Overview

• In a newly aired American Masters PBS interview reported Aug. 23–25, Kim critiques how roles for Asian Americans are increasingly narrowed by nationality.
• He calls the trend an “overcorrection,” saying many breakdowns demand Korean, Japanese, or Chinese actors without a story-driven reason.
• For characters exploring the American experience of being Asian, he argues casting should be open across Asian ethnicities because the feeling of being othered is widely shared.
• He says matching nationality is appropriate when a role requires authentic language or represents a culturally significant real person.
• He cites his Prime Video series Butterfly, where he cast Japanese American Reina Hardesty as his Korean American character’s daughter, and he notes a double standard given how often British or Australian actors play American superheroes without scrutiny.