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"{I disliked that I had Asian features, that I didn't have light-colored eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time," says the actress, who voiced the lead character in the streaming platform's highly successful movie, KPop Demon Hunters.

Cho, forty, is describing her childhood in the southern state, as the firstborn child of parents who emigrated from Korea and her struggle for acceptance in the United States.

In the movie, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must save the world from dark powers, the protagonist has to accept her true nature as part human, part demon – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, identifying as American but having people treat me like a foreigner, trying to figure out my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a woman," she says.

These were all components of her early life that mirrored Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say, at various stages in my life, I despised a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else.

"As kids, what you see influences your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it debuted on the platform in the summer, KPop Demon Hunters registered 33 million views in just two weeks, and secured the top 10 of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Asian protagonists, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also established her as a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the type that she lacked when she was young.

She notes many Korean-Americans have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them feel pride for the first instance of their mixed background and cultural roots.

"I feel like K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. Korean cosmetics has had such a big impact on Korea being loved. But I believe this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was not guaranteed and Cho says she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"I feel like it kind of sucks to say this, but any time there's an production with Asian leads, it's perceived like it's a risk," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to meet the entire cast and crew in person, she says.

The film was launched against the backdrop of heightened enforcement actions in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in numerous regions.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have shaped the nation."

Korean news sources have estimated that up to 150,000 Korean immigrants lacking legal status, including those who were adopted, are among those who could be deported.

As an grown-up, Cho came to realise that the prejudice she had encountered when in her youth was largely due to a lack of education, as many were unaware what it signified to be of Asian descent.

"However today, in the modern era, when it seems the society and individuals should know better, it is beyond disappointing and at times I feel like we feel so hopeless," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that the film could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for some hope and something to unite us all together."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a major concern for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in future it could be used to produce a movie like KPop Demon Hunters.

The actress says she is conscious that AI is already being used to replicate performers' vocals, but aims to "maintain faith in people" that audiences will still pursue art created by humans.

"Certainly, I believe there will be AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they already exist. I know performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I trust people have some respect and desire for something real."

The film has also been leading the global music charts, with multiple songs from its soundtrack featured on the Billboard Hot 100. It has its own fan creations, and viewers globally are demanding a sequel.

She tells us she wishes she could answer the question of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the streaming service or the studio, which produced the movie, to approve the project.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "So we shall see, and I believe everyone in the world would riot if it didn't happen."

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