Eugene Kim – Obliterated

By starrymag | January 16, 2024

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

Q)  From the creators of the popular Karate Kid series, Cobra Kai comes the high-octane comedy action series, “Obliterated,” and itjust exploded (bomb punk intended) onto the Netflix streaming scene. Congrats, Eugene! How did this project come to you?

 

A) Hey thanks!  It’s been a wild ride that’s for sure.  I got the audition from my agent.  It was a four scene 14-page audition that had so much “meat” in it.   And after I read the first episode, I knew this show was going to be something special.  I put myself on tape for the audition (post-COVID norm). Each scene had Paul in a different state of “effed-upness” and heightened emotion which I did not want to overdo a la Robert Downey Jr.’s advice (“You never go full…” ) in Tropic Thunder.” Then, a couple days later, they asked me to retape to play it WAY more “effed up.” So, I considered this the license to have fun with it.  I didn’t hear anything and thought I “obliterated” my chances. Then, three weeks later, casting calls. I had a producer call back with Jon [Hurwitz], Josh [Heald] and Hayden [Schlossberg].  I immediately connected with those guys, and we had a blast working the scenes. Soon after, I heard that I was testing for Netflix the next day and that there were a couple other guys in the mix.  Hours go by and it was late evening and I hadn’t heard word.  So, I took a couple Benadryls and went to bed.  The next morning I got a call from my manager telling me I wasn’t testing and that I was being offered the part.  But they told me in that “Food Network Competition”/“American Idol” way where they told me I wasn’t testing followed with a pregnant pause before they told me I got the part.  This is how villains are made.

 

Q) In the series you play Paul Young, an honorable and focused air force pilot who is determined to navigate a successful work-life balance; hard to do in this dangerous and top-secret world. Throughout his story, Paul is concerned with finding time to be a dad to his daughter, Jen, played by Minnie Mills. Was there time for you and Minnie to get to know each other before you both jumped into this family dynamic?

 

A) Minnie is the sweetest human being.  Her parents did well.  When Minnie got the part, someone showed me a picture of her, and I actually teared up. Sure, I was slightly inebriated and was acclimating to the higher elevation of Albuquerque, but it was the first time I ever felt like someone had just given birth to my child.  My subconscious inner father accepted her as a daughter.  When I met her, there wasn’t very much time to connect.  But from the time that we had, we definitely bonded.  Our first interaction was at our father-daughter photoshoot for the pictures on the broken mirror.  Coming up with creative fun poses definitely broke the ice as we were all laughing at how cheesy Paul was with his daughter.  She is so talented and so smart.  She studies Neuroscience at a very reputable cutthroat university.  Subconscious inner father is proud.

 

Q) What sort of training–if any, did the cast have prior to filming. Did you have a chance to talk to a pilot before throttling Paul Young into the world of special forces? Maybe even hopping into a helicopter to get the lay of the controls and how they operate?

 

A) When I got to New Mexico, I immediately got into tactical training with the cast.  Our military technical advisor, Kevin Kent, is a badass.  He taught us how to clear rooms and to handle a pistol and an AR.  Kevin was always on set for the scenes where I had to handle any firearm and made me feel safe and confident.  As far as handling the helicopter, Steve Stafford was there every day I was on set with “the Vulture” (which was a “Bell 212 Super Eagle Single” signed by Buzz Algrin and belonged to Vince Gilligan) and the News Chopper.  He taught me the ins and outs of both helicopters and guided me as best as he could make Paul handling the helicopter look as believable on screen as possible.  There was a day where they shot us in the air and Steve flew me over the desert and cityscape.  That was incredible.

 

Q) The show follows a group of special forces agents– each with their own skill set, tasked with stopping a threat that could turn Las Vegas–and maybe even the world, into a nuclear blast zone. Unfortunately, the team gets this new assignment at the worst possible time–while partying in Las Vegas, and Paul, unlike his team members, isn’t a partier but a strait-laced family man who ends up watching the others descend into debauchery from the sidelines. Many of those scenes were scandalous, but poor Paul was always left out. Was there a scene in the show where you wished Paul would’ve loosened up a bit and joined in on the fun?

