We soon realize that the late Ben Hargreeves was also well-loved at Umbrella Academy . Fans come straight from star Justin H. Min. A creative man who worked as a photojournalist before turning to acting, he used to save some of his private, philosophical musings on Tumblr, where every word was carefully considered. It's that sensitivity that he brings to Ben. "I guess I'm a pretty friendly, warm person, so they brought that out in the character," Min explained with a sheepish smile. "We had no source material that was really based on Ben, so I think [showrunner] Steve Blackman and the writers kind of wrote it for me."
Born in Cerritos, California, Ming had a handful of roles in various short films and TV shows before taking on his breakout role as Ghost Ben, turning a late background character in the Umbrella Academy comics into a A well-liked and wholesome foil. The rest of the dysfunctional Hargreaves siblings. In season one, Ben served as a sort of moral compass for Klaus (Robert Sheehan), who communicated with ghosts, encouraging him to stay awake, prompting him to connect more with his siblings, and Trying (and often failing) to control Klaus's wildest and most destructive thoughts. Fed up with being an invisible partner, Ben begins exploring his own agency and romantic feelings in season two. Season three may push Min further into the forefront, albeit in a very different way. Although Ben eventually entered the afterlife in the Season 2 finale, his siblings traveled back to 2019 to discover a new version of him: a snarky, jaded member of the New Sparrow Academy who was still alive.
What this means for the Hargreaves family remains to be seen, but now, Ming has his sights set on another way to be resurrected. He will star in the upcoming A24 science fiction film "Follow Yang" A man purchases a malfunctioning robot in order to teach his adopted Asian daughter about her culture. Like his work with Ben of the Dead, After Yang allows Min to explore the nuances of what it means to be alive, but not.
Below, Min discusses how the character breaks Asian stereotypes in science fiction, Ben's The Umbrella Academy twist, and theories about The Umbrella Academy season 3 .
First, I have some tough questions for you about The Umbrella Academy . Based on Sir Hargreeves' scathing comments to the children at his funeral in season 2, many believe it was Ben's siblings who accidentally caused his death. Does this idea make sense to you?
Yes, that's right. I think this is one of the main reasons why the family falls apart after Ben's death, as they not only have to deal with their crazy father, but also the guilt of being somehow responsible for their brother's death. Who bears more guilt and responsibility remains a mystery, but I think all family members feel it to some extent.
In fact, when you see Ben's picture on the mantel, one assumes that Ben is number one now. Can you see him becoming Emo Ben because of being number one?
I'm curious if the number system still works with this new Sparrow Academy. He certainly seemed like the leader of the group. He's the one who speaks directly to Hargreaves; he's front and center.
One big question people still have is why Ben continues to age as a ghost. Do you have a theory?
For me, this has always been a projection of Klaus's consciousness. He saw Ben as he imagined Ben would grow up with him. We see Ben’s aging through Klaus’s eyes.
It's still not common to see Asian Americans in superhero and comic book stories. What does it mean to you to know that Ben is getting this expanded role in future seasons?
As an actor, first of all, having a job is a dream. [But] on a deeper level, as an Asian American, especially someone who's been in the industry for seven years, it's hard to find these roles. It’s hard to find characters that don’t feel stereotyped and one-dimensional. I got thousands of messages from people I saw on the street, people at Comic-Con, people from Asian Americans who came up to me and told me they'd never seen anything like them on screen. The same superhero. It's so powerful and touching. I know firsthand what it's like growing up but not necessarily seeing yourself in mainstream media, so having someone say I represent them is an honor.
In Chasing Yang , you play a robot who is a source of knowledge about Chinese culture. As a Korean American, how does your own ethnicity reshape how this story is told?
This is something we discussed with After Yang director Kogonada many times during production. On the one hand, does every Japanese-American actor have to play a Japanese-American [character] every time? Does every Korean-American actor have to play a Korean-American [character] every time? Is there any room for maneuver? I think there is. But especially for this role, I do happen to [be of] majority Korean ancestry, which actually makes sense. We had a really interesting discussion about what would these types of robots look like if they did exist in future society? Because of the popularity of K-pop, K-drama, what we now call K-pop, we thought it would be really interesting if Yang was a Chinese robot that actually had a lot of Korean characteristics. Because hypothetically, in that society, white people, Westerners, would create this robot. From the perspective of the white people who created this robot, they wouldn't know what makes a Chinese person Chinese, or a Korean person Korean.
The sci-fi genre has a pretty strained relationship with Asians. It's interesting to hear how After Yang combats that and creates space for you to play an Asian robot who's valued for being Asian.
From the beginning, [Kogonada] knew what it meant to tell a nuanced story with an Asian American protagonist, as he did so brilliantly in his first film , "Columbus." What resonates with me about this movie is that it really touches on all of these things: What does it mean to be Asian? What is Asian American identity? Is this robot really Chinese? What does this mean? Is this robot Chinese since it is programmed to know a lot of Chinese facts and history?
As a Korean American living in Western society, these are things I face every day. What does it mean to me to be Korean American? Is it because I like my mom’s kimchi soup, or is it because I understand the native language? These are themes and issues explored in the film. But that's not the ultimate goal of this movie. It does explore those things, but it does it in such a subtle, nuanced way that, ultimately, the core of the film is about this family's struggle with this slowly crumbling robot that has become this An integral part of the family. family.
Now that you're very aware of how Asians are represented on screen, and you know there are so few roles for them, what kind of projects are you looking forward to working on next? Do you often look for roles where race is an important aspect of the character rather than incidental to the character?
I don’t have a clear answer for you, but it’s something I think about every day. I'm sure my reaction will change, and I think that's the beauty of being an actor and an artist. Some projects and stories will resonate with you at one point in your life, while others will resonate with you at different stages. Now, I do tend to gravitate toward stories that aren't necessarily about Asian-ness, but certainly my Asian-ness and my Korean-American-ness will seep into [the parts].
I also tend to work with Asian American directors and writers. There is something truly powerful about being in control of your own story, and if I had even the smallest platform to groom an Asian American director to agree to work with him or her, I would love it.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
