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"{I hated that I had Asian features, that I didn't have blue eyes and fair hair, because those were the beauty standards back then," says Arden Cho, who portrayed Rumi in Netflix's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, forty, is describing her childhood in Texas, 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 rescue humanity from dark powers, the protagonist has to come to terms with her true nature as a hybrid being – and when she first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Growing up in the US, feeling American but having others view me like a foreigner, grappling with my sense of self as an Korean-American, as a Korean-American, as a female," she says.

These elements were aspects of her early life that paralleled the character's path.

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

"During childhood, your surroundings shapes your development and it seems I just didn't see sufficient individuals that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in the summer, the animated feature registered millions of streams in just 14 days, and secured the top 10 of the streaming rankings in 93 countries. To star in the pioneering animation set in Korea, with Korean leads, was for her "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for young Asian-Americans, the type that she lacked when in her youth.

She notes many individuals of Korean descent have expressed it's "a breath of fresh air", making them proud for the first time of their dual heritage and cultural roots.

"I feel like Korean pop music has genuinely broken barriers. K-beauty has had a significant influence on global appreciation for Korea. But I believe this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, now," she comments.

But the film's success was not guaranteed and Cho admits she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

"It seems it kind of sucks to say this, but whenever there's an production with Asian leads, people feel like a gamble," she says.

So, when she took on the role, she made an effort to connect with everyone working on the film face-to-face, she says.

The movie was launched against the backdrop of increased immigration raids in the United States as part of extensive removal policies, which triggered demonstrations in numerous regions.

As an person of Asian descent residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Newcomers have made America what it is."

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

As an adult, she understood that the prejudice she had encountered when she was younger was largely due to a knowledge gap, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in the modern era, when it seems the society and individuals should know better, it's deeply disheartening and sometimes I feel like we feel so hopeless," she expresses.

Because of this, it feels very special, she notes, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "hope and joy and love to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it's sort of like this movie of the summer, because we just needed positivity and a unifying element all together."

The growth of AI is a significant worry for the entertainment sector, creating the potential that in coming years it could be used to produce a movie like the animation.

Cho acknowledges she is conscious that AI is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still seek out human-made creativity.

"Certainly, I'm sure they're going to have AI actors and vocalists. I'm aware they already exist. I understand performers' voices are already being manipulated, but I hope the public have some respect and desire for something real."

The film has also been dominating the international music rankings, with seven tracks from its score featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan creations, and viewers around the world are calling for a follow-up.

Cho reveals she wishes she could answer the question of if a sequel is planned – but both everyone involved will have to await the streaming service or the production company, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I know rumors are circulating, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "Only time will tell, and I think fans everywhere would riot if it didn't happen."

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