Audrey Huynh on Playing Stella in XO, Kitty Season 2

[00:00:09] Audrey, thank you all for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. Exciting times. We have XO Kitty Season 2 arrives on Netflix January 16th. First off, congratulations on joining the cast. Thank you so much. How does it make you feel to be part of this, you know, the huge, it's a huge show. Everybody loves this show. Yeah, it's, it's so exciting. I honestly, if you had asked me a year ago that I would be an XO Kitty, I would have laughed in your face. Like this is so crazy to me. Yeah.

[00:00:39] Yeah. That's awesome. How did you, let's talk a little about Stella. How did you land the role of Stella? What drew you to this project? Yeah. I had always been a fan of the first season and the movies and everything. And when my team sent me the audition notice for this, I was like, so floored. I was like insane that like they would even think of me for this project. But yeah, I went through the whole audition process, had a couple rounds of auditions, callbacks, producer sessions, got to do a chem read with Anna and

[00:01:09] sang on which was so cool. And then ended up booking it and just, yeah, it was crazy. So Stella is a brand new character that we're going to see in season two. What can you tell us about like the, how she fits into the story with the story of Kiss pretty much, you know, the Korean independent school of a soul? Like how does she fit in there?

[00:01:28] Yeah. So she's a very fun kind of complex, interesting character that I'm very excited for people to get to see. She's, she's Kitty's roommate and a new face this season. But she's got a couple like tricks up her sleeve. So I'm, I'm really excited to see how like she's received because it was so much fun getting to play her.

[00:01:51] We mentioned earlier, you know, like, you know, the first season was a huge hit with fans, Netflix, like for you now, like, how does it feel to join like an established cast like this and stepping into this world that you'll be cemented pretty much for the rest of your life career there?

[00:02:05] Yeah, it was, it was kind of terrifying at first because I was just worried about being new and stepping into this already very full flesh universe. But the whole cast and crew just made it so easy. They were all so welcoming. We're all really good friends. I was literally just texting them like right before. So yeah, no, they're, they're all so amazing. And I love them so dearly. Yeah. And they made this, this whole transition into coming into this season very smooth.

[00:02:33] Speaking of the season, I don't want to talk spoilers, but what can you say about Stella? What could she, what is she going to bring to the story? Like unexpected twist for Kitty, you know, what can they expect with your character and like the interaction with the students and of course with Kitty? Definitely expect a lot from her. She's, she's very fun. She, she has a lot. She's very complex. Yeah, I definitely don't want to give too much away, but I'd say expect the unexpected.

[00:03:03] How would you describe the chemistry with those two characters? Ooh, well, she's Kitty's roommate, so they do interact a lot. Stella's just such an interesting human being. She's, she's kind of hard to read at first. So her interactions with a lot of the characters are like really funny. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:26] When you were on set on the first day, was there like any particular moments or scenes that stood out for you filming or like, and what was the one thing that cast, I'm sure the cast gave you some advice about joining the cast?

[00:03:39] Yeah. Yeah. It was all just such like a crazy experience and cause we were in Korea filming it. So it was just such like this unique kind of experience for all of us. And I remember them telling me to just enjoy it and just like fully just take everything in and just be in the moment and all that kind of stuff. And it definitely did make the experience so much more memorable.

[00:04:04] Just fully being able to be there. Yeah. And it was crazy just getting, walking on set and just seeing everyone from season one and all that kind of stuff. So it was, it was so cool just as a fan too. What was, what's the one thing that Anna said to you? Can you remember?

[00:04:21] Ooh, I don't, I don't know. We, we've had a lot of conversations. We, we spent a lot of time together on set. Yeah. She's just so talented and she was giving me just kind of little bits of advice here and there when it came to my character and just this whole industry in general. And she, she taught me so much. She's such a role model for me too. So I love her. Speaking of Stella and the character, how did you approach bringing like complexity to this character, like the life?

