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"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," reveals the actress, who voiced Rumi in Netflix's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, 40, is describing her early years in Texas, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from evil forces, Rumi has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first read the script, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my identity as an Asian-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she explains.

These elements were aspects of her early life that paralleled Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, your surroundings influences your development and I feel like I just didn't see sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just 14 days, and reached the top 10 of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the type that was missing when she was young.

Cho says many Korean-Americans have expressed 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. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I feel like this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," she comments.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the production crew were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an Asian-led project, people feel like a gamble," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew face-to-face, she adds.

The film was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American living in the US "it's heartbreaking and disappointing," she states. "Newcomers have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have suggested that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she understood that the racism she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in the modern era, when I feel like the world and people ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because we just needed some hope and a unifying element all together."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the film industry, raising the possibility that in coming years it could be used to produce a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

The actress acknowledges she is conscious that technology is already being used to copy performers' vocals, but wants to "maintain faith in people" that individuals will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Sure, I'm sure there will be AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they're already here. I understand our voices are already being altered, but I trust people have appreciation and desire for something real."

The film has also been leading the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack appearing in the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and audiences globally are demanding a follow-up.

She tells us she wishes she could answer the inquiry of if a sequel is planned – but both she and fans will have to await the streaming service or the studio, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I'm aware there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I think everyone in the world would riot if there wasn't."

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