I saw for the first time Threatening at Sundance last January, just before the world changed forever, and despite the years we’ve had since then, I haven’t been able to stop talking or thinking about the movie – or more specifically, its incredibly precocious breakout star, 8-year-old Alan Kim. Lee Isaac Chung’s humorous, heartbreaking, semi-autobiographical story follows an 1980s Korean-American family whose determined patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun), wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) and their two children, David (Kim) and Anne ( Noel Kate Cho), to a small ranch in the Ozarks in search of the American Dream. Monica and Jacob disagree on whether the move really makes sense for their family – most notably David, a mischievous and adorable 7-year-old with a heart defect, an indomitable spirit and a penchant for ’80s sporting bouts. As they grapple with their marriage and their future, Monica asks her mother Soonja (Yuh-Jung Youn) to leave Korea and join them in their literal and figurative limbo.
The real fun of the movie is watching David and Soonja play off each other: at first David is resistant, insisting she’s ‘not a real grandmother’ (she gambles, curses wonderfully and doesn’t cook) and cheats using identical liquids. are exchanged, which ultimately only serves to bring the two closer. Under the influence of Soonja, David becomes even bolder, more exuberant and pucker-like. Despite Threatening ‘With an incredibly stacked cast, the two actors run off at the same time with the movie, especially Kim, stomping around the ranch as they rinse Mountain Dew in his oversized cowboy boots and show a surprisingly emotional range. It’s all the more impressive because Threatening marks Kim’s film debut, and because, again, he is in second grade. For the film’s digital debut on February 12, I hopped on Zoom with Kim, who was extraordinarily polite and gorgeous in a Commes des Garçon button-down and bright yellow bow tie.
Hi Alan!
Hey!
I like your outfit. Is that a heart on your shirt?
Thank you. I got it while I was taking a photo, and the photo guy said I could keep it.
It’s very cool. What was it like doing all these interviews?
I like it? But after a few minutes I get a little tired.
Why did you want to be in movies?
Probably … my mom said, “Let’s do this movie.” So I thought, “I think I’m going to make this movie! I think it could be quite fun!”
How was your first time acting?
This was my first time making a movie and acting, but I had auditioned for some things, I guess? Yes. I did something with Pottery Barn Kids.
Remember when you auditioned for Threatening
I went to Plan B and A24, and I went to a room where I met Steven [Yeun], Isaac [Chung], the casting director Julia Kim and Christina [Oh], the producer. And Steven would teach me this Korean paper game [called ddakji], you have to make a paper square and try to flip over your opponent’s paper square. When it turns around, you win. And we have practiced some rules.
Were you nervous?
I think it was a fun day. But a nervous day. But more of a fun day than a nervous day.
What was your first impression of your movie family?
My first impression was probably “Hello!” to everyone.
What was the first scene you filmed?
[Thinks intensely.] I think it was when I peed on Grandma. I think that was my first scene. No? [Alan’s mom whispers offscreen.] Oh no, that wasn’t my first scene. It was the part where I pointed to a new red tractor.
What was it like filming the scene where you urinate your grandmother?
I’m going to look at my medicine like I’m in a staring competition with it. I take my cup to the bathroom and pour out all the medicine. And then I fake my pants and I pee. And it is filled with Mountain Dew. And I walk carefully because I don’t want the Mountain Dew to spill. And in the movie, I don’t want pee getting on my hands.
So you used Mountain Dew to fake the pee?
Yes. Yellow Mountain Dew.
Do you like Mountain Dew as much as David?
Not really, but after tasting it I think it was pretty good.
Do you think you are similar to or different from David?
Hmm … 2 percent different and 98 percent the same.
What is the 2 percent that is different?
He lives in a house on wheels, while I don’t. And he had an unhealthy heart, when I don’t have it. We both have older sisters. I also have a dog and he doesn’t. He also likes to make fun of people, like me. It usually is.
What’s a good joke you did in real life?
