What The Cast Of KPop Demon Hunters Looks Like In Real Life

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As if it couldn't become an even bigger success than it already was, it's finally been made official – Mattel is making action figures based on "KPop Demon Hunters." Oh. And, y'know, it's also now the most-watched Netflix movie of all time. If you care about that sort of thing.

The 2025 animated film has been a cultural phenomenon that has enchanted global audiences with the same force K-pop itself did in the late 2010s. In addition to dominating Netflix's streaming charts, it executed a tidy theatrical run (in spite of the streamer's release philosophy), produced multiple chart-topping, mainstream singles, and earned itself Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature Film. As of writing, it seems likely to win both.

After its release last summer, "KPop Demon Hunters" arguably became the defining movie of 2025. Its cast has certainly been basking in its phenomenal reception, even bringing HUNTR/X to life through live, in-person performances of the songs from the film. This has been a delight for fans of the film, not least of all because they finally get to see the faces behind their new favorite voices. If you find yourself under this movie's spell, you'll be shocked to discover what this all-star cast of voice actors and musicians had been up to before starring in the biggest movie of the year.

It should be no surprise to anyone who's seen the infectiously fun "KPop Demon Hunters" that one of its directors couldn't resist getting in on the action. Maggie Kang provides the voices for multiple minor characters in the film, including the "Flight Attendant Demon." 

"Demon Hunters" was Kang's directorial debut and her first screenwriting credit on a film (the script was written by Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Kang, and her co-director Chris Appelhans). She had previously worked in the animation departments of Illumination's 2018 adaptation of "The Grinch," "The LEGO Ninjago Movie," "Puss in Boots," "Rise of the Guardians," "Kung Fu Panda 3," and "Trolls."

"KPop Demon Hunters" likely won't be the last film Kang helms. After the film's release, she seemed to already have some inspiration for a sequel or spin-off. Plus, it was confirmed in late 2025 that Netflix and Sony were aiming to release a follow-up in 2029.

If the voice of the TV interviewer immediately sounded familiar, congratulations for being extremely online way before it was cool. That voice is none other than Liza Koshy, a former Vine star and YouTuber who produced a wide range of content under the name Lizzza.

Koshy first broke into acting via the internet-forward Hulu horror series "Freakish" in 2016, a bizarre "Breakfast Club" riff that follows a group of high schoolers trying to survive a horde of zombies. Afterward, she developed her resume as an entertainment personality by competing on the YouTube reality series "Escape the Night," contributing to MTV's "Total Request Live," and hosting the 2018 revival of the Nickelodeon game show "Double Dare."

Around the same time she took on the latter project, Koshy also co-created and starred in the YouTube Premium sitcom "Liza on Demand." It ran until 2021. This coincided with an explosion in Koshy's film acting career, with subsequent roles in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken," "Good Burger 2," the Netflix film "Players," and the 2025 reboot of "The Naked Gun."

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Many "KPop Demon Hunters" fans were happily surprised by the film's connection to a massive South Korean hit. Lee Byung-hun, an actor best known for playing the villainous Front Man in Netflix's "Squid Game," voices the demon king Gwi-Ma.

"Squid Game" premiered in 2021 to near instant international acclaim and obsession and ran until 2025. Prior to landing this breakout role, Lee had starred in several beloved South Korean films, including the Clint Eastwood-inspired "The Good, the Bad, the Weird." American readers might recognize him from the short-lived, late-2000s "G.I. Joe" film franchise — in both 2009's "Rise of the Cobra" and its 2013 sequel "Retaliation," Lee played the evil white-clad ninja Storm Shadow.

"G.I. Joe" was a successful introduction to Hollywood for Lee, with the actor landing roles in subsequent action movies like "Red 2," "Terminator Genisys," and Antoine Fuqua's remake of "The Magnificent Seven." In 2025 (in addition to appearing in both the aforementioned Netflix series and "KPop Demon Hunters"), he drew international acclaim yet again for his starring role in the Park Chan-wook black comedy thriller "No Other Choice" (pictured above), in which he plays a desperate man fighting for a job after being suddenly laid off. Lee, Park, and the film as a whole were notably snubbed by Academy Awards voters, despite "No Other Choice" being one of the best-reviewed films of the year.

