Teo Yoo — A Cog in the Machine
Editorial Director
Bryan Kong
Creative Director
Melvin Chan
Photographer
Matthew Priestley / Sibling Artists
Fashion Stylist
Jungle Lin
“I have a nihilistic outlook on life. I don’t think there is a lot of meaning to what I do. I take it all with a grain of salt but I also do it with a smile,” says Teo Yoo, almost apologetically. The German-born, Korean-based actor is dialing in from Seoul, sitting in front of a well-stocked bookshelf with sunlight streaming in through the windows. He reveals that he is currently reading the autobiographies of fellow actors, Eric Roberts’s Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Farand Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights, “to see how their lives, and the obstacles they faced, informed their work.” Yoo may not dwell on the meaning of his work, but throughout the interview, it becomes clear that he believes in the act of acting itself.
In 2024, Yoo found international fame in his breakthrough role as Hae Sung in writer-director Celine Song’s critically acclaimed directorial debut, Past Lives. The recognition has been a long time coming; he starred as Viktor Tsoi in the 2018 Palme d’Or nominated Russian musical film, Leto and was awarded the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Actor in 2021 for his outstanding performance in the atmospheric Korean language film, Vertigo. But he is more preoccupied with the new opportunities that have presented themselves to continue pursuing his passion: acting. It is a craft to which he has dedicated his life for the last twenty years, having studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute and Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). “When I was a struggling actor, I used to have part-time jobs as a bartender or working at a stand selling fruit and vegetables. Even then, I would have acting at the back of my mind, figuring out how I can bring these experiences to my next project,” he shares.
In this interview, Teo Yoo gives us an insight into his process as an actor, and how it serves him as he takes on challenging new roles in the action-packed Netflix series, The Recruit, as well as Lionsgate’s action thriller, Karoshi.
Teo Yoo on the March 2025 Digital Cover of The Laterals. Photographed by Matthew Priestley.
Teo Yoo wears Cartier Jewelry throughout the coverstory
ZUE WEI — Hi! I hear you’re back in Seoul. How did the cover shoot in New York go?
TEO YOO — It was a good day in Brooklyn—nice weather, nice clothes, pretty jewelry. It was my first magazine shoot in New York.
ZUE WEI — That’s cool! It must be nice to be back again. Didn’t you start your acting career there, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute?
TEO — It has been over twenty years since I studied in New York. It’s like going back to a place that I know so well, but so much has changed over time. It’s a strange mixture of feeling familiar but estranged at the same time.
ZUE WEI — It’s almost like this city has seen you through your whole journey as an actor.
TEO — Definitely. I remember when I came back to New York to shoot Past Lives, there was a moment where I felt like I had really come full circle. I was no longer a student, a child—I am a working actor.
ZUE WEI — And you’ve just come off the press tour for the second season of Netflix’s The Recruit. It must’ve been a different experience than promoting an indie movie like Past Lives.
TEO — It was shorter and more intense. I think Netflix rented out an entire floor of a hotel in New York and the press junket was compressed into two to three days. In comparison, Past Lives was very different. We opened up at Sundance, then screened at the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival). It was small snippets of press and different releases in different countries over the course of the year. Then, there was the awards season run. It was more like a marathon.
ZUE WEI — While The Recruit is still fresh in your mind, I’d love to ask about your role as Jang Kyun, an officer in South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. There’s a big physical element to this role. How did you prepare for the action? Has this role been the most physically demanding role in your career so far?
TEO — The most physically demanding? No! That’s when I have to lose weight or slim down. For The Recruit, I had to put on a few pounds because I wanted my physicality to fit into the frame of my character’s environment. You know, Noah (Centineo) is a big guy, so I wanted to make sure that people will believe that Jang Kyun can handle himself when it comes to fighting against big guys like him. As for the action, you’re basically at the good grace of the stunt coordinator and the stunt team, who work out the choreography and fighting sequences.
ZUE WEI — There is much more to the role than physicality. Jang Kyun is uncovering a global conspiracy. At the same time, he is determined to save his wife from danger. How did you balance these physical and emotional components—all while keeping the levity and humor intact?
