Steven Yeun Says His Beef Costar Ali Wong Kept 'Good Vibes' on Set Despite Show's Tense Subject Matter (original) (raw)

"There's a lot going on," Yeun said about the Netflix dramedy centered on two people who become entangled after a road rage incident

Published on April 12, 2023 02:56PM EDT

Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Steven Yeun is giving props to his Beef costar Ali Wong.

The 39-year-old star shared that the actress helped to alleviate some of the heavier moments while filming the darkly humorous show.

"​​She's an amazing costar because she holds a lot of weight," Yeun told PEOPLE about Wong, 40, at the show's Los Angeles premiere. "She is someone who knows how to uphold a lot of the good vibes and a lot of the unseen, and I deeply appreciate that about her."

The series begins with a seemingly straightforward road rage incident between Yeun and Wong's characters, but the pair quickly find their lives intertwined — and the event's aftermath lays the groundwork for a complex cultural examination that resonated with both the actors.

"There's a lot going on," said The Walking Dead alum, who previously worked with the Hard Knock Wife comedian on the adult animated sitcom Tuca & Bertie. "I think we start somewhere and then we dig so much deeper, and that's something I'm always looking for."

Courtesy of Netflix

The role also had the Nope star — who shares 6-year-old son Jude Malcolm and a 3-year-old daughter with wife Joana Pak — looking back on his younger self.

"Playing Danny was, at times, asking me to revisit a part of myself that when I was younger, I didn't have a full handle over," Yeun told NPR.

"With Danny," he countered, "it wasn't that it was cathartic, per se. I got tired being that angry for so long. Every day, you know, I'd show up on set and I'd just be like, 'Danny's doing what today?' And I'm just like, how do I justify this? How do I not hate Danny? How do I love Danny? How do I never bail on Danny? Because Danny is a side of all of us. And how do I never bail so that the audience will never bail?"

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Beef is now streaming on Netflix.