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"{I disliked that I looked Asian, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards at the time," says Arden Cho, who portrayed the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, forty, recalls her childhood in Texas, as the firstborn child of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the film, which tells the story of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from dark powers, the protagonist has to accept her identity as a hybrid being – and when Cho first read the script, this struck a deep chord.

"Being born in America, identifying as American but having others view me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Asian-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she says.

These elements were components of her formative years that paralleled the character's path.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my existence, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be a different person.

"During childhood, what you see influences your development and it seems I lacked exposure to sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in June, the animated feature registered millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the Netflix charts in dozens of nations. To be part of the first Hollywood animated film with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a inspiring figure for young Asian-Americans, the kind that she lacked when she was young.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first instance of their mixed background and culture.

"I feel like Korean pop music really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had such a big impact on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like the film is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and the actress admits she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it kind of sucks to say this, but whenever there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like it's a risk," she says.

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to meet everyone working on the film in person, she says.

The film was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in numerous regions.

As an person of Asian descent living in the US "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to one hundred fifty thousand individuals from Korea lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she came to realise that the racism she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"But now, in this day and age, when it seems the society and individuals ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and sometimes it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to all these different communities".

"Perhaps this explains it became this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and something to unite us as one."

The growth of AI is a major concern for the film industry, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to make a film like the animation.

Cho acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still pursue art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe there will be digital performers and singers. I'm aware they're already here. I understand performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I hope people have appreciation and want and love for something real."

KPop Demon Hunters has also been dominating the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its soundtrack featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and audiences around the world are calling for 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 wait for the streaming service or the production company, which made the film, to approve the project.

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

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