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This exclusive piece explores extraordinary interviews and stories from worldwide.

"{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 voiced the lead character in Netflix's highly successful movie, the K-pop themed animation.

Cho, forty, recalls her early years in the southern state, as the eldest daughter of Korean immigrant parents and her struggle for acceptance in American society.

In the film, which narrates the tale of a female K-Pop trio who must rescue humanity from evil forces, the protagonist has to accept her true nature as a hybrid being – and when Cho first read the script, this resonated powerfully.

"Being born in America, feeling American but having people treat me like a foreigner, grappling with my identity as an Korean-American, as a Asian-American, as a female," she says.

These were all components of her early life that mirrored Rumi's journey.

"Truthfully, at different points in my existence, I despised many parts of me and I wanted to be a different person.

"As kids, your surroundings shapes your development and I feel like I lacked exposure to enough people that shared my appearance."

When it launched on Netflix in June, KPop Demon Hunters achieved millions of streams in just two weeks, and secured the highest positions of the streaming rankings in dozens of nations. To be part of the pioneering animation with a Korean setting, with Korean leads, was for Cho "an aspiration realized" – but it has also made her a powerful role model for Asian-American children, the kind that she lacked when in her youth.

Cho says many individuals of Korean descent have told her it's "such a refreshing moment", making them proud for the first time of their dual heritage and culture.

"I feel like K-Pop really, truly, has paved the way. K-beauty has had a significant influence on Korea being loved. But I feel like this movie is the one that tipped it over the edge, of, everybody wants to go to Korea, currently," Cho says.

But the movie's triumph was uncertain and Cho says she felt the team making it were "occasionally struggling against odds".

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

So, when she accepted the part, she made an effort to connect with everyone working on the film in person, she says.

The movie was released amid heightened enforcement actions in the US as part of mass deportation efforts, which sparked protests in many states.

As an Asian-American residing in America "it's deeply saddening," she states. "Immigrants have made America what it is."

Reports have estimated that up to 150,000 Korean immigrants without proper documentation, including adopted children, are among those who could be removed.

As an adult, she came to realise that the racism she had experienced when in her youth stemmed mainly from a lack of education, as many were unaware what it meant to be Korean or Asian.

"However today, in this day and age, when it seems the world and people ought to be more informed, it's deeply disheartening and at times it appears there's a sense of despair," she says.

Due to this, it's particularly meaningful, she says, that KPop Demon Hunters could bring "optimism and happiness to various groups".

"Maybe that's why it became this movie of the summer, because there was a need for positivity and a unifying element as one."

The advancement of artificial intelligence is a significant worry for the film industry, creating the potential that in future it could be used to make a film like KPop Demon Hunters.

The actress says she is conscious that technology is already being used to replicate actors' voices, but wants to "have hope in humanity" that audiences will still pursue art created by humans.

"Sure, I believe there will be digital performers and vocalists. I know they already exist. I understand our voices are already being altered, but I hope people have some respect and desire for something real."

The film has also been dominating the global music charts, with multiple songs from its soundtrack featured on the prestigious charts. It has its own fan art, and viewers globally are demanding a follow-up.

She tells us she would like to confirm the inquiry of whether that will happen – but both she and fans will have to await the streaming service or the production company, which made the film, to approve the project.

"I know there's lots of murmurs, I've heard wonderful things," she says. "Only time will tell, and I think fans everywhere would riot if there wasn't."

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