 

A) [laughs] No.  It made the reveal of inadvertent mishap that more hilarious.  I loved that Paul was different.  The writers are geniuses.  Truly.  There is so much in “Obliterated.”  Everything is intentional.  The more you watch the show the more you find.  It’s like the ceiling of the Sistine but with more nudity and drugs and there’s a camel and a gremlin.

 

Q) Let’s discuss your process for a moment. Actors will often say the key to stepping into their character’s shoes is finding the similarities between themselves and that character. Is there anything Eugene has in common with Paul?

 

A) When I read the breakdown for Paul, he is described as by-the-book, abstemious, a loyal family man.  So, by-the-book, Somewhat. Abstemious? Meh. I love a good buffet and open bar and I like to keep the night going.  I wouldn’t say I am as rigid as Paul.  I definitely like to go out and have fun. Loyal family man, Check.  My family is everything to me.  So, it’s a mix.

There was a character to Paul which I identified with.  On projects I try to keep the character “on” consistently throughout the shoot even between takes and that definitely got a laugh from the cast and sometimes scared Shelley [Hennig].  Sometimes it was for my own amusement. There is a hilarious purity to Paul that I love.

 

Q) After they spent the last few years working on the family- friendly Cobra Kai, showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, are back at what they do best–adult-themed comedies with a heavy focus on the outrageous. Those guys are pros at that mash-up genre–as fans might remember from their previous work, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castleand the time-jumping comedy classic, Hot Tub Time Machine. They know comedy but the level of action in this show is new. Did they warn the cast before shooting that they would be pushing the envelope on stunts and action sequences allowing you all to process what exactly you were in for with this shoot?

 

A) Well, when you read the description of the show you kind of know what you’re getting into.  Terrorists, Vegas, partying, alcohol and drugs – then having to go back to work to save the world?  I think as actors most of us are basically Play-Doh with feelings.  We’re malleable and ready to do anything you want us to do within reason to tell the story.  We know that we have support of impeccable stunt coordinators and stunt teams and intimacy coordinators.  I had a very talented stuntman, Hayden Lam, fly out to be my stunt double for this shoot.  I first met him when he was my stunt guy on the set of “The Rookie” and when the stunt coordinator for “Obliterated” was searching for a proper double for me, I pitched Hayden to him. After he saw Hayden’s reel he said, “Oh, he can hang.” And they flew him out.  Hayden was a GEM.  He had the best attitude, was so kind, and was such a fearless beast.  He got me thoroughly prepped for my fight sequences and made sure I stretched and hydrated.  He did all the stunts that I couldn’t do.  Poor guy, his first moment on set was the scene where Paul flips the chair.  He basically did that in one take.  That guy is stuck with me forever.

 

Q) This is a big cast, and outside of veteran actor C. Thomas Howell–who plays an insane bomb expert, Hagerty, it is mostly made up of up-in-coming talent. Talk about working with screen standouts like Paola, Nick, Jason and Shelley and Thomas. 

 

A) I have to say, I love each and EVERY ONE of those guys.  Casting directors Christine Shevchenko and Alexis Koczara nailed it.  It felt like family.  We could feel the chemistry in our table read and you can see it on screen.  It was effortless.  We went through the most amazing, challenging, and fantastic times on set.  It was a bonding experience.  It felt like camp.  I feel because we had good chemistry as friends it translates on screen.  We elevated each other.  Every day felt like a dream where there was a sense home and joy, and people were laughing incessantly. It was intoxicating. We could feel it, the crew could feel it.

