Beef's Young Mazino Identifies With Paul Feeling Like A 'Lost Boy'
Are you watching Netflix's "Beef"? I hope so, because the 10-part series is a masterclass in tone, tension, acting, directing, writing, you name it. Aside from leads Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, Young Mazino — who plays Yeun's character Danny's younger brother, Paul — stands out as an actor to watch because of his role in the show.
That said, it seems there's a distinct reason that his performance is so memorable in the narrative. Mazino was able to find the connections that he personally had with Paul in order to come to an understanding about him, using them to shape his version of the role. The actor told Men's Health in a recent interview:
"Paul lives in his own world, and that's something that's always resonated with me growing up. I was born and raised in Maryland, but my parents are from Korea. My dad came at 16. As a Korean-American, you grow up not really feeling like you fit into the schools you go to. And then on Sundays when you go to church, you don't feel that Korean, like the other kids who are from Korea. When you're forced to not have a full identity in either culture, you have to create your own."
The lost boy character
Mazino also noted that the mixing of cultures — Korean and American — for both himself and Paul is intrinsically tied to this idea of floating through life without touch points. Plus, it's a "continual process" for him to overcome in his real life as he ages despite having tried to "grow out of it" over the years. He explained to Men's Health:
"Through the process of migrating, your parents also lose a lot of that culture they left behind. They don't have the time or the energy to catch you up on anything besides the core traditional values. You know, I didn't even know the Beatles existed until I was in high school. I didn't know a lot of these things until I got old enough to figure it out on my own. For Paul, whose parents are back in Korea, he's even more lost in the ether and left to his own devices. Which was something I tried to find through his posture, his clothes, the way he doesn't quite articulate things very clearly and tends to mumble. He's kind of a lost boy."
If you've been watching the show, it's clear that Mazino's description of his character is beyond accurate, not only in the way he's played but the way the character is written. There's a great symbiotic relationship between Mazino, the writers, and the directors that helps concoct the perfect amount of guarded apathy that we see in Paul. It's the kind of acting that lets vulnerability seep through the cracks, just enough to be seen in small doses, and Mazino does a great job of balancing that subtlety because he's found a basis for it in his real life. It'll be interesting to see the kinds of roles he's cast for in the future based on such an understated and smart performance.
"Beef" is available to stream on Netflix now.