Meatier turns followed in the Chris Rock vehicle “Down to Earth” and Justin Lin’s radical indie “Better Luck Tomorrow” before he took the lead in cult favorite “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” He earned critical raves as helmsman Hikaru Sulu in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” films and became the first Asian American actor to topline a Hollywood thriller in 2018’s “Searching.” As a Korean American, Cho was subjected to racist typecasting early on in his career, and a humiliating moment while playing a Chinese delivery boy on “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” opened his eyes to just how bad it can get. Though he’s remained steadily employed, it’s been a constant battle for Cho to find exciting parts due to the limited opportunities afforded Asian American actors.
But he found one in “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.” Directed by Bassam Tariq and hitting theaters Sept. 25, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” stars two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as Latif, a devout Muslim hitman in Houston, Texas, forced to go on the run with his three children — including a baby boy — when he runs afoul of his employer and a fanatical, heavily-armed Christian pastor Hwan (Cho), whose flock has declared holy war on porn. Sporting a cowboy hat, grill and goatee, Cho makes for a menacing villain who more than holds his own against the heavyweight Ali. It’s his finest performance in years and proof that he can go to deep, dark places if given the chance.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Variety, Cho discussed his Hollywood journey. I knew how people saw me and what my filmography was and what people know me for, so I wanted to not distract from the film. I wanted to be in the movie and not taking anyone’s attention away from the story.
I was really anxious about concentrating on the work and going as deep as I possibly could with Mahershala. I knew that this would be a singular challenge for me and wanted to do Mahershala justice because I’m such an admirer of his. I’m from an underrepresented community also cinematically, so it felt right to help tell an underrepresented story.
It felt good and it felt gratifying to be invited to assist in that storytelling. What I related to from the Muslim experience — from Latif’s experience — was the ardent nature of faith. If there was one obstacle I wanted to clear up early with Bassam, it was: “We’re not making fun of Pastor Hwan, correct?” I needed to play him like he really believes his own words and his followers believe what he’s saying.
Ardent faith can result in good things and bad outcomes as well, and that’s where I found commonality. What I think is really important and am gratified to see is the humanization of Muslims in this moment. I am personally surprised by how much Islamophobia there is and how explicit it is.
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