Meet Netflix's 'Beef' Breakout Actor Young Mazino

Young Mazino is a breakout actor in Netflix’s new series, ‘Beef,’ wherein he is portraying the endearing character of Paul Cho.

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‘Beef’ is a comedy drama described by Men’s Health as “a wild ride.” Meanwhile, Mazino’s role as Paul is the “naively charming and good-hearted younger brother” of actor Steven Yeun’s Danny Cho.

Like his character Paul, Mazino is a first generation Korean-American, who was born and raised in Maryland. His parents are from Korea, but his father moved to the US at the age of 16.

In an interview with Men’s Health, the actor shared how it was like for him growing up as a Korean-American in the US.

“As a Korean-American, you grow up not really feeling like you fit into the schools you go to. And then on Sundays when you go to church, you don’t feel that Korean, like the other kids who are from Korea. When you’re forced to not have a full identity in either culture, you have to create your own,” he expressed.

Mazino also noted the things he has in common with his character Paul, sharing:

“Through the process of migrating, your parents also lose a lot of that culture they left behind. They don’t have the time or the energy to catch you up on anything besides the core traditional values.

For Paul, whose parents are back in Korea, he’s even more lost in the ether and left to his own devices… He’s kind of a lost boy.

That’s something I definitely had to encounter growing up and something I’ve tried to grow out of. And that’s just a continual process for me as I get older.”

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Moreover, the actor said that he has been interested in acting since he was a kid. He was formally trained as a musician, but growing up, he also dabbled in acting and theater throughout his childhood and into college.

“I had the bug ever since I was a little kid. I would reenact movie scenes, frame by frame, with an obsession. Or write my own movie scenes as a form of play, which became a form of escape, which now is a pursuit of truth, I would say,” he recalled.

Mazino also revealed that he worked in corporate finance for 5 years before completely pursuing acting, as he didn’t feel that it was fulfilling.

“I tried to do the nine-to-five route and found that very unfulfilling. In New York, I was working in corporate finance. I stuck around for five years to essentially pay for drama school. My parents didn’t get it. They’re like, ‘Why don’t you like to just be financially stable? Why doesn’t that appeal to you?,'” he shared.

The actor added,

“I think the biggest difference between me and my parents is how much they value stability and comfortability. They provided that for me, so I’ve always wanted something a little more. And battling that–thinking if that’s selfish or not–is a core value of the first-gen Korean-American.”

He moved to New York City in 2014 to seriously pursue acting. In 2017, Mazino attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and trained in theater for a year after working on independent shorts and student films.

The actor’s passion and dedication in acting paid off though, as he is now slaying his role in ‘Beef,’ which is available for streaming on Netflix.