By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune and other outlets
April 25, 2023
After giving up his corporate career to pursue acting, Young Mazino has two buzzworthy roles. Currently, he portrays Steven Yeun’s buff younger brother, Paul, in the hit Netflix rage series “BEEF.” Mazino also is the star of the Sundance-supported dramedy series “Good Boy” – premiering May 1 on YouTube – where he plays a streetwear designer pursuing his dreams and bucking conventions of who he should be. The actor said he can relate.
“I didn’t see anyone who looked remotely like me on television until I saw Daniel Dae Kim on ‘Lost,’” Mazino said in a Zoom interview from his Los Angeles home. “Media is powerful in what they show and won’t show. So [acting] wasn’t even a path to consider [for a long time]. And then I remember seeing Steven Yeun on ‘The Walking Dead’ and took note of how particularly good he was. Later, once I made that formal decision to pursue acting, that’s when I realized he was quite a formidable force in nature.” Born and raised in Maryland, Mazino lived in New York before moving to California. For more information on “Good Boy,” you may follow @goodboyteevee on social media.
Q: You don’t have a traditional Korean surname. Is it your nom de guerre?
A: [Laughs.] I’ve been waiting for someone to ask. You’re officially the first. When I joined the Screen Actors Guild in 2018, there were too many people with my legal name. Young is my given Korean [middle] name and while Mazino isn’t a Korean name, it originates from a Korean artist named Slave in Utero [born Lee Jong-hui] who created a manhwa called ‘Tower of God.’ I was obsessed with this story and the world that he created. The premise is whatever wishes or desires you have, anything that you want can be achieved if you can climb to the top of this tower. Mazino is this character within this world. He doesn’t even care about getting to the top. He wants to get out of the tower. The character really resonated with me, so I decided to make Young Mazino my stage name.
Q: Do you have a trip that stands out?
A: I do. Before 2021, I wasn’t particularly an outdoor person. But a friend who I had grown up with was this outdoorsman bikepacker and together we cycled across the country from the border of Mexico to Canada. It was one of the most brutal adventures I’ve ever done, but it also opened my eyes to how beautiful the United States is. That trip kind of changed my whole outlook on life, going through sometimes arduous times. We went through Del Norte, Colorado, and stumbled upon the 38th Parallel there, [which is famous for] separating North and South Korea, and my friend mentioned we should backpack across Korea later. That stop wasn’t something we had planned. We were going to just pass through that city quickly, but we had to stay a few days due to injuries I sustained from a bad fall. And that’s when we met a filmmaker, Sam Bricker, who showed us the spot!
Q: As a visible minority, did you ever feel unsafe in your travels?
A: We went through some sundown towns where POC aren’t welcome there, especially at night. So that trip was us kind of almost reclaiming our identity as Americans.
Q: I know you are planning on doing a bike trip in Korea. When was the last time you were there?
A: I was in Korea 14 years ago [when I was a 17-year-old] high schooler. I was traveling with a church-based symphonic orchestra. All our time was spent traveling, performing and rehearsals. And the concerts were held in churches, orphanages and community centers. I just remember my lower back hurting from the endless rehearsals. Not the best memories.
Q: Besides the bike trip, why do you want to travel to Korea?
A: I think it would be poetic to go to Korea where my blood runs and cycle through that country. With age, I’ve come to realize the distance that my parents and their parents had to endure just to get me to a place where I’m even allowed to chase a dream.
Q: What was a memorable childhood trip?
A: My parents weren’t too wealthy. But when I was nine or 10, we did drive 15 hours to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. That was a hellish journey. I made the mistake of traveling with my friend’s family [instead of in my parents’ car]. They had the front of the minivan blocked off so we couldn’t really get to them. [Laughs.] I remember my friend had to pee, so they gave him a water bottle but he missed. I just remember traveling the rest of the eight hours in a urine-smelling minivan that felt very claustrophobic.
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: St. John [U.S. Virgin Islands], Manhattan, Madrid, Missoula and Busan [South Korea].
Q: What have you learned from your travels?
A: Go slow to go fast.
© 2023 JAE-HA KIM
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