'Beef' Star Steven Yeun Used 'Worst Version' of His Past for Netflix Show

Beef actor Steven Yeun was forced to face the "worst version" of himself to get into the mindset of his character Danny Cho, he told Newsweek.

Beef follows Yeun's Danny and Amy Lau (Ali Wong), who are pushed to their limits when they are involved in a road rage incident with each other, and it follows the extreme lengths they will go to to get revenge on one another.

Danny is a contractor with a chip on his shoulder, a character who is convinced the world is out to get him. He doesn't realize how much his actions hurt those around him, nor does he accept that his mindset might be the result of something darker.

'Beef' Star Steven Yeun Used 'Worst Version' of His Past for Netflix Show

For Yeun, playing a character like Danny was "tough" because of how it made him look back on his own youth.

"It was tough at times," the Minari actor told Newsweek. "You know, I relate to Danny. A younger version of myself had a difficult time maybe looking at his own reflection in the mirror, and understanding that maybe the way in which he views the world, the way in which he speaks of his own life, might be the thing that's holding him down.

"I think Danny, at this point, is thinking constantly that the world is out to get him and in that way you kind of bring that reality to yourself."

Danny struggles with his emotions, with depression and anxiety, of being a disappointment to his parents and feeling small in a world where nothing seems to go right for him.

"And I can understand that," Yeun went on. "You know, when I was young and frustrated, and I didn't know what was happening, I was kind of unaware of myself, and I think Danny's certainly living in that place, and that's tough."

Though Beef sees Yeun and Wong portray characters that are unafraid to unleash their anger on each other, the actors admitted that they didn't feel making the show was cathartic in any sense, with Yeun explaining the challenge of playing someone like Danny.

"It wasn't a catharsis because I think, too, we were... at least for me, I was visiting the worst version of myself, accessing the worst versions of myself," he said.

"The ones that were a past, a young, juvenile type of emotional state in that way, an immature one."

He added: "It wasn't that it was cathartic but I think what was cool was it was a little healing for me to look back and then not cringe at my young self that didn't know what was going on. You're kind of just like, 'yeah, OK, that's OK.'"

Despite the challenge of the role, Yeun said that it wasn't all difficult: "I think it was really fun for me to just kind of just go all in, to all of it.

"I think, for me, it was an experience, it was shameful at times, it was cringey. It was hilarious. I was laughing at [Danny], with him. So, just to be free to play in all the emotions, that's a really fun part."

Beef is available to watch on Netflix now.