TEO — I usually begin by thinking about the résumé of the character. What was his life prior to the first scene he appears on screen? That résumé grounds me emotionally into the reality of what the character is going through. Internal preparation informs my performance, including the physical elements. And I’m not very conscious about genre. I never distinguish between drama or comedy too much. Once you’re trying to be funny, you end up not being funny because you project that onto your performance. It becomes a bad parody of what you intended. It’s always more important to be truthful. And from that truthfulness, some humorous or human moments may come out.
“I’ve always been fascinated with actors who are able to visually portray a certain emotion just in their eyes so that the audience who is watching them feels the same way they do. Every person—actor or otherwise—understands love and the absence of love. They know the feeling of missing or longing for someone. But it’s one thing to experience it internally and another to express it in their face.”
ZUE WEI — How long were you in rehearsals before you started shooting?
TEO — We only had around two weeks of rehearsals, but I had a little bit of time after I was cast to get into physical shape before we went down to Vancouver for the shoot.
ZUE WEI — Vancouver first, then Seoul?
TEO — Yes, it was three months in Vancouver, a small break, then the production moved to Seoul to shoot the rest of it over two weeks.
ZUE WEI — What was it like filming in Seoul? It’s your home base!
TEO — It was exciting. In the script, the location was mainly South Korea, but since we shot so much of it in Vancouver, there was a lot of matching interior and exterior shots. In the little time that we had, I was able to show my co-stars around and take them out to eat. Those are the small things I could enjoy during the production.
ZUE WEI — Do you think Netflix did a good job of portraying Seoul and South Korea?
TEO — I mean, it’s one thing to talk about Netflix in general. I can only speak more specifically on working with Alexi Hawley (creator and showrunner of The Recruit). He has a daughter who is of Korean descent, so I know that this project is very personal to him and he did his best to portray Seoul as authentically as possible.
ZUE WEI — Everyone is raving about your on-screen chemistry with Noah. Did you click right off the bat?
TEO — I met Noah in the second round of auditions. I read with him over video chat. I could already tell that we would vibe very well together. I guess the producers saw the same thing and that’s why I got the role. Chemistry has always been an interesting thing. It’s almost like when you meet a new lover or partner; you either have it or you don’t. It’s not something you can artificially create. There are no acting techniques to make it work on screen. With Noah, he made me feel very welcome to the family they established in the first season. He is also one of the executive producers on the show, and despite his young age, he is a natural leader. Very generous and kind.
ZUE WEI — Speaking of chemistry, you are becoming known as a leading man, specifically a romantic leading man, for your exceptional performances alongside Greta Lee in Past Lives and Kim Ok-vin in Love to Hate You. How do you feel about this development?
TEO — Ah, I don’t know. I never think about it because what you’re talking about is the result of the process, of the work. Part of that process is establishing a vulnerability and a willingness to communicate with the actor I am working with. From there, maybe I’ll get a good vibe. To be honest, I can’t think of a time I didn’t have a good vibe with any of my co-stars. I don’t think about how something is supposed to look or supposed to be. I just focus on what’s best for the work at hand. What do I have to take care of today? What is the best that I can do so I don’t look back and regret the decisions I make?
ZUE WEI — It’s a practical approach—very German! Well, I watched your interview on Hong Seok-Cheon’s talk show recounting your own love story. You talked about how you asked her out after making eye contact with your wife, Nikki (Lee), as she passed in the street. It made me think how you wanted to make sure Hae Sung in Past Lives could express all his repressed emotion through his eyes. Do you consciously take your own experiences into these roles?
TEO — Yes, the eyes. There are two Hong Kong actors, Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung, who had a great influence on how I approached acting in my younger years. I’ve always been fascinated with actors who are able to visually portray a certain emotion just in their eyes so that the audience who is watching them feels the same way they do. Every person—actor or otherwise—understands love and the absence of love. They know the feeling of missing or longing for someone. But it’s one thing to experience it internally and another to express it in their face. It’s an interesting conundrum because which comes first: the chicken or the egg?
“It goes back to just doing my best, always doing more than what is expected of me, and trying not to fuck up because I know that the job of the actor is a very disposable position. I make myself indispensable so they can’t replace me, even if I do fuck up by mistake.”
ZUE WEI — What are your own views on love and romance?
TEO — It might be different for other people but love is totally unselfish and self-sacrificing. It means being willing to give everything that you have and give up everything for someone else. There’s no ego.
ZUE WEI — That’s very casually profound. Perhaps that informs your performances. There was a moment on an MBC reality show where your manager asked if you practiced saying such deeply romantic things or if it just comes naturally. This is exactly what he means!
