Kpop Demon Hunters: Why Were Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Byung Hun Chosen as Voice Actors in Animated Film? Director Reveals
A K-pop girl group made up of demon hunters versus a rival boy group of demons, who'll win? The exciting storyline unfolding in Kpop Demon Hunters has taken over the world with its animated charm, and now the director, Maggie Kang, has revealed how she chose actors Lee Byung Hun and Ahn Hyo Seop for the voice acting roles, emphasizing their existing acting skills.
Speaking about making the story more related to Koreans than Korean-Americans, the creator shared with KBI Zoom, 'Working with active Korean actors was a key mission. This isn't a story about Korean-Americans but about Koreans living in Korea today.' Thus stemmed the idea of having Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Byung Hun in the film. With the latter's success via the Squid Game series and his foray into the western world, he became the right pick for the role of the villain Gwi Ma. 'As the first Korean artist to break into Hollywood, I deeply respect and appreciate him.'
On the other hand, Ahn Hyo Seop, as a K-pop trainee turned actor, became the male lead, Jinu, whose husky presence in the film has melted many hearts around the world. Maggie Kang revealed, 'Working with an actor who embodies the quintessential K-drama male lead was our dream. Ahn Hyo Seop brought authenticity to the story and characters.'
About Kpop Demon Hunters
With the story of Huntrix, comprising Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, fighting against the Saja Boys, and a quintessential romance breaking through, Kpop Demon Hunters is peak fantasy-action, blended into an animated marvel that is already breaking charts. A sequel for the film seems unlikely at this point; however, fans of the story have hopes for some update.
Other voice actors for the film include Arden Cho as Rumi, May Hong as Mira, Yoo Ji Young as Zoey, Yunjin Kim as Celine, Daniel Dae Kim as Healer Han, Ken Jeong as Bobby, Joel Kim Booster as Romance Saja, Alan Lee as Mystery Saja, and SungWon Cho as Abs Saja.
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