Pop Culturalist Chats with Insatiable’s Irene Choi

For Irene Choi, becoming an actress always seemed like a distant dream. It wasn’t until after working a corporate 9-5 that she realized she didn’t want to live her life always wondering, “what if,” so she made the decision to follow her heart and pursue her passion. Since then, she’s had starring roles in Community and Just Go with It. She’s currently one of the leads of Netflix’s laugh-out-loud dramedy, Insatiable, where her character is redefining the “mean girl” stereotype. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Irene about her breakout performance.

PC: Tell us about Insatiable, your character, and what drew you to this project?
Irene: Insatiable is a coming-of-age story. It follows Patty Bladell [Debby Ryan], a formerly bullied fat girl who loses weight and realizes everyone is now treating her differently. She then goes on this revenge spree against everyone who’s mistreated her. Along the way, she meets Bob Armstrong, a lawyer who’s also a pageant coach on the side, who convinces her to start entering pageants.

My character is Dixie. Simply put, she’s the villain and the bully in the show. She exists to make life difficult for Patty and is also a fellow competitor.

I was drawn to this project because it was unique, fresh, and unapologetic. It’s a heightened reality with these caricatures of characters who are all kinds of terrible, but through these flawed people, there’s an important message of self-discovery and acceptance.

PC: How much of yourself would you say is in your character, Dixie?
Irene: I hope not a lot because she’s an awful person. [laughs] I did discover more of myself in her than I thought, though. She doesn’t have a filter and she’s brash. I can be like that at times. She’s also misunderstood by her peers, which everyone can relate to.

PC: Dixie has a lot of layers to her: which one was your favorite to explore and why?
Irene: Her realness and brashness. Dixie goes against the traditional TV/movie trope of a “mean girl”. They’re always the most popular and the best looking–that isn’t Dixie. She’s disliked by a lot of people, doesn’t have friends, and lacks self-acceptance. There’s also a joke that she’s a carbon copy of this very Bible Belt mom-type. As an Asian adoptee, I feel like she struggles with her own ethnic identity, which adds an interesting layer to her.

PC: How did you prepare to play a character who has so much going on?
Irene: I met with an accent/dialect coach back in Atlanta when we started the pilot. I’m the only teen character with an accent, which goes back to Dixie being a carbon copy of her mom. As an actor, you always draw inspiration from people you’ve met and grown up with, so I did that as well. Also, when I was dressed in her ridiculous, over-the-top wardrobe, I felt like I was putting on this suit and just instantly felt more like her. That definitely helped me get into character.

PC: What was it like playing the villain? Was it more fun than playing the hero?
Irene: I, personally, love playing the villain—especially if the villain ends up being a really, really funny villain. Dixie has so many great one-liners. It was a ton of fun. The director gave me a lot of freedom to do what I wanted to do and try different things.

PC: What do you hope viewers take away from watching the series?
Irene: The most important thing is to love yourself for who you are and not to hide the most interesting part of you. Also, hopefully they learn that self-discovery is a messy process that’s often filled with denial. That’s how it should be and that’s okay.

PC: If the series is picked up for a second season, what would you be most excited to explore further with your character?
Irene: I’ve never really thought about that! I would love to explore more of her identity. In the show, she’s dating the other Asian character. He makes a joke about how cliché it is that they’re the only two Asians in the school and they’re dating. She makes the comment, “I’m not Asian. I’m adopted,” which is a joke because she’s not very bright, but it’s also kind of true because she doesn’t see herself like him, who’s a son of an immigrant. That would be a lot of fun.

Career Questions

PC: When did you realize you wanted to pursue a career in acting?
Irene: I’ve always loved acting. When I was younger, I would watch Sesame Street, and I would tell my parents, “Hey! I want to do what they do.” As a career, that didn’t happen until after college. I was out here working a corporate job in Los Angeles and I realized I didn’t like it. I quit without anything lined up for me and I was like, “You know what? I’ve always wanted to do this and I should just do it.” For me, I needed that push. I knew a 9-5 job wasn’t my thing, but I needed that experience to know that.

PC: How difficult was that decision to put your dreams on hold and say, “I’m going to do this 9-5 job?”
Irene: At that time, it wasn’t a difficult decision. I didn’t even entertain the idea that acting could be a career for me. It was always a fantasy/dream, similar to how kids dream about being a superhero or becoming an animal. I think if I had taken a job somewhere else like in Boston or Chicago, I would have felt very removed from the industry and would have continued to feel like it was a fantasy.

PC: What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from being a part of this industry?
Irene: Not to be afraid of failure! It’s a lesson that I’ve had to learn for myself. It sounds cliché, but it’s really true. It’s funny, when you think of athletes and Olympians, they have the real possibility of hurting themselves, but for actors, the only thing that gets wounded is our ego, right? It’s funny how scared we are of failure when I think the risk is so small.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Irene: Anything in the Bachelor franchise

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Irene: Just My Luck

PC: Favorite book?
Irene: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Irene: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Irene: Queer Eye

PC: Hidden talent?
Irene: I can cook!

Make sure to follow Irene on Twitter and Instagram, and stream season one of Insatiable on Netflix today!

Photo Credit: Netflix