Yahoo Lifestyle Introducing Joshua Hyunho Lee, ‘XO, Kitty’s Newest Heartthrob and One-Time Stray Kids Backup Dancer
Kitty Song Covey might be the "Chaos Queen," but in season 2 of XO, Kitty, her BFF (and fan-favorite) Q is causing a bit of a stir of his own thanks to his new love interest, Jin. Played by newcomer Joshua Hyunho Lee, Jin is introduced as a rival for Q (Anthony Keyvan), coming to K.I.S.S. and immediately stealing Q’s spot on the track team, setting the stage for an irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance.
Like Jin, Joshua is new to the world of XO, Kitty—in fact, this is his first major Hollywood television role after starting his career in venture capital (yes,really)—but that doesn’t mean he’s a To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before virgin. As he tells Cosmo, he was a fan of the film "as soon as it came out" in 2018. At the time, he was studying computer science at Harvard and not even dreaming of being an actor. Now, seven years later, he’s starring in the TATB spinoff series and is set to become everyone’s new crush. Joshua chatted with Cosmopolitan about what it was like to film XO, Kitty in Korea, his time dancing with Stray Kids, and how he went from finance guy to Hollywood.
Warning: slight spoilers for XO, Kitty season 2 ahead. Proceed with caution.
Welcome to the world of To All The Boys and XO, Kitty! What’s it like joining this iconic franchise?
Honestly, when I first heard that I’d be joining the second season, I was nervous because there’s so many people who love the movie franchise, and then subsequently the first season of XO, Kitty. I definitely felt like the new kid on the block. But as soon as I got to Korea and started working, it was just the best time. I’ve made some lifelong friends and I’m really grateful to be joining the To All the Boys world and universe.
This is your first big Hollywood TV gig. What was your first day on set like?
Before my first day on set, I had a few rehearsals and a few table reads, so that got the nerves out a little bit. But I remember my first day on set, we were filming the scenes at the queer club and we actually filmed in a queer club, and all the background actors you see are patrons of that club. It was nerve wracking, but I think I was more in awe than anything. When we started filming, I felt so supported by all the people I had around me and I had been rehearsing with our intimacy coordinators and Anthony, so I felt really comfortable.
I didn’t realize you worked with an intimacy coordinator.
Yeah, we choreographed everything from all the close up dance scenes to the kissing. Mo, our intimacy coordinator, made sure that we had all the tools to feel comfortable. So when we went to set, we just had a lot of fun, honestly.
I’m glad. So, when we meet your character, he’s pretty villainous, but later becomes a serious love interest for Anthony. How did you think about making that switch with the character?
I just kept thinking about high school life and the people I observed when I was in high school. There are so many people that put up different facades for different reasons. For my character, Jin, it was all there in the writing. It made sense to me why he would act this way. The pressure that he feels from his dad and his legacy of running track and also Korea being culturally more conservative gave me the pieces I needed for my character.
For Jin’s softer side, that was easy, too, because I think Jin is just such a complex character and reflective of any high schooler. He can feel like seven different things at the same time. And when it comes down to it, Jin is a softie who cares about the people around him.
And he’s also a surprise dancer! It’s so cool you got to incorporate your dance background into the character.
I had no clue that I was going to be able to dance on the show. So when they were like, “We saw your TikTok, Joshua, you have to dance.” I was like, “Okay, let’s do it!”
That’s amazing. What was filming that sequence like?
I would say the entire last episode was one of the highlights for me because of how beautiful the production design was. We got to film at an actual palace courtyard where they built the stage, which is crazy. We learned the dance pretty quickly. We had, I think, only two weeks of rehearsal, and we only met once a week, so it was pretty fast. But I just remember everyone having so much fun. We would have rehearsals on our off days and everyone was just so excited to be with each other for another day and rehearse. And getting to hear Minyeong Choi, who plays Dae, sing live in those rehearsals—my god, his voice is otherworldly
I’m hoping we’ll get to see more of Jin in that K-Pop world. If XO, Kitty gets a season 3, what do you hope to see for Jin?
What I hope for Jin for season 3 is to literally do everything and fail at everything. I want to see him go on the most random adventures, go take a carpentry class, go take an interpretive dance class to really obscure European music. I want him to do all the things that maybe he’s felt too embarrassed to try, or never thought he could try. It doesn’t have to be K-Pop, but I am not opposed to it.
As a Korean American actor, what was it like to film your first major TV show in Korea?
Wow. I don’t know if I wanted it to happen any other way. I feel so blessed that I got to go back to Korea. I’d only been twice before and for very short amounts of time. [Just as] Jin is figuring out what he wants to do with his life, I feel like I was figuring out my relationship with my culture. A lot of the off days I got to spend visiting palaces and historical sites and museums. I got to see a lot of my mom’s side of the family who are still in Korea for the first time, which was also really nice. It felt like full circle, destiny kind of vibes.
You went to Harvard and then worked in venture capital. How did you make that switch?
I grew up being a dancer and when I was working my full-time job, there was always this itch in the back of my head that told me that I needed to go back to the arts. In college, I dabbled in it, I did a lot of fun charity fundraisers through dance and I did a capella, but I never tried acting.
You did a capella?
Oh, yeah, I was in an a capella group called Key Change. I was not good by any means. It was something my friend told me to audition for. Also, we didn’t know that it was a historically black a capella group. I remember when I went to my first rehearsal after getting accepted, they were like, “Welcome, we’re historically a black a capella group.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I can leave.” But they ended up becoming my best friends.
So you’ve always been able to surround yourself with artists.
Yes, luckily. So when I was thinking about switching careers, I started taking acting classes in the city and meeting a bunch of artists and other creatives. After a few months of really battling with it, I decided to make the leap. It was acting in my Broadway show [KPOP] that really made me fall in love with performing, so I decided that I would just do a deeper dive into acting. I did so many short films—as many as I could—to get that muscle flexing. And I worked as a Production Assistant on a bunch of films too and fell in love with the set life.
Going from venture capital to a life in the arts can be a hard sell to parents. How did your parents react to you quitting your 9-to-5 to be an actor?
I didn’t tell them for the first six months that I had quit my job. I’m financially independent, and that’s what my parents cared most about for me. When I found out that my Broadway show was closing, I told them that I had quit my job. And it was actually really sweet. They surprised me in New York for my closing show. I saw them in the middle of my performance, and I just remember breaking down crying during a rap section. It was really beautiful, and they are so proud of me.
Now they’re always asking, “Okay, Josh, what’s next? Where can we see you next?” And I’m constantly having to be like, “I don’t know, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
So you act in XO, Kitty, you still PA, and I know you performed with Stray Kids at the 2023 VMAs. Is there anything you won’t try?
My parents have that same question for me. I’m doing everything I can. I started writing a lot, I’m directing my first project later this month, and I’m dancing whenever I can. I danced professionally in high school, so whenever people hit me up and they’re like, “Hey, we need a dancer, can you do it?” I’m like, “Okay.” That’s how the VMAs happened. I was filming a TV show in Canada when I got the call and had to fly from set to rehearsal. I’m just trying to do it all.
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