TEO — I don’t know about that…
ZUE WEI — Back to your process. You have a uniquely international background and speak many languages, including English, Korean, Russian, and German. Your career definitely reflects that. Do you have to do extra preparation for roles depending on the language?
TEO — Yes, I always over prepare because I never feel ready enough. I was born and raised with the German language, which is the most comfortable to me. I had to learn English when I moved to the US—but I had to learn conversational English before learning how to act in English. I did the same thing all over again when I moved to Korea. So I’m always over preparing how I can portray emotion in a specific language, making sure I have different alternatives, before I feel comfortable to go on set.
ZUE WEI — And you work on sets around the world. What is that like?
TEO — Every country has their own system and their own way of dealing with things. There’s a business side of things that you don’t learn in school. You can only learn through experience. What I mean is that you have to understand how money is allocated in every production because that determines firstly, the production value, then the comfort level of the cast and the crew. What I try to do is to arrive on set with an open heart and open mind, figure out where I fit in in the production and understand the culture of how people interact with each other. Then it goes back to just doing my best, always doing more than what is expected of me, and trying not to fuck up because I know that the job of the actor is a very disposable position. I make myself indispensable so they can’t replace me, even if I do fuck up by mistake.
ZUE WEI — You spend extended amounts of time filming on location. Do you enjoy it?
TEO — Yes, travelling is one of the biggest perks of the job. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to become an actor. I really appreciate that I can make a living being in different environments and learning about different cultures. I don’t think a monotonous lifestyle would ever work for me.
ZUE WEI — What actually got you into acting?
TEO — I was never really interested in acting, but I loved watching films. I come from a working class background. My father was a coal miner and my mother was a nurse. I was never in touch with anything artistic except the films I could get my hands on. Back in the day, it was VHS tapes or anything that was on German television. I had some teachers in high school who saw my potential. I wasn’t a good student; I had a knack for literature and theater, but I was an athlete my whole life. Mostly basketball. So when I graduated high school, I had a plan to be a physical therapist. But before that, I wanted to go on a gap year and work abroad; I figured I’d do the total opposite of sports. I did some research on the actors I liked and Lee Strasberg kept popping up. I applied for an intensive course. Back in the day, when you enrolled in a school even for a semester, you got a one-year student visa. I thought I’d do three months of studying then work and enjoy New York for the rest of the time. I knew, two weeks in, that I was going to be an actor for the rest of my life.
ZUE WEI — In just two weeks?
TEO — Yes, I thought I loved sports because of the physical aspect of it. That’s still part of what I love about it. But I realized, when I was doing these exercises at Lee Strasberg, that it was more about the performative aspect of sports—the feeling of being on stage. In sports, the stage is the playground or the court. So I knew, within two weeks, that I was going to be a performer for the rest of my life. I imagined myself at 70 years old, still working part-time to support myself then going out to busk in the park doing family-friendly performances, as a clown or something.
ZUE WEI — Wait, you wanted to be a clown?
TEO — That’s what I wanted to do. I thought I’d go to clown or mime school. There were two that I wanted to go to: one by the famous French clown, Marcel Marceau (École Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris or International School of Mimodrame of Paris, Marcel Marceau), and another by a Russian clown, Slava (the Academy of Fools). I thought I’d become a street performer, maybe audition for Cirque du Soleil or Circus Roncalli. But then I got married, you know, and that comes with its own responsibilities.
“I knew, within two weeks, that I was going to be a performer for the rest of my life. I imagined myself at 70 years old, still working part-time to support myself then going out to busk in the park doing family-friendly performances, as a clown or something.”
ZUE WEI — Your career is definitely very different from what you envisioned!
TEO — My interest has always been in the types of performances that came out of post-war modernism of the Czech theatre and the ashes of Germany, which is Kabarett. My heart belongs to that tone and manner of performing.
ZUE WEI — I read that you were recently invited to be part of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Out of curiosity, what does it actually mean to be a member of the Academy?
TEO — The mission statement of the Academy is to propel and develop the cinematic arts of the world. As a member, we have ballot rights to vote for films that you believe have contributed to the advancement of cinematic arts every year. You can pre-watch all the films that are on the Oscar ballot. It’s a privilege and honor to be a member. I didn’t see it coming. It’s a very prestigious position because there are only a handful of Koreans who are members.