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After popping up in an insane amount of popular films and television shows throughout the 2000s (including "Knocked Up," "Step Brothers," and "MADtv"), Ken Jeong landed two major breakout roles in 2009. The first was Leslie Chow, a Chinese gangster who serves as the hilarious villain of the Todd Phillips comedy "The Hangover," and he reprised the role in both sequels. Film audiences began to see Jeong featured even more prominently thereafter, in films such as "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "The Muppets," "Pain and Gain," "Crazy Rich Asians," and even "Avengers: Endgame."

That last film came to Jeong courtesy of the Russo brothers, who worked with the actor-comedian on his other big 2009 break — the NBC sitcom "Community." For six seasons (and a movie, eventually), he played maniacal Spanish teacher Ben Chang. The popularity of his "Community" character and Jeong's own unusual acting journey led to the creation of "Dr. Ken," a sitcom based on his previous career as a doctor. It aired on ABC from 2015 to 2017.

In "KPop Demon Hunters," Jeong voices the HUNTR/X's manager Bobby. Other recent projects include his Netflix stand-up special "You Complete Me, Ho," the 2nd season of Apple TV's "The Afterparty," and Charlie Day's 2023 directorial debut "Fool's Paradise." Since 2019, Jeong has served as one of the hosts of the Fox musical competition series "The Masked Singer" (pictured above).

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Healer Han wasn't the first doctor played by Daniel Dae Kim. Whether they've actually seen the series or not, younger readers might recognize him from the 2nd season of the ABC medical drama "The Good Doctor." He played Dr. Jackson Han, who appears in the infamous "I am a surgeon" clip that has gone viral online.

Despite its virality, the role is far from Kim's most popular. The prolific television actor has had memorable stints on "Star Trek: Enterprise" (as Corporal Chang), "ER," "24," the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" spin-off "The Legend of Korra" (in which he voices Hiroshi Sato), and "She-Ra and the Princess of Power." Of course, his most famous performance is undoubtedly as troubled businessman Jin-Soo Kwon on the ABC supernatural survival thriller "Lost." He was a main cast member on the series throughout its run from 2004 to 2010. Kim also starred on the CBS police procedural "Hawaii Five-0" as Detective Chin Ho Kelly, though he departed prior to the series' end due to a contract dispute.

In 2025, Prime Video debuted a new series executive produced by and starring Kim titled "Butterfly" (pictured above). He played an ex-spy who faked his own death to evade the fallout of his previous life. It was cancelled after one season. He is currently part of the main cast of Netflix's live-action adaptation of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," playing the role of overarching series antagonist Fire Lord Ozai.

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Though he isn't as prominently featured as some of the other idols in "KPop Demon Hunters," we have to talk about Baby Saja's voice actor Danny Chung. Formerly known as Dechiper, Chung is a rapper and songwriter for the massive South Korean record label The Black Label.

Within the film itself, Chung's impact is deceptively slight — in addition to acting and performing in the Saja Boys' musical numbers, he is credited as having helped write "How It's Done" and "Soda Pop." After hearing his vocals in demos, the studio decided Chung should be the one to voice Baby Saja.

Chung has most notably contributed to numerous songs for the real and internationally adored K-pop girl group Blackpink, including hits like "Lovesick Girls," "How You Like That," and "Love To Hate Me." He has recently moved to Bangkok, Thailand, with the mission of discovering new artists who have the potential to become global superstars.

Netflix/Elevation Pictures

Like Liza Koshy, in addition to being a voice actor, SungWon Cho is a popular YouTuber. In the early days of the platform, he made comedy videos (largely focused on video games and anime) under the channel name ProZD. His first acting roles were, fittingly, characters related to those mediums — Shin Mitsurugi in "Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit," Holst and Darros in "Fire Emblem Heroes," Vice Admiral Legrange in "Legend of the Galactic Heroes."

