I was thrown in, she says laughing.
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Very, very intimidating, not because of anything Nicole has ever done.
Shes the sweetest and kindest, but shes still Nicole Kidman, says Yoo.
Nicole Kidman and Ji-young Yoo in ‘Expats’Prime Video
If anything, everyone seemed to share this strong belief that I was going to be totally fine.
Indeed, that first moment she shot with Kidman, which takes place at night in a street market.
The challenge for her was having to summon up those same emotional beats each time.
(L-R) Nicole Kidman, Lulu Wang, Ji-young Yoo and Sarayu Blue at the ‘Expats’ Prime Experience FYC event last month in Los AngelesRiver Callaway/Variety via Getty Images
Yoo still remembers words of wisdom that Kidman shared.
We were all at one point hopping between shows and trying to finishExpats.
She told me before she left early on to stand up for myself and stand in my power.
I mean, our crew was so experienced and talented.
Everyone taught me something about how to ask questions and how to approach the script or how to troubleshoot.
Im so lucky; its cliche, but it was a master class every day.
A fortune-teller tells Mercys mother that her daughter will have bad luck and that things will always go topsy-turvy.
The people that she loves the most, shes not telling the truth to.
And if they dont know you, they cant really love you.
She spoke of having noticed that a lot of the reaction about Mercy can be pretty unsympathetic.
The actor understands people being angry with the woman she plays.
My sense is that Yoo pulls off an unbelievably extraordinarily great performance.
No wonder Kidman, Wang and others wanted her to campaign as a lead.
It comes as no surprise that Yoo has studied the theatrical arts and knows the classical repertoire.
Instantly, Yoo asks whether that would make Mercy like a Masha from ChekhovsThree Sisters.
The stage is where it all began for Yoo.
Alumni who studied theater and dance there include Julie Harris, Lee Remick and Dustin Hoffman.
Ever since those early days she has always loved the feeling of acting and being on stage.
And I think it engages all parts of my brain, which is what I really like.
I really like it when all cylinders are firing.
She particularly zoned in on creating how Mercy walks.
Its such a soulful scene compounded by the misogyny of it all.
And her experience of working in Hong Kong was sort of similar.
Interestingly, she found that honesty refreshing.
We joke about and share our experiences about how our identities are sometimes misunderstood.
And I was so confused because Google existed, you could just look up the translation.
But they would just look at me and just demand to know why I couldnt speak it.
And it just made me feel guilty for no reason …
Her father studied engineering but then became a lawyer, but hes also a great dancer.
She tells me that Baz LurhmannsMoulin Rouge, starring Kidman, was on repeat in my house.
Yoo says she watched a lot of Kidmans work growing up.
I wondered how Kidman asked to be addressed.
She said, Call me Nic.
Thats a tall order for someone who refuses to refer to her high school teachers by their first names.
So I dont know where that comes from, she says, chuckling.
But I think when I really respect people, I want to call people by their proper titles.
But we also as a family really respect expertise.
And I think theres really a role for people who dedicate their lives to craft and knowledge.
And I think sometimes in the U.S. we can, in our efforts to make everything a meritocracy.
sometimes we can forget how important it is to acknowledge peoples years of experience.
And thats something that has always mattered to me.
Yoo credits Amazon for allowing her to join the cast ofSmoking Tigersbefore she had fully wrapped onExpats.
In the film, she plays a student who lies about her family background.
Took me a moment even though the moderator, Pete Hammond, had introduced her!
