The 'Umbrella Academy' actor stars in director Kogonada's A24 sci-fi film.
“It’s almost like a time capsule watching this movie because I feel like I was a different person; a different actor then,” the actor says from the second floor at The Freehand. Later that night, post-screening, he’d return to the hotel’s bar to properly celebrate the film with the rest of his cast.
For much of the film, playing Yang required Min to lay still — draped over Farrell’s shoulder or set upon a table for examination. Yang’s humanity came through flashbacks and other character’s memories of him.“My first question after I got the job was, how artificial do we want this robot? How human do we want him?” Min says. Kogonada never offered a clear answer. “He never wants the audience to know. He never wanted me as the actor to know.
Yang also reminded Min of his mother; his parents immigrated to America from South Korea “and had to give up a lot of their ambitions and their dreams to create this new life for my brother and me here,” he says. “But I never grew up seeing my mom be unhappy or embittered by her experience,” he adds. “She was just always so fulfilled and satisfied doing what she did for us [her family]. And that has always moved me.