After voicing a character on an episode of "Tuca and Bertie" in 2019, Cho began to book voice acting work in more mainstream cartoons like "Craig of the Creek," "Pokémon," and "Adventure Time: Distant Lands." In 2021, he began voicing the character Nekomamushi in the wildly popular anime "One Piece." His most recent projects include the children's "Batman" series "Batwheels," the anime "Delicious in Dungeon," "Sausage Party: Foodtopia," and the "Gremlins" series. He also made his live-action feature film debut in the 2023 biographical dramedy "BlackBerry" (pictured above).

Meanwhile, Abby Saja's musical voice was provided by the artist Neckwav (pictured above in the top left). He is best known for his 2021 single "withoutyou."

Prior to voicing Mystery Saja in "KPop Demon Hunters," Alan Lee provided English dubbing for dozens of animated series and video games. Readers might have heard him as Hyuga in "Kuroko's Basketball," Guy in "Fire Emblem Heroes," Shu Kurenai in "Beyblade Burst," Suiryu in "One Punch Man," and/or Wol-Saeng / Moonphase in "Sword Art Online." In more recent years, he's voiced Han-Jae Park in "Aliens: Fireteam Elite," Shang Tsung in "Mortal Kombat 1," Tan-2 in "Destiny," and Naoya Zenin in "Jujutsu Kaisen."

Mystery Saja's musical lines are sung by Kevin Woo (seen above), a former member of the boy band U-KISS and the former co-host of the talk show "After School Club." Woo is now a solo artist and an occasional actor. He works both in film/television and in the theater, having performed in the Japanese production of the South Korean musical "Maybe Happy Ending" (which eventually made it to Broadway with "Glee's" Darren Criss in the lead role) and the Broadway production of "KPOP."

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Versatile entertainer Joel Kim Booster can be heard in the role of Romance Saja. Since making his screen-acting debut on a 2001 episode of "Scrubs," Booster has appeared in "BoJack Horseman," "Shrill," "Search Party," the rebooted "iCarly" series, and "Big Mouth." 

In 2022, Hulu released "Fire Island," a romantic comedy that Booster had written the screenplay for (taking loose inspiration from the classic Jane Austen novel "Pride and Prejudice"). The film starred Booster (pictured above), Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, and Torian Miller as friends retreating to their queer paradise for the last time. It was warmly received by critics, ultimately earning Booster two Primetime Emmy Nominations.

Samuil Lee (or samUIL Lee, as his name is sometimes stylized) sings for Romance Saja. In 2025, Lee (seen above) released his debut EP "Taebot" and the single "Wedding Song."

Netflix/Lotte Entertainment

"KPop Demon Hunters" was Ahn Hyo-seop's first introduction to a broad international audience, having previously acted exclusively in South Korean television series prior. Readers familiar with the country's TV output may have seen him in "My Father is Strange," "Still 17," "Dr. Romantic," "Abyss," "Lovers of the Red Sky," or (our personal favorite) the "Office"-esque romantic comedy series "Business Proposal." 

Saja Boys leader Jinu was also Ahn's first ever film role, though he quickly found another in the fantasy action movie "Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy" (pictured above).

Though Ahn is a singer himself, he does not sing in "KPop Demon Hunters." Instead, Jinu's musical lines are sung by singer, producer, and songwriter Andrew Choi (seen above). In addition to his own work (like the 2013 EP "Love Was Enough"), Choi has contributed to countless songs by popular South Korean artists, including "Blue" by Zerobaseone, "Whatcha Doin" by Yesung and Chung Ha, "Timeless" by NCT, and "Lucky One" by Exo. In 2012, he competed in the 2nd season of the popular reality series "K-pop Star," finishing in third behind Bang Ye-dam and the duo AKMU.

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Rumi's adoptive mother Celine is voiced by Yunjin Kim, an actor best known to American readers for starring alongside Daniel Dae Kim in "Lost." (It's some coincidence the two wound up in the same movie, considering how vastly scattered the "Lost" cast has been since the series' end in 2010). On the ABC thriller, she played Sun-Hwa Kwon, the daughter of a wealthy CEO who had a complicated pre-island marriage to Kim's Jin-Soo Kwon.

