Vanity Fair: Why do you feel you need a break after the success of Squid Game?
Hoyeon: So much has happened over the past year, and I think that I was in a state where I wasn’t able to fully digest everything that has happened to me to the extent that I wanted to. I felt like I was rather dragged by what was happening to me. Of course, I was extremely grateful for everything that had happened. It was really truly like a dream come true, and I was extremely lucky to have all of those opportunities. However, you are only human, so you are bound to come across some limitations physically, and when that happens, I learned that you also hit your limits mentally as well.
What would you say was your highest moment from the past couple of years?
The SAG Awards. I hadn’t expected to win. I thought that night, my job was doing the red carpet and presenting an award and that’s it. So after I presented the award, I drank two glasses of Champagne straight, because I felt that, Oh, I’m done for today. But when I heard my name, I was like, No, there is no way.
And your lowest moment?
Maybe a few weeks after the Emmys because the Emmys were the last campaign event for our show. These kind of complex emotions were coming from everywhere. I thought I could have a break, but I was working, working, working. I think I needed time to digest things and then celebrate for myself, but I didn’t have that time. There was no time to kind of pass over my life. But recently I kind of took that time, so now I feel much better.
Hollywood doesn’t have a great history of Asian actors in leading roles or Asian actors who’ve been able to become A-lists stars in Hollywood. How much does that weigh on you?
I read a recent interview with Michelle Yeoh, and she was saying that when she had got the script for Everything Everywhere All at Once she felt like she had finally been seen. She said that she was able to be funny, to be real, and to be sad, and that finally somebody understood that she could do all of these things. I thought about how long she must have waited to be handed a script like that—and how lucky I am that I didn’t have to wait as long. I owe that to the seasoned actors who have waited and who have made those things possible for our generation. We are going to be seeing more works, like Squid Game, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Drive My Car. So I do feel it’s not an easy path. It’s going to be very difficult, but I don’t want to give up on it just because it is not an easy path. There are so many stories to be told and so much we can do. Asian actors are prepared.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
