaching more eyes. But these days, a nod from the Academy may not be nearly as valuable to a film’s legacy as availability on streaming. As of today, Burning is now available on Netflix.
“If anything, my only thing was, ‘I hope people get to see it,'” Yeun said. “And now they will.”
DECIDER: How are you feeling about Burning heading to Netflix?
STEVE YEUN: Netflix will be very fascinating. I know it’s not necessarily meant for a younger audience, but I feel like it speaks really about the younger audience, so I’m really fascinated to see what the response is.
This film has always been an interesting one for me. My other co-stars and director Lee, talk about this: We went to Cannes, and everyone was speaking about Burning as if it was gonna win the Palme d’Or, and then it didn’t do that, or much of anything—except the [Fipresci International] Critics’ Prize was pretty cool. Same thing with the Oscars run: People were talking about it one way, and then it didn’t happen. Every single time things didn’t work out, I was always like, “That seems right.” It seems appropriate for this film. There was something about the way this movie came together—and the serendipitous-ness of how I was involved—often lent itself to this feeling of: “This movie’s meant to be found.” It’s meant to be found on everyone else’s singular terms in some way.
Were you disappointed when it didn’t get the Oscar nomination?
I’ll be honest with you: I woke up that morning, found out we weren’t nominated, and then I texted director Lee, “Feels right.” He texted me back a smile and a laugh.
We’d been talking about it through the whole journey: This film somehow came together and created itself. A lot of the scenes that were so majestic and beautiful in the film happened by chance. Even the last scene—we were supposed to shoot it in December, and it got pushed because the set got rained out. I came back three weeks later to shoot this final scene, and that was the one day that it snowed. So many beautiful serendipitous things happened throughout the course of the making of this film that it was just like, “Whatever happens with this is whatever happens.” If anything, my only thing was I hope people get to see it. And now they will, because it’s on Netflix. That’s cool!
Director Lee Chang-dong is known for his gorgeous cinematography. Where are you at on the debate of watching a film like this in theaters versus watching it on Netflix, on your phone or on your laptop?
I think a lot of people want to hold on to the romantic idea of going to the theater. I also sure as hell love going to the theater, and I think it’s really wonderful to watch films that way. But history shows we’ve changed quite a bit. What’s really cool is more eyes get to see certain things. And who knows, maybe once VR headsets come there will be no delineation between whether you go to the theatre or not. [Laughs.] I’m glad that we’re able to make things and people are able to see things. That’s where it ends for me.
[This next question contains a big spoiler. Skip it if you don’t want to be spoiled!]
Speaking of endings—spoiler alert—you die bloodily in this film. We know you’re not a stranger to blood in your acting, but what do you remember about shooting that scene?
That scene was really wonderful. Yoo Ah-in is an incredible actor. That scene was supposed to be shot in multiple angles, but when I got there, director Lee decided we were going to do it in one take. I was so excited about that idea. We got about two and a half shots at it. We had to really be economical about our time, to reset the blood and everything, with the sun going down. I just remember this overwhelming sensation of “Cool. Just give in. You know how this is gonna go.” And it all came together.
The movie leaves your character ambiguous: Was he really a killer, or was it all in Jong-su’s head? I know that it had my family arguing afterward. What is your interpretation?
That’s a thing that will continue to stay in my own personal brain. For me, I do have the benefit of embodying that particular character. For that character, I did have to make a choice as to who Ben was. I made that choice. Director Lee was the one who was like, “You have to make this choice for yourself.” Then he asked me when we were finished what I had chosen, and I told him I wasn’t gonna tell him. No one knows except for me. [Laughs.]
Wow. You’re never going to tell anyone?
Probably not. I feel like that’s one you take to the grave, you know? Mostly because at the end of the day—not to sound overly precious about it—it really is up to the viewer. That’s the sense that I felt from this film overall: You gotta just make it, put it out there, and leave it tacked on the board and see who goes to it.
I respect that. Have you noticed a difference in reactions to the film between Korean audiences and American audiences—especially white American audiences?
There might’ve been nuances missed on the Western side, here and there, about specific Korean cultural things. Marijuana especially—in America we hold that very lightly, in a cool way, but in Korea, it’s extremely illegal. That scene where you see Ben so casually breaking the rules—those are those tiny nuances that people might miss. But what’s really cool is the general nature of the film is not lost on most people. Most people that gave [the film] the freedom to be taken in by them, at the end of it, they could only really say it was a feeling that [it gave them.]
How did the film do in the box office in Korea?
I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t take a careful look at the box office numbers. I do remember that at the beginning of the run, it actually didn’t do very well in Korea. That’s probably appropriate for most of director Lee’s films. Director Lee has always held a mirror up to society, and that’s sometimes very hard to ask people to come out and watch. But what’s really great about his films is they have lasting impressions on society as a whole, and they permeate and worm through the collective consciousness.
This film came out around the same time as Sorry to Bother You, where you played another cool-guy character. There was some conversation about how you were shifting away from your comedic persona on Walking Dead toward roles that were a little suaver, a little more romantic. Is that how you see it?
I think those narratives usually get constructed after the fact, by people. For me, I don’t know if I have a real agenda. There was no purposeful move in any direction. I knew what I didn’t wanna do after Walking Dead, which was retread similar territory. That was not for the sake of merely not being type-cast, but it was also just… I get bored. I don’t really like doing the same thing over and over.
Were you getting offers that you turned down specifically for that reason?
Yeah. It wasn’t anything like, “Oh I can’t do this because of my career.” It was more, “I’m not interested in doing that right now.” Those things eventually led to openings. I’m very lucky that way—a lot of things just fell into my lap. I said “no” enough times that people were like, “Oh, I guess he wants something else.” It came through, and that’s been a big blessing for me.
Let’s talk about one of those things: Your new Netflix series, Tuca & Bertie, a new animated series with Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish. What can say?
Obviously, it was great. Lisa Hanawalt is such a genius. She’s wonderful, deep, kind and so creative and talented. When you see my character, Speckle—I can’t really describe him. He’s just such a good dude and he’s trying really hard. Working with Ali, is of course, wonderful. She’s fantastic, and to be able to play her boyfriend in this is even more fun. Animation is fun for me because I get to play characters I never would’ve been able to access before.
It makes sense, then, that you have another animated show, Invincible, coming up—this is a series based on the comics by Robert Kirkman, who also created The Walking Dead, and you play the lead hero, Mark Grayson.
Yes! Robert Kirkman has always been really wonderful to me. In general, but also just with the concept of Asian characters. He’s really done some amazing work in creating things for Asian-American actors to be a part of. Walking Dead, to have Glenn; Invincible, to have Mark. There’s this new comic book he has out called Die!Die!Die! where the lead is also an Asian person. I’m not saying he’s considerate just for the sake of making people diverse in his work, but he’s just a really creative mind. He views the world in a really creative, free way. Kirkman is a really great dude and I’d love to continue to work with him. We are almost done with the recording!
Looking forward in your career, is there anything you haven’t done that you want to do—types of roles, writing, directing, producing?
I’m open to anything as it comes. I’m just interested in pursuing whatever interests me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
