How Close Are Beef Stars Ali Wong And Steven Yeun In Real Life?
Netflix's new hit series, Beef just got a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on a real road rage incident, the dark comedy is praised for its brilliant plot and all-Asian American cast.
Interestingly, the show's creator, Lee Sung Jin said that the casting choice wasn't intentional. He initially thought of Stanley Tucci for the role of unfulfilled entrepreneur, Amy Lau, played by stand-up comedian Ali Wong.
"I really didn't have much interest, nor the capabilities to handle that, to write about that," Lee told Variety of the change. "The reason I abandoned Stanley Tucci-type very quickly was because — especially in the modern era — you have to talk about race [in that instance], and there's so many other shows that do that very well."
Still, he clarified that he didn't want to focus on the cast's race. "If Ali were another race, I still would have wanted to work with her," he noted. "She really embodies so much about this character that is perfect, and she brings so many nuanced layers to the role."
But thanks to Lee, he was able to reunite Wong with The Walking Dead alum, Steven Yeun who plays struggling contractor, Danny Cho. The two have been a great duo since before the Emmy-submitted show. Here's a closer look at their friendship.
Ali Wong & Steven Yeun Have Worked Together Before In Tuca & Bertie
Wong and Yeun have previously worked together as voice actors of cohabiting partners, Bertie and Speckle in the animated sitcom, Tuca & Bertie. Speaking to Decider in April 2019, Yeun said that he enjoyed playing Wong's boyfriend in the series.
"Working with Ali, is of course, wonderful," he said at that time. "She's fantastic, and to be able to play her boyfriend in this is even more fun. Animation is fun for me because I get to play characters I never would've been able to access before."
As for Wong, she first thought there were rumors about her dating Yeun after he texted her about landing the gig. "I remember Steven had sent me a text saying, 'Oh, so Ali, so I guess I'm your boyfriend now,'" she recalled to Collider. "And I was so confused, because I thought that he was possibly accusing me of spreading rumors that he was my boyfriend, that we had hooked up, and I was like, 'What are you talking about?'"
She continued: "I had no idea that he had auditioned for Speckle. I knew that a lot of my friends had auditioned for Speckle, and they were so disappointed that they hadn't gotten the role. But I was so excited that it was Steven. It was the first thing I ever got to work on with Steven."
Ali Wong & Steven Yeun Had A 'Nice Connection' While Filming Beef
In a recent video interview, Yeun said that Wong enabled them to make a "nice connection" on set, which helped them with their intense roles. "With Ali, you could throw anything at her," he said. "I think she has this deep grounding in herself that feels really powerful to reflect off of."
He added: "She has this graciousness to her that I think also creates this nice connection between us that allows us to, like, really go at it." Wong also said that collaborating with Yeun pushed her to explore her character more.
"When I do standup, I'm all by myself," said the Baby Cobra star. "The beauty is that I have final say and I'm in total control, and I write everything and I choose how I dress. But when you collaborate with people, I think you're able to express things that maybe you weren't able to by yourself."
Ali Wong & Steven Yeun 'Broke Out In Hives' After Filming Beef
During Beef's 2023 SXSW world premiere, Wong revealed that she and Yeun had "broken out in hives" after filming the rage-filled dramedy. "Steven and I both broke out in hives after the show," she recounted.
"Mine was on my face. His was all over his body because he's weak like that," she continued. "It definitely took a toll on us, but we didn't even realize until after the show ended. I mean, I won't even talk about what happened to [Yeun's] elbow."
The Always Be My Baby actress then admitted that they didn't expect the project to make such an impact in their personal lives. "I don't think we knew that was going to happen," she explained. "If we knew what we were going to put our bodies and minds through, maybe we wouldn't have said yes, but we're really glad we did."
Lee, who added, "Our bodies shut down," also commended his co-star in a Vanity Fair interview as she "did not hold back" in portraying her character. "She had been holding so much of the toxicity of this character inside of her," he said.
And all their hard work paid off as IndieWire's Ben Travers noted in his review of Beef: "Wong and Yeun shine throughout, especially when called upon to express their characters' boiling frustrations while pretending to be fine."
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