John Cho | K-Pod | Ep. 27

In recent years we’ve seen a boom of Asian American actors in film and TV. But for decades, John Cho was practically the only one. He first came to fame in 2004 playing Harold in the Harold and Kumar films, a role that challenged many people’s ideas about what a leading man could look like. He’s built his career thoughtfully ever since, taking roles (Sulu in the Star Trek films, Spike Spiegel in Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop) that don’t play into negative stereotypes. The son of a minister, Cho was born in Seoul and moved to the States when he was six. He has just written his first book, Troublemaker, a middle grade novel about a 12-year-old Korean American boy’s experience of the LA riots. In a candid and open conversation, Cho recalls his own experience of 사이구(SaIGu), his memories of growing up in the church and the bottled up anger he’s often felt as an Asian American man. Juliana and Catherine also get to hear about Cho’s love of Little House on the Prairie and how books helped him through his peripatetic childhood.

Follow John Cho on Instagram @johnthecho

Co-host, Producer, Photographer: Juliana Sohn @juliana_sohn

Co-host, Producer, Editor: Catherine Hong @catherinehong100

Audio Engineer: AJ Valente

Executive Producer: HJ Lee

KoreanAmericanStory.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to capture, preserve, and share stories of the Korean American experience.