Joshua Lee on Playing Jin in 'XO, Kitty' Season 2

[00:00:09] Joshua, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Thank you for having me. Congrats on joining Season 2 of XO, Kitty. Tell us a little bit about that. What does that feel like? Oh my gosh. I actually found out that I booked the show when I was in Portugal, so I was in a vacation and then I was told that I have to come back and get ready to move to Korea. So it was a little hectic, but I was just overwhelmed with excitement and happiness. And yeah.

[00:00:38] Did you originally go in for Jin? Yes, I did. I auditioned for Jin. It was one of the few characters that they were auditioning and the audition process was just so much fun too. Was it all virtual or was it live also? It was all virtual. I mean, I submitted tape, had a few callbacks, got to meet with Anthony online and have a little chemistry read. Yeah, it was a great time.

[00:01:03] What can you share about Jin and his background and the role in this Season 2 story? Yeah, I mean, Jin is a really cool, complex character. He, much like a lot of high schoolers, are just going through a lot, whether that be pressures from his family or society or from himself to follow a certain career path.

[00:01:26] But he's at this really interesting point where he's figuring out, you know, what he wants to do to be happy and trying to make that decision for himself. And that's done through, you know, his track career, his relationship with you and his newfound friendships with the rest of the people on XO Kitty cast. Right. Any, any like nerves or like being like being nervous about joining a cast like this, joining a show because it's got a huge fan base.

[00:01:55] Oh my gosh. Yeah. So many nerves. I mean, talk about it's a spinoff from a wildly successful franchise. Yeah. The first season did super well. And then on top of that, coming on for the second season, I was very nervous. But all that quickly faded once I got to start working with the rest of the cast. Yeah, it was just such a fun time and everyone in the cast is so talented and so kind. And they welcomed me the first day I got in.

[00:02:21] How would you describe now like Jin's personality in Season 2, especially when he's interacting with the other characters? Yeah, you'll have to excuse me. I'm a little bit sick. So if I cough, I apologize. No worries. You know, on the outside, he he's a little bit of a bad boy. It was really fun to play him because he's so different from who I am.

[00:02:41] I think his first introduction is when he walks into a track practice with Day and Q and he just tells Q that he looked really slow. I think that pretty much sums up like his interactions with the rest of the cast. I think he bullied Minho. He bullied Day. He bullies Q. But behind all that like hard bad boy exterior, Jin is really just a soft guy who really cares about the people around him.

[00:03:11] And I think you get to see more of that as the season continues. Is it fun playing a character like this since you said it's like the total opposite of you? Oh, yeah. It's so fun. I mean, Jin can be mean, but when we finish rolling, we just laugh. There's this scene where we're in the cabin and Minho and Day confront Jin and basically get Jin to admit that he's a...

[00:03:37] What was it? A large, poured, booger-eating, bus-farting loser. And I just remember having so much fun in that scene. I think at the essence of Jin's character, he's also just a playful guy. He loves the banter. Sometimes he takes it too far, but he really is just a nice guy at the end of the day. Any challenges playing with this character? Or is there anything you would change about him if you could?

[00:04:02] I think, you know, the writers on the show and the showrunner, Jessica O'Toole, just did such a good job crafting Jin. It's hard to come up with something that I would change for him. It was so fun because you see, you know, so many different sides of him in those eight episodes that you see Jin. And think of anything that I'd want to change.

[00:04:24] Is there a specific, like, a theme or storyline with Jin's presence, like, throughout the season where you hope, like, the viewers take away for his arc? Yeah, I think it boils down to two things. It's just growth and growth in terms of, you know, who he becomes at the end of the season.

[00:04:44] Him coming to terms with a path that he's decided to take that's separate from track and what, you know, the pressures of his family kind of dictated onto him. And then in terms of love, like, loving this new group of friends that he's gotten close with. I think high school can be a tumultuous time for a lot of people. I certainly remember my high school days and they were not the most glamorous.

[00:05:09] But, you know, being able to lean on people, I hope people take away the fact that, you know, friendships are everything. And it's about being kind and treating people with respect. As an actor, how did you balance, like, with this, you know, with this series? You know, it's got humor, romance, drama. Like, how did you balance all those and those tones for Jin? Oh, my gosh. First of all, it's just so fun getting to play so many different things. The humor, the drama of it all.