Shelley and I have known each other for a while and became close friends during the shoot.  I am so proud of what she accomplished in this show.  She is so incredibly talented. Nick [Zano] and T [Terrell] are hilarious and have worked a lot in comedy.  They felt like brothers to me.  I knew they always had my back.  There was an ease working with those guys because they gave so much and were so generous in scenes.  And by generous, I mean they gave Paul a lot of crap.  It was fun!  Paola Lázaro and I bonded over being former fat kids with immigrant parents.  We have a deep understanding.  Our scene flying around The Rio is one of my favorites.  She is an absolute pro.  Jason [Mantzoukas] wasn’t actually cast as the Gremlin until after we filmed.  So, all the scenes with the gremlin I was either working opposite nothing or with a puppet, and the lines were read from our first AD, Kevin, or with our script supervisor, Jesse.  Then, they cast Jason and recorded him having so much fun as the Gremlin.  So much fun, that I had to do reshoots to do the appropriate reactions to Jason’s hilarious improvs. It was such a privilege to work with Tommy. He is a legend and was so fun to work with.  Being in scenes with him made me a better actor.  And let’s not forget about our breakouts, Alyson [Gorske] and Kimi [Rutledge].  Watching Alyson’s character arch was mesmerizing to witness.  It takes a lot of talent to pull off what she did in this show.  And, lastly, Kimi. She was cast after we started filming.  It was really difficult for casting to find someone who could pull off Maya, a complex character who had to be intelligent, and sexy but not too sexy, yet hilarious.  And Kimi knocked it out of the park.  Despite this being her first big project, she not only held her own, but she slayed.

 

Q) Location shoots can be a blast but when they land in Sin City, the fun is inescapable. Talk about filming in Las Vegas and how it added to the experience for you and the rest of the cast.

 

A) It was so fun filming in Vegas. They blocked off iconic intersections, rooftops and lobbies. Seeing crowds of people, both extras and spectators, added to the energy of filming the scene.  One of the most memorable scenes to film was my scene in the atrium of Caesars’ Palace with the iconic statue of Caesar Augustus.  I’ve passed by that statue so many times in the past. Never in a million years would I ever think I would do a Netflix series with him there.  When they blocked off that whole area, which is arguably the busiest area in the hotel, there was a crowd just watching me do the scene and it felt like a hybrid of filming and theater.  It’s something I will never forget.

 

Q) There are some absolutely outrageous scenes in this show and the stunts and action sequences had me on the edge of my seat. Was there any scene that felt especially challenging to film? 

 

A) The challenges for me weren’t necessarily the action sequences.  Mine were more acting related. Being the chopper pilot, a large portion of my scenes are in the helicopter and were done on blue screen opposite a character that wasn’t there physically.  I had to create that world around me.  I was always given a spot to look at to reference whatever or whoever I was talking about or to.  The Gremlin did not exist until we filmed the fifth episode so all my scenes with him before were all to a piece of tape.  All initial reactions to him were to a verbal cue “gremlin.” The scene where I speak to my daughter in episode eight was to a hanging tennis ball with the script supervisor saying her lines.  Luckily, I had been trained to work under those conditions.  It was a challenge, but a fun one.  I love using my imagination.

 

Q) Within days of its release, “Obliterated” hit number 1 on Netflix. What do you think it is about this show that TV fans find so appealing?

 

A) Everyone loves the nostalgia of those simpler times.  And the creators of our show did a stellar job bringing us back to some classics.  Our show is a mix of The Hangover, Die Hard and Bachelor Party and we have the best of what made each of those movies iconic but structured like the TV show “24.” Though we have those influences, the show is fresh and original and unlike anything that’s on TV right now.  Having the show happen over the course of eight hours just amps up the urgency of the story and makes the story about a race against the clock.  As we all know, A LOT can happen in a night in Vegas. We all know how messy and unhinged things can get there, and I love how our creators made them go back to work after the messiness.  It becomes not only about the bomb but also about how do you deal with the awkwardness after say, a one night stand.  For our characters, everything that happens in Vegas, gets broadcasted on Netflix for the whole world to see.  It’s brilliant, feel good, unabashedly crazy, raunchy, messy, and fun.  Oh, and it’s also unexpectedly heartfelt.

 

Q) Las Vegas was saved and now my fingers are crossed for a second season of Obliterated. If it was up to you, where would you like the team to head next? 

 

A) NYC!  Or Tokyo.  Anywhere but Pyongyang, really.  Though that might be interesting.

 

Q) What’s on your 2024 work calendar, Eugene? Are you working on any other projects you can talk about?

 

A) We’re playing catch up here in Hollywood.  So, time will tell.

 

Q) What would you like to say to the fans who just discovered your work and this show?

 

A) I just want to thank you for all the love!  It means so much to hear from all of you from all over the world.  I am so glad you loved (and were annoyed at) Paul.  Oh, and the guac was actually delicious.