Emerson Min Is Anything But the Average Korean American Teenager In “A Great Divide”
Emerson Min stars as a Korean American teenager Benjamin Lee who must manage generational trauma on top of his own identity search in the film, A Great Divide. After relocating to back-country Wyoming with his parents (Ken Jeong, Jae Suh Park), the Lees encounter racial microaggressions and everything but welcoming hospitality. In a Zoom call with EnVi, Min talked about his acting background, college life in New York City, and the innate chemistry from working alongside other Asian actors.
Acting Trajectory
Min first began acting when he was five years old. He explained, “They just needed an Asian kid for a short film, and my mom was like, ‘sure just take him.’” During his early teenage years, Min acted in commercials before transitioning into film and television. For him, his recurring role as Mason on ABC’s sitcom, Black-ish, is a blessing. He said, “The production was just so good. The script was amazing. It’s very much ‘hit your mark, say your line, get the timing right.’ It was more mechanical. You didn’t need to do anything extra because it was perfect.” He added that sometimes he would have opportunities to improvise on the show. “There were times that I improv’d a lot with Anthony Anderson, which were my favorite.”
Student Life at Columbia University
Min shared that he had contemplated attending an acting school but ultimately decided to branch out more. This fall, he began his first semester at Columbia University. He said, “It’s nice being in that environment with everyone who’s so motivated and passionate, and acting in tandem with that is really nice.” Beaming about being a freshman representative for Columbia’s Korean Students Association (KSA), he shared, “I hang out with those people the most. We all do homework together, and we just did a cooking competition.”
Although still uncertain as to if he would live in New York City after school, Min believes that it’s the perfect college town. “I don’t think I could ask for a better situation. Dopamine hits everywhere because there’s so many buildings, but there’s also a very calm, serene side, so it’s the best of both worlds,” said Min. He also elated that he’s often able to meet up with friends from high school who attend New York University.
Close Knit Asian Family in Hollywood
“I think the Korean acting community is pretty close — the Asian acting community in general,” Min disclosed. After working with Randall Park in Always Be My Maybe and Ken Jeong from A Great Divide, Min cited both as his mentors right now. He also let EnVi in on a little secret about Sung Kang, who is most commonly known for his role in Fast & Furious. “I didn’t do a film with him, but I helped him with his directorial debut as a production assistant just for fun.” Kang mentored Min in the production house, and Min recalled that experience to be inspirational because he witnessed “how [Kang] thinks, cares for other people, and how he uplifts other Asian actors.”
Min also talked about working with Miya Cech for their second project together, A Great Divide. The two actors previously worked on Always Be My Maybe, playing the younger versions of Ali Wong and Randall Park’s characters, respectively. Since their first film together, Min said that he and Cech kept in touch: “Every single year, we see each other a couple times, even when we aren’t doing any projects together.” Portraying high school love interests in A Great Divide, Min elaborated that “the relationship was very much founded in our relationship in real life. Min revealed that the handshake between Ellie and Benjamin was their actual handshake off-camera. “Just a lot of the little quirky things that made it [on-screen] feel real and genuine, just like our friendship,” he said fondly.
Turning Point
Working on A Great Divide felt like a turning point in his career, he later told EnVi. “For me, it was telling an underrepresented story that actually has an impact on people and spreads positive social awareness,” he said. For his first lead role in a feature film, he added that his approach towards acting altered, specifically toning up and down different emotions.
“Thinking about college and my future and what I want to do in life, I’m pretty serious about this whole acting thing now as a hobby for most of my life.”
When asked about the best advice he’s been given, Min said it was to maximize every opportunity. “I’m taking a Korean class that I’m terrible at. I ran for student council. I got second. Don’t be afraid of rejection,” he said with encouragement. “Things are going to land and you’re going to find your way through everything.”
Looking Ahead
Min dished that projects are in the works but is unable to speak on them just yet. Look out for announcements on his future projects by following Emerson Min on Instagram. A Great Divide will be released for streaming on November 27 on Apple TV. Be sure to check out Min’s past works, including his recent action-thriller film, Darkness of Man, directed by James Cullen Bressack.
Interested in more stories about generational family trauma? Check out EnVi’s review of Seagrass here!
