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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I lacked light-colored eyes and fair hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," says Arden Cho, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

The performer, 40, recalls her early years in Texas, as the eldest daughter of parents who emigrated from Korea and her journey toward belonging in American society.

In the movie, which tells the story of a girl group who must rescue humanity from dark powers, the protagonist has to come to terms with her true nature 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 people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a woman," she says.

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

"Truthfully, at different points in my life, I despised many parts of me and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, what you see shapes your development and I feel like I just didn't see enough people that look like me."

When it debuted on the platform in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters achieved 33 million views in just 14 days, and reached the highest positions of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

She says many Korean-Americans have expressed it's "such a refreshing moment", making them proud for the first instance of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"In my view K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I feel like this movie is the one that pushed it further, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and Cho says she felt the team making it were "sometimes facing an uphill battle".

"It seems it kind of sucks to mention this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like it's a risk," she reveals.

So, when she accepted the part, she took steps to connect with everyone working on the film in person, she adds.

The movie was launched amid heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

Reports have suggested that up to 150,000 Korean immigrants lacking legal status, including adopted children, are among those who could be deported.

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

"However today, in the modern era, when it seems the world and individuals ought to be more informed, it is beyond disappointing and at times it appears we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that the film could bring "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

"Maybe that's why it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, raising the possibility that in future it could be used to make a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho acknowledges she is conscious that technology is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but aims to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I believe they're going to have AI actors and singers. I know they're already here. I understand performers' voices are already being altered, but I trust the public have some respect and want and love for something real."

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

She reveals she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the streaming service or the production company, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I know rumors are circulating, the feedback is positive," she shares. "Only time will tell, and I believe everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."

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