Hmm. Probably scare people. Because if I like it, secretly, I’m like that [makes whooshing noise] a ninja. I’m trying not to make a sound. And when I do, I pretend to be my dog, and then I say, “Boo!” And then my sister says, “Ho!” She didn’t really say “ho,” but she did jump a little.
Do you ever scare your parents?
Just my sister. My mom and my aunt and my dad can see me from a mile away. Even if I’m a little point.
Who was your best friend on set?
Everyone I guess.
What fun did you do with Steven?
We probably ate snacks, relaxed, did some lines, and when I peed on the bad cum, all the water went up to my underwear, so I had to wear others, and then I wore my pants again, and then I put on put it on the van to dry it, and Steven was like, “Who’s this underwear ?!” That was super funny.
Did you and Noel play together while you weren’t on camera?
We played video games and watched Captain Underpants together.
Is that your favorite show?
Well, not exactly, but I think it’s close to my favorite.
How did you memorize your rules?
My mom would help me exercise.
How did she help you?
She said the Korean lyrics, and I would repeat, and if I still didn’t get it, she did the moves, like [acts out the following words, later translated by his father]: Mama eomma-ga [my mom]Like this ileohge [like this]When you pray, gidohamyeon [if you pray]Kkum-eseo in a dream [in dream]Haneulnalaleul the kingdom of heaven [heaven]They can see you bol su issdaeyo [you can see]
Have you and Noel ever been able to improvise? Or was it all memorized?
Not much. But when Steven and I were on the field, and Steven was digging the gigantic hole, my screams actually came out of nowhere. He said, “Shout more! Louder!” So I was like [whisper-screams loudly]
You have a few scenes where you have to pretend you’re sleeping. Have you ever really fallen asleep?
In bed I pretended to fall asleep. But in the car, when we drove to the store, I was so tired that I actually fell asleep. So when I wake up I think, “What am I doing in the movie car ?!” I thought, “Oh, okay, I was filming.”
Why do you think David is afraid of his grandmother at first?
He wasn’t scared, he was just shy. He didn’t want his grandmother to come because when his grandmother came, his parents would fight a lot. Yes. So he was a bit scared.
In the scene where you play with your new friend and dip your tobacco, what did you really put in your mouth?
When we first put tobacco in it, it was real tobacco. How did I feel? [Dramatically gags.]
Was it real tobacco?
Yes. Disgusting [Dramatically gags again.]
Was there anything you liked to eat or drink while filming?
I want to drink lemonade. But since they didn’t, I just drank water bottles. I thought that was fine. And because we hated the tobacco so much, I ate the sausage thingie snack. I put it in my mouth and swallowed it.
You get to wear a lot of great outfits in this movie. Did you like the cowboy boots?
Well, the cowboy boots got a little stiff if I kept wearing them. So I put my heel up where my leg should be, and my leg was higher. If I ever did that, I’d say, “I’ve grown!”
At the end of the movie, your character witnesses a terrible fire. What was it like filming that scene?
It was horrible. Because the smell was so bad. I’m like, “No! This smells so bad!”
Was it really fire?
No, it wasn’t a real fire when I was there. They just lit lamps that looked like fire. And when I wasn’t there they even burned it down.
Who would you really ever want to be with in a movie?
Honestly, I would go with anyone.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Probably next hazards her Harry Potter.
You are already filming another movie, right? What happens in that?
In House key children, I’m coming home I’m lactose intolerant. So I am not allowed to drink milk or ice. But in a scene I think I’m eating ice cream? I come home and watch TV and order a pizza and eat the pizza. And yes.
Does that look like your real life at all? What does a normal day in your life look like if you don’t do movies or interviews?
Waking. Choose any outfit. Go downstairs. Eat breakfast. Go to school. Take a break. Do more work, I think. And then … usually sleep, I guess?
Do your friends think it’s cool that you are in a movie?
[Shrugs.]