1/5
LOS ANGELES, June 19 (UPI) — Past Lives stars Greta Lee and Teo Yoo revealed that writer-director Celine Song implemented a no touching policy between them until their characters make contact in the film, in order to evoke a strong sense of longing.
In the movie, Lee portrays Nora, a Korean immigrant who now resides in New York with her husband (John Magarro). Hae Sung (Yoo), Nora’s childhood friend, gets the chance to reunite with her when he visits New York after 24 long years.
“It’s a basic human instinct,” Lee shared in a recent Zoom interview with UPI. “When you’re told not to do something, it makes you think about it even more.”
Lee explained that this restraint led to “a deeply instinctual understanding of longing and physical chemistry.”
Yoo mentioned that the scene in which Nora and Hae Sung finally embrace after their reunion was the first time the actors hugged each other in real life. Yoo stated that this anticipation also enhanced his performance as the longing childhood friend.
“It built this tension of longing for each other,” Yoo explained. “As actors, we love being physical and hugging each other. Suddenly, there was this buildup. I remember feeling it viscerally—my heart pounding out of my chest and sweaty palms.”
Yoo even went the extra mile in his preparation, developing physical manifestations of Hae Sung’s tension. He practiced tying a rope around his arms to remember the sensation of holding his elbows stiffly.
“So, I would always be stiff and tight, as if to show that he has repressed emotions,” Yoo said. “You can see through his body language that he’s gradually opening up emotionally and revealing himself.”
Lee found it gratifying to be able to play “a regular woman” in Past Lives. Having predominantly worked in comedies like Russian Doll and Sisters, as well as dramas like The Morning Show, where her characters primarily revolve around plots centered on White women, Lee didn’t anticipate the opportunity to focus on an experience she could personally relate to as a Korean American. Speaking Korean with Yoo in New York City allowed her to express a side of herself that she often hides within English-speaking culture.
“I never expected to be asked to show this part of me, let alone in the service of a universal story about love,” Lee expressed. “It felt like I was always finding a backdoor, in a sense, with the wonderful women I’ve previously portrayed.”
Lee acknowledged the rise of Asian writers in Hollywood, which has expanded the range of material available to Asian actors. However, she noted that many of these roles still focus heavily on Asian identity. In contrast, Nora and Hae Sung in Past Lives felt like two individuals longing for each other regardless of their cultural backgrounds.
Yoo, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, and now resides in Korea, related to the portrayal of longing in Past Lives due to his personal longing to be accepted by German, Korean, and English cultures. Being multilingual, Yoo speaks German and English fluently, and he learned to speak Korean as a third language.
“I can sometimes feel like an outsider, experiencing a certain type of loneliness or melancholy. I’m glad I could express that within the script,” Yoo shared.
Following Past Lives, Yoo embarked on filming the series The Worst Boy in the World, in which he plays a detective who returns from a five-year stay in an asylum to solve a crime connected to his family and his own mental health.
As Lee resumed her work on The Morning Show, where she portrays a producer, Past Lives inspired her to think of ways in which Asian actors, like herself, and Asian creators can actively participate in Hollywood.
“Honestly, it sets the bar incredibly high in terms of the kinds of stories I want to tell and the continuing fight for equality,” Lee said. “What makes a movie American? It can be this.”
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