ZUE WEI — That’s exciting! Do you take the membership quite seriously?
TEO — The right word maybe isn’t excitement; I would say I feel a certain responsibility. Look, I do what I do no matter the result or the reaction from the audience. Even, in spite of it. All the rest of that comes with the job. I have been elevated into a status or position of responsibility. I don’t take it lightly; I remember to choose my words carefully and talk truthfully from the heart. But when people are shouting my name or asking for my autograph, I am aware that they are interested in the position, rather than who I am.
ZUE WEI — I was going to follow up with a question about responsibility in relation to representation, especially since your roles in Seoul Searching and Past Lives are beloved by the Korean diaspora community. But I feel like I am beginning to understand your approach to your craft and can predict your answer…
TEO — I think I can give you a metaphor to explain how I look at the world. If our society is led by a king. He would be surrounded by a table of noblemen. Then, there is one guy at the very end of the table; the noblemen might throw scraps of food for him to eat off the floor. That is my job. I am the jester! As an actor, you get your pages, you’re told where to stand, what to feel, what to say, and how to say it. It’s not my place to contribute to the conversation happening at the noblemen’s side of the table. I just take what is given to me, assess how I feel about it and put it into the work. I don’t want to talk about it. If people put me in certain categories, I don’t care for it. Bringing it back to the topic of representation, even if I am over- or under-represented, that is for someone else to decide. The discussion around the work is not for me to decide. But I guess the funny thing about being the jester is that he is the only person allowed to make fun of the king. The king can laugh at himself being fooled by the fool.
ZUE WEI — That’s an interesting metaphor. Let’s change it up for the next few questions. It will be a quickfire round. What is your favorite format to work on: short film, TV show or movie?
TEO — Movie.
ZUE WEI — Would you rather play a hero or a villain?
TEO — Villain.
ZUE WEI — What is your favorite project that you have worked on?
TEO — The answer is always the last one I’ve done.
ZUE WEI — What is your favorite genre to watch?
TEO — Western.
ZUE WEI — What is your favorite genre to work in?
TEO — I’d love to do a Western.
ZUE WEI — Would you consider doing another musically-led project like Leto?
TEO — Yes, I would love to be in a Bollywood musical! Or something with country music.
ZUE WEI — You were on a reality show about travelling to Texas, Music Adventure by Accident! Is that where your love of country music comes from?
TEO — No, I’ve always wanted to work on a cowboy ranch. I already had an emotional tie-in to country music before I signed on. I released a country song (Texas Summer) as part of the show. I’m writing more songs. Maybe I’ll try to release them and try to get some music out this year or by the end of next year.
ZUE WEI — As a solo artist or do you have a band?
TEO — I don’t have a band yet. I think I have to prove myself before I can ask people to, you know, be in cahoots with me.
“I have a nihilistic outlook on life. I don’t think there is a lot of meaning to what I do.”
Video
Tristan Hsu
Groomer
Jennifer Brent / Tracey Mattingly
ZUE WEI — Before I let you go, I have to ask about Karoshi. What can you tell us about this new project you’ve just been attached to?
TEO — I’ll be working with Takashi Doscher. He is an American-Japanese writer and director from Atlanta, Georgia. The producers are well-versed in action; one of them (Charles Stahelski) is the mastermind behind the John Wick series. It’s a corporate revenge thriller and I’m excited that I got cast as the lead. We’re going to start preparing physically soon. I’ll be going into training for three months, then we’ll shoot over the summer and see how that turns out.
ZUE WEI — Are you ready to get into the training?
TEO — I’m expecting to go through hell—physically, mentally, and emotionally! Because that’s what my character in Karoshi is going to be experiencing. But I’m very excited about the project. Have you heard of Taylor Sheridan’s series, 1883? It’s the prequel to Yellowstone, which he also created. The lead actress Isabel May, who played Elsa Dutton in 1883, will be my co-star. The expectations will be high so I’m glad to be in the same boat as her and the rest of the cast and crew.
ZUE WEI — Sounds like fun—kind of! I can’t imagine it will be pleasant shooting in the heat of the summer but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. That was my last question for you today. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me. Congratulations on The Recruit and all the best filming Karoshi!
Catch Teo Yoo on the Season 2 of The Recruit, now streaming on Netflix.
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