"KPop Demon Hunters" is not Kim's first collaboration with Netflix. In 2022, she played investigator Seon Woo-jin in "Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area" (the series is a spin-off/localized quasi-remake of the hit Spanish crime drama, with Kim's role mirroring Itziar Ituño's Raquel Murillo); in 2023, she played Principal Jina Lim on the 1st season of romantic comedy series "XO, Kitty." Both debuted on the streamer. K-drama fans might recognize her from the mystery drama "Ms. Ma, Nemesis," which was based on a lesser-known Agatha Christie story.

Celine's sung lines are performed by Broadway star Lea Salonga, lauded for her performances in "Miss Saigon," "Les Misérables," and "Once on This Island." Most of all, readers will recognize her voice from the Walt Disney classics "Aladdin" and "Mulan" — as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine and Fa Mulan herself, she brought songs like "A Whole New World" and "Reflection" to life. Salonga has acted on camera as well, including on the "Pretty Little Liars" sequel series "Original Sin" and "Summer School."

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Though relatively new to the film and television world, Zoey voice actor Ji-young Yoo has already established herself quite well. After voicing a character in the South Korean horror series "Sweet Home," she landed a supporting role in the 2021 Amy Poehler-directed dramedy "Moxie." It was her feature film debut. 

She was subsequently cast in the A24/Apple TV coming-of-age drama "The Sky Is Everywhere," Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's anthology film "Freaky Tales," and the Amazon Prime Video miniseries "Expats." In the latter series, released in 2024, she was part of the main cast, alongside Brian Tee, Sarayu Blue, and Nicole Kidman.

"KPop Demon Hunters" was just one of two films to feature Yoo prominently in 2025, the other being David F. Sandberg's adaptation of the video game "Until Dawn." As of writing, she's slated to appear in the 2nd season of the Jake Gyllenhaal Apple TV drama "Presumed Innocent."

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Singer and rapper Rei Ami (above) provides the vocals for Zoey, just two years after releasing her debut EP "Shhh" in 2023. Her most popular song as of writing is arguably her 2019 single "Snowcone." She also notably featured on the Sub Urban single "Freak."

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Though she primarily works as a model, May Hong had appeared in several popular television series as an actor before she was cast as Mira in "KPop Demon Hunters." After making her debut in an episode of "Broad City," she guest starred on episodes of "High Maintenance," "New Amsterdam," "Hacks," "Up Here," "Full Circle," and "Fantasmas." Her most prominent role was that of Margot Park in the 2019 Netflix miniseries "Tales of the City."

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Mira's singing voice is Audrey Nuna (pictured above), a singer who has previously collaborated with Teezo Touchdown, DJ Snake, and Jack Harlow. She has released three albums as of writing, the most recent being 2024's "Trench."

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Finally, Rumi — the leader of the titular demon hunters — is voiced by Arden Cho. After guest starring on episodes of "MADtv," "CSI: NY," and "Pretty Little Liars," Cho was cast in a recurring role on the popular MTV supernatural teen drama "Teen Wolf." She played Kira Yukimura, a kitsune who eventually falls for Tyler Posey's Scott McCall. Cho became a main cast member for seasons 4 and 5, after which her character was written off. She turned down the offer to reprise her role in the 2023 streaming film "Teen Wolf: The Movie," having been offered a fraction of her co-stars' salaries.

Cho guest starred on a few popular series after "Teen Wolf," including "Hawaii Five-0" with Daniel Dae Kim and "Freakish" with Liza Koshy. In 2022, she was set to star in the promising Netflix legal drama "Partner Track," in which she played a lawyer competing for a coveted position at a prestigious law firm. When the streamer made the decision to cancel the series just months after its premiere, Cho was apparently so shaken she nearly quit acting entirely. 

Soon after, however, she accepted a recurring role on Netflix's "Avatar: The Last Airbender," playing the bounty hunter June (pictured above). It was released about a year before she would headline the most-watched film in Netflix's history.

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The musical half of Rumi's performance was undertaken by singer, producer, and songwriter Ejae (above). As of writing, she has only recorded one single as a solo artist — 2025's "In Another World." The same year, she featured on Anyma's "Out of My Body." 

Ejae has produced and/or written for songs like "Psycho" by Red Velvet, "O.O" by Nmixx, and "Drama" by Aespa. She also contributed to several songs in the film including "Golden," earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.