Tuca and Bertie stars Steven Yeun (Minari, The Walking Dead) and Ali Wong (Always Be My Maybe, American Housewife) reunite in the upcoming Netflix series BEEF, debuting on April 6. The comedy-drama hails from collaboration between Netflix and production company A24, which is known for hit films such as Everything Everywhere All At Once, Eighth Grade, and Lady Bird. According to Variety, the duo recently spoke about their roles in the film during a Q&A panel at the South by Southwest TV & Film Festival where the series premiered.
BEEF follows Yeun as Danny Cho, and Wong as Amy Lau after a road rage incident “sparks a feud that brings out their darkest impulses,” according to Netflix.
When asked how they recovered from performing such emotional scenes, Yeun did not hold back: “Our bodies shut down.”
“Steven and I both broke out in hives after the show. Mine was on my face. His was all over his body because he’s weak like that,” added Wong, “It definitely took a toll on us, but we didn’t even realize until after the show ended. I mean, I won’t even talk about what happened to your elbow. I don’t think we knew that was going to happen. If we knew what we were going to put our bodies and minds through, maybe we wouldn’t have said yes, but we’re really glad we did.”
Lee Sung Jin (Undone, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), creator of the show, was also present, where he explained how he got the idea for BEEF — his own, real-life road rage incident.
“It was with a white SUV. A BMW, not a Mercedes,” he said (in the series, Amy drives a white Mercedes), “It honked at me, cursed at me and drove away. And for some reason, on that day, I was like, ‘I’m gonna follow you.’ It didn’t end like it did in the show — that’s why I’m here, able to talk to you today — but it definitely made me think about how we live in such subjective realities where we project onto people we don’t know.”
Furthermore, Jin said that he discussed his inspiration for the show with Yeun: “We talked for like three hours. Conversations with Steven usually start like, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about this show,’ and then three hours later, we’re like, ‘Why is God the way he is?’”
In response, Yeun disclosed his motivation for taking the role. “What attracted me is that we got to play with something that we’re not asked to on the surface, which is our shadow selves. This whole show is every character’s shadow self, and we all have that. So to tap into that — and to get paid for it — is great. And hopefully to make you feel seen, too, because this shit’s very common.”
He added that having worked with Jin and Wong on other projects helped him with his confidence and performance as Danny. “It keeps you feeling safe, and it helps you to be more honest. You’re not left on your own vulnerability,” he said. “When you get to express this all in that safety of friendship on set, you go home like, ‘I don’t really explore that anywhere else.’ So it wasn’t too bad. It’s just holding up the tension that was really gnarly.”
An exclusive clip from BEEF is featured below. The series will stream exclusively on Netflix on April 6.