Saying goodbye to his role of 5 years as Ben in The Umbrella Academy, Justin H. Min is embarking on a new journey as a different Ben in Shortcomings. He’s played robots, ghosts and superheroes, but the actor was most excited about exploring the humanity of the cynical character he played in the new film. While currently in limbo – still living out of a suitcase between New York and LA – his schedule is dense but he still pinches himself daily. This is the position he gets to be in, acting with directors, producers and actors who inspire him. We sat down with Justin to discuss his latest acting projects, growing Asian-American representation in Hollywood and his custom-made role in Netflix’s hit Beef.

Left Full look **Versace**
Right Coat **Lemaire**

Last season, your role in The Umbrella Academy shifted, as you had to play a more antagonistic version of Ben. How hard was it to explore that?

I liked playing both versions of Ben for different reasons. It was a little more fun to play the season three Sparrow Academy Ben because he’s such a departure from who I am. He’s a huge asshole, and I hope that I’m not.

The next season will be the last. What can we expect to happen?

It dives into the reckoning with who these characters are without their powers, what does that lead to? There has been a question on the show for the last three seasons that will finally be answered in this season.

Left Full look **Calvinluo**
Right Full look **Lemaire**

Let’s talk about Beef. What drew you to this series?

That role was sort of written and made for me. Lee Sung Jin and my older brother were best friends in college. My brother was a very prominent worship leader through college, and is now a pastor. So, when writing Beef, Sunny knew that there was gonna be a prominent storyline in the Korean church and he wanted me to play the worship leader part, partly based on my brother.

I read the script of Love & Noraebang, a podcast series which explores multiculturalism in LA, also explored in Beef. With your experience growing up as a second-generation Korean-American in LA, how would you say your Koreanness has influenced your acting experience?

I never grappled with my Koreanness until I got into this industry. It was the first time I ever really experienced something like, “Oh, people see me not as an American, but as other.” It was something that I really had to reckon with and it came with its own set of existential crises, a lot of nights wondering who I was and where I fit in this industry. But now it's something that I embrace, knowing that that is really at the core of who I am and it affects the work that I do, both consciously and unconsciously.

How would you say Asian culture is currently shaping Hollywood? We have shows like XO Kitty where Korean-American culture is being highlighted. How does this form of representation matter in today’s entertainment industry?

I don't think there's ever been a better time to be an Asian-American actor or artist. Globalisation is real. The Korean wave is real. And people are more than ever interested in different cultures and are willing to watch a film with subtitles and be just as invested in them as they are in “American” TV or film. Now, there are so many different representations of us on screen that we can really reflect on the fact that we are not a monolith.

Shirt & pants **Commission**, boots **Givenchy**

I want to congratulate you on your performance in Shortcomings - I found it really hard to feel any sympathy for Ben! What attracted you to this role?

Ben is so complex. He is deeply, deeply flawed, which to circle back to the topic of representation, is not something that we've often seen of Asian-American characters. He really does feel deeply broken, has so many insecurities, and is trying to date but is flailing. All of these things sort of make up the human experience and I was excited to dive into that role.

Can you tell us about how the film treats the talks around race within romantic relationships?

I love Shortcomings because it's not prescriptive. There's a multitude of perspectives. What makes talking about race so difficult is that people are coming from a very emotional place. Dating is emotional. Falling in love is emotional. You can never speak on these kinds of issues with any sort of objectivity. I hope the movie inspires those kinds of conversations. The more we talk, the more we as a collective society can hopefully learn and move forward.

My favourite line from the film is, “I’m sorry you had to meet me at this point of my life,” which I think highlights that this whole movie is just a phase, that Ben is not stuck but ever-evolving. What was your personal takeaway?

You realise that people are the way they are because of things that they've experienced. When I was first starting out in this business, I would go to audition after audition, and hear ‘no’ and a closed door, and ‘no’ again, and another closed door. After years of that, it really wears you down and you start to look at life through a very cynical mindset. That was something about Ben that really resonated with me. My biggest takeaway was just learning to empathise with people.