>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY! WELCOME BACK.

MY NEXT GUEST IS AN ACTOR YOU KNOW FROM "THE WALKING DEAD,"

"OKJA", AND "BURNING."

HIS LATEST FILM IS "MINARI."

>> EVIE -- ( SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN

LANGUAGE ) WHOO!

>> WHOO!

WHOO OOOOOOO!

>> Stephen: PLEASE WELCOME TO "A LATE SHOW," STEVEN YEUN.

HEY, STEVEN.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

>> HEY, STEPHEN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

THIS IS SO COOL.

>> Stephen: ONE THING WE HAVE IN COMMON BESIDES OUR NAME,

PEOPLE OUT THERE OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO IDEA YOU AND I BOTH WORKED AT

THE SECOND CITY IN CHICAGO.

YOU WERE THE NATIONAL TOURING COMPANY, RIGHT?

>> YEAH, I GOT A BRIEF STINT AT THE TOURING COMPANY.

IT WAS AWESOME.

I GOT TO LOOK AT YOUR IMAGE QUITE A BIT.

>> Stephen: YOU LUCKY MAN.

( LAUGHTER ) A LOT OF PEOPLE DO COMEDY AND

THEY END UP DOING NOTHING ELSE WITH THEIR CAREERS, BUT HOW THAT

IS IMPROV OR IMPROV COMEDY EVEN HELPED YOU AS A DRAMATIC ACTOR?

>> YOU KNOW, IMPROV IS SUCH A GREAT FOUNDATION, I THINK, YOU

KNOW, THE TENETS OF STAYING PRESENT, LISTENING, BEING

SPONTANEOUS, THOSE ARE ALL REALLY GREAT FIRST TOOLS TO KIND

OF LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR ME AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT

DIFFERENT THAN DRAMATIC ACTING.

YOU KNOW, DRAMATIC ACT, YOU JUST DON'T HAVE TO BE WITTY AND FUNNY

THE WHOLE TIME.

THAT TAKES A WHOLE SECTION OF THE THING OFF.

SOUTH NICE.

>> Stephen: SOMEBODY GIVES YOU LINES.

>> YEAH, AND THEY TELL YOU WHAT TO SAY.

SO THAT'S ALSO EASIER.

>> Stephen: YOU HAVE BEEN ACT AGO LONG TIME -- ACTING A LONG

TIME.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE THIS PHOTOGRAPH.

THIS IS YOU IN KINDERGARTEN RIGHT THERE.

WERE YOU ACTING EVEN AT THAT AGE?

>> YOU KNOW WHAT?

LOOKING BACK, I PROBABLY WAS.

I JUST -- THAT IMAGE OF ME LANDING IN SASKATCHEWAN IN MY

FIRST YEAR OF SCHOOL IN AMERICA, IN THE WEST, AND I -- I PROBABLY

WENT INWARD FROM THAT POINT ON.

NOT TO BE SAD ABOUT IT, BUT, YEAH, I THINK I STARTED, YOU

KNOW, THAT WAS MASK WORK STARTING THERE.

>> Stephen: BECAUSE -- DID YOU HAVE ENGLISH AT THIS AGE?

>> NO, I HAD NO ENGLISH.

MY PARENTS TAUGHT ME THE FIRST ENGLISH WORDS I LEARNED WERE

"DON'T CRY."

>> Stephen: OH, MY GOSH.

YEAH.

>> Stephen: BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE SAID IT TO YOU?

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: OH, MY GOD!

( LAUGHTER ) HOW DO YOU SAY "DON'T CRY" IN

KOREAN?

( SPEAKING KOREAN ) >> Stephen: I NEED TO HEAR

THAT RIGHT NOW, JUST THINKING OF THIS CHILD BEING TOLD NOT TO

CRY.

SO WHAT WAS -- WHEN DID YOU SAY TO YOURSELF, OKAY, I WANT TO DO

THIS AS -- I WANT TO BE A PERFORMER, I WANT TO MAKE THIS

MY LIFE?

>> YOU KNOW, I WENT TO COLLEGE -- I WENT TO COLLEGE IN

KALAMAZOO, KALAMAZOO COLLEGE, AND I GOT TO SEE MY IMPROV

TROUPE AT MY SCHOOL THAT JORDAN KLEPPER WAS A PART OF.

>> Stephen: OH, WOW.

AND HE WASN'T THERE, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN I WENT

THERE.

BUT I KIND OF GRAVITATE TOWARDS IT.

I LOVE THE FREEDOM, I LOVE THE PERFORMANCE.

HONESTLY, IT WAS -- I THINK IT WAS JUST LIKE YOU CAN BE

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE UP THERE AT ANY GIVEN TIME, AND PEOPLE

WILL LAUGH IF YOU'RE FUNNY.

SO I LIKE THE CHALLENGE OF THAT, I GUESS.

>> Stephen: WELL, THE NEW FILM "MINARI" IS ABOUT -- IT'S A

KOREAN-AMERICAN FAMILY THAT MOVES TO ARKANSAS IN PURSUIT OF

THEIR DREAM.

WHWHAT DOES THE WORD MINARI MEAN WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT?

>> MINARI, IT'S A PLANT.

IT'S A PLANT THAT, IN ITS VERY PROFOUND WAY ISAAC, OUR

DIRECTOR, LEE ISAAC CHUNG HAS THIS GREAT STORY ABOUT HOW HIS

GRANDMOTHER PLANTED IT WHEN SHE CAME OVER TO JOIN THE FAMILY

FARM.

IT DIES IN THE FIRST YEAR AND THRIVES IN THE SECOND.

SO YOU HARVEST THE SECOND GROWING.

IT ACTUALLY PURIFIES THE WATER AND THE SOIL AROUND IT.

HE TOLD ME IN ALL THE YEARS THAT HIS DAD TRIED TO DO ALL THESE

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CROPS, THE THING THAT GREW THE BEST WAS HIS

GRANDMOTHER'S MINARI, THEY DIDN'T REEL HAVE TO KEEP AFTER

IT, JUST DID IT ON ITS OWN.

>> Stephen: WE'LL TAKE A QUICK BREAK.

STICK AROUND.

BACK WITH NOR STEVEN YEUN.