[00:05:37] In terms of balance, honestly, I felt like it was pretty easy just because the writing was so strong. And if I had any questions, there were so many people I could lean on. And I trusted the director so much that every scene felt so important. And it just felt so understood to me. It was one of the few times where I looked at a script. I'm like, oh, I know exactly what they're going for in this scene. Yeah. What was your experience like working with Anna also?

[00:06:06] Oh, my gosh. She is so professional, so talented. I mean, she's on set like 16 hours a day. It still takes time to... I remember my first day on set. It was a scene in episode two. We were filming in a queer club. And I'm sure she was super busy, but she still took the time to get me like a handwritten note and a small little gift that she got while she was in Korea.

[00:06:35] It was just so special. And I still have those gifts right here. But yeah, I learned so much from her. I mean, she's like a seasoned professional. It was nothing but the best experience. You mentioned, you know, this was filmed in South Korea also. How did you enhance the experience? I mean, not the experience, but the filming, you know, like understanding of the story and the arc, especially being in South Korea.

[00:07:05] Oh, being in Seoul was magical. Like the production designers, the set designers, everyone just made the most beautiful sets. You'll see when in the finale shot, we shot like in this palace where they built a stage there. The school, everything, even our costuming, everything contributed to creating this beautiful world.

[00:07:28] And I think that only enhanced my ability as an actor to really get in the zone and play Jin to the best of my abilities. Like it was, it was beautiful. And, you know, being Korean, I haven't gotten to the, I haven't gotten the chance to go to Seoul that much. So being able to connect to my culture in that way too was something that I'll just remember for the rest of my life. Is there one thing you learned for playing this character? One thing I learned?

[00:08:01] Ooh. I think in, I've always had this perception of like, when I get a script and he, you know, he seems a little bit more of like the bad boy kind of character. That I would have to play it in a more one dimensional way. But I learned through playing Jin that so much of why people might perceive him as a bad boy is just circumstance.

[00:08:29] It's how he grew up, his upbringing, his family. And it's taught me to, you know, not judge a book by its cover and like really learn more about the people that are around me. And be less judging because Jin is now such a special character to me. Yeah. I mentioned earlier, it's got a huge fan base. And, you know, these fans are very passionate for the show. Are you ready for when this, when the season drops? Are you ready for this interaction?

[00:08:57] I'm sure you're going to get hit with DMs and everything else. You know, have you been warned? I have been warned. It hasn't quite hit me yet. The fact that people from like any country will be able to see my face. It is, it is nerve wracking, but, you know, I'm a homebody. So I'm going to be staying in for the month after the show is out to protect my peace and be with family and friends. There you go.

[00:09:26] What do you think like makes this show stand out with like teen dramas and it resonates with the audience? I think, I mean, first of all, the drama of it all. You have love triangles in some shows. Right. There's like a love, I don't even know what to call it, a love pentagon. Like there's, there's just so beautifully captures the confusion and oftentimes messiness of school life.

[00:09:54] And it's presented in a way where it just feels authentic to me. Like in terms of the queer storylines in the show too, there's no real spectacle of people coming out. It's just people living their true authentic selves. Yeah. And I think that's really special. Is there a last question for on the show? Is there a specific episode that you can't wait for the viewers to see, especially if it comes with your character? Sure.

[00:10:24] I think the ski cabin episode, I'm forgetting if that's episode three or four right now, but the ski cabin episode was just so much fun to film. We were laughing the entire time and having the best time on set. And I think that really translated to when I was able to see the finished product. I'm really excited for people to see that. There are a lot of fun moments, a lot of twists and turns that happened in that episode too. So yeah, I'm really excited for people to watch that episode. If we see a season three, do you hope Jin's journey continues?

[00:10:54] Oh, absolutely. I would love that. Yeah. Joshua, real quick. Is there anything else that you want to share with us about future projects or anything else more about the show? Future projects. I have another show coming out in March. It's called Gangnam Project. You can see it on BBC, CBBC. But other than that, I'm just really excited for people to watch Exo Kitty season two. Oh my gosh.

[00:11:24] January 16th is coming up so soon. Right around the corner. Around the corner. I'm really excited for people to watch and I hope people like Jin. Amazing. Joshua, how can the viewers and listeners find you on social media now to keep up with you? Yeah. I have Instagram and that's just at Joshua Lee, L-E-E, my name. Amazing. Joshua, thank you for giving me a few minutes today. Let's get you back on. We'll continue the story, possibly season three and any of their future projects. Yeah. Sounds good. Thank you so much. Thank you.