[00:04:50] Yeah. I, I really broke her down and talked a lot with the writers and just really kind of broke her down to kind of a science and just really figuring out what made her tick. Like what, what things like she thought were important, like what her motives were and all that kind of stuff. And really just kind of getting her to be a full human being. And it, it made the portrayal of her so much more authentic and really memorable just as an actor. So.

[00:05:20] Season two, like explorers, you know, like themes of like self-discovery, personal growth. Like how do you, how would you say Stella's storyline reflect those themes? And what do you hope like the viewers take away from her journey? Yeah. Yeah. She definitely goes on a journey of discovery. She has a, a fun little arc in the season. And I definitely think the viewers are going to enjoy this season. It's so fun. It's so just like jam packed with just juicy little details and all that kind of stuff. Yeah.

[00:05:49] And I really think just the whole like message of this season is just to kind of figure out yourself and just really go on that, that journey of self-discovery and figuring out who you are and all that kind of, I think that's just what the whole season and the series in general just kind of stands for, which is really special. So I've had past guests on from the, from the show also.

[00:06:12] And then one thing they said is before they joined the show, you know, like their social media wasn't like too big as soon as they landed that role, they got hit with messages and everything. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for the messages from fans? I'm, I think so. I, I think so. I hope so. But yeah, no, even just after like getting announced in the show, like it was crazy just how much my social media blew up. And I'm like, I have not even fully in it yet. It's not out. So yeah, but I'm excited. So what was it filming?

[00:06:41] Like I know season one was filmed in South Korea. Was season two filmed in South Korea also? Yeah, we were there for three months. It was insane. It was so cool. My mom's family is Korean and my mom got to come with me. So the both of us kind of being there and sharing that experience was just so special for me. And I love it there. It's such a beautiful country and being able to just live there, be fully immersed in the culture. It was so cool. The series, and I like how the series blends, you know, like we have drama, we have romance, we have humor.

[00:07:10] How did you balance all those elements with Stella? It was, it honestly came pretty organically. She was written so well. So like the way that like the writers kind of had an idea for her, it was very easy to kind of take it as an actor and take it to the screen. And yeah, she's just, she's just so fun. She was so much fun to play. But yeah, it was a really cool experience.

[00:07:36] Just kind of being able to kind of move her from the writer's brains to on screen. Would you change anything about her? Oh, I don't know. She, she definitely has some likable qualities and some unlikable qualities. But yeah, I don't know. There we go. Is there any similarities with Stella and you? I love asking this question of like gas members. Yeah.

[00:08:05] I feel like her ambition. She's very driven. She's very passionate about things that she wants and things that she, she loves, which is pretty similar to me. But I think that's kind of it. She was a very different character than myself to step into, which I thought was really cool. So. What was the biggest challenge playing this character? Any challenges?

[00:08:27] She has a lot of layers and kind of just making sure that all of those little complexities really shown through on screen and were really easy to read from a viewer standpoint. That was definitely the hardest part for me. How would you overall, how would you describe her season two journey? Oh, very unexpected. There's a lot of ups and downs with her. Sure. She's, she's very interesting.

[00:08:55] Is there a specific episode that you can't wait for the fans to watch? Episode seven. That's, that's my favorite episode of the season. And I'm, I'm so excited to just like stalk on social media and see how the fans are receiving episode seven. But yeah, that one's definitely a really fun one. I'm excited for people to see it. If we see a season three, are you, you want to jump on that? Keep continuing on with the story? Absolutely. I would love to, to really explore her character even more.

[00:09:26] Yeah, that would be so much fun. Last question. Is there anything you would share with the fans? Any messages to them? Just enjoy the season. It's so good. It's, it's really just something that all of us have put our hearts and souls into. And I'm really hoping that everyone enjoys it. So, yeah. Amazing. Audrey, I want to thank you for giving you a few minutes today. Good luck with season two. Hopefully we see season three and continue on. And hopefully everybody enjoys watching you as Stella.

[00:09:55] Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.