Arden Cho
By Anne Kim
Arden Cho is fresh faced and full of vitality, no evident signs of jetlag despite just returning to her LA residence from Japan. As we settle in for a chat, our mutual Korean American backgrounds immediately bob to the surface revealing commonalities both winsome of pride and grappling with identity.
Recent years have seen an explosion of hallyu- a veritable South Korean “wave” of culture. Globally, the mainstream is eagerly embracing all things kimchi and K-Pop. At the same time, stateside pandemic statistics alarmingly revealed a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. In 2021, when the numbers spiked a staggering 339 percent from the year prior, I note that Cho bravely stepped forward on Twitter [now X]. “All I have is my platform” the actress opened, then beseeched her followers to raise awareness to the injustices that severely lacked media coverage.
This resolute thespian also set about leveraging her mounting influence to combat limited diversity and change the narrative in both the entertainment industry as well as her own perceptions. Initially garnering attention as Kira Yukimura on MTV’s Teen Wolf, Cho made her name as idealistic and ambitious attorney Ingrid Yun on the Netflix series Partner Track. Based on the 2013 novel by Helen Wan, Ingrid struggled not only with her moral compass but also to assert herself within a white male dominated field. Attempting to break through not only the proverbial glass ceiling, but also a bamboo ceiling that impedes career trajectories. It’s a portrayal dear to Cho, as she explains “There’s a heart to Ingrid that I feel is very similar because of what she experiences.
She’s initially written as a Chinese American character but the more we spoke about this with Helen and [showrunner] Georgia [Lee], we realized it was an Asian American woman’s story. And then the more we dove into it, it’s a woman’s story. I feel like there was so much on her plate that was relatable not just to me, but for everyone. She had this grit about her, and she was so strong and confident. I learned a lot from her.”
Arden Cho wears a Loretta Caponi blouse, Tibi dress and Alexander McQueen shoes.
Staying in the Netflix family, Cho currently can be seen as June the formidable bounty hunter, in the live action adaptation of the cult favorite Nickelodeon fantasy series Avatar The Last Airbender. “That role is probably my favorite to date,” she enthuses. Sliding into her stiletto heeled boots alongside the ensemble cast including the venerable Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Daniel Dae Kim, and Tamlyn Tomita, Cho is transported to “this really fun world where you become these alter egos. For me, the toughest thing about being young in Texas and Minnesota was always feeling like I wasn’t good enough, or that something was wrong with me. You know, dark eyes and dark hair was not considered attractive. I looked different, and as a kid different wasn’t cool. What sort of dropped me into this world as an actor is that I fell in love with being someone who I thought I could never be. Being able to play these characters or bring these characters to life, we do bring a bit of ourselves. But I also walk away with a piece of them in me.”
Cho smiles placidly and shares, “I think I’m coming into a very nice season of my life, learning to love myself. For as long as I’ve been in this industry, in a weird way sometimes I feel like I’m just beginning.
Like those first twenty years was a lot of discovering who I am and what I want to do. I look at the younger generation and they embrace their features. They are growing up feeling secure and having this very different attitude than our generation or the generations before us.”
Equally paramount to representation is the ability to depict a character irrespective of race or ethnicity. When I pose this to Cho, she readily assents. “w. For my next project, the focus could be that it’s progressive and positive. Something that starts a conversation. I would rather be still for however long it needs to be to find the perfect shoes to stand in or to walk in. I feel like I’ve graduated into the next chapter of my life where there is just this ease and comfort.”
