Big Matthew’s Big Break: The K-Pop Idol Turned Hollywood Actor In Netflix’s Beef S2

The Korean-American rapper gets candid in this exclusive interview, opening up about everything from his audition process and career pivot to KARD’s upcoming summer album.

By Navin Pillay

Published: June 11, 2026

Big Matthew’s Big Break: The K-Pop Idol Turned Hollywood Actor In Netflix’s Beef S2

Born Matthew Kim, but better known as Big Matthew or BM, the K-Pop artist has long understood the internet’s attention economy better than most. Sometimes it arrives via a chart-climbing hook. Other times, through a meme. And occasionally, it comes from a fleeting on-screen moment (like his appearance in the teaser for the second season of Beef) that sends social media into instant overdrive.

But to reduce BM to virality alone would be to miss the point. Over the years, he has carved out a presence that resists easy categorisation: Equal parts performer and quietly observant commentator on fame itself. From performing as BM of KARD, to walking at Milan Fashion Week, and now stepping into acting, he has built a career defined less by staying in one lane than by moving instinctively between them.

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What anchors him, however, is not spectacle but self-awareness. Behind the stage presence and the perpetual circulation online is someone unexpectedly reflective. He’s thoughtful about ambition and unafraid to interrogate the systems he moves through. The draw may be immediate, but what lingers is something softer: A measured openness, a dry humour, and a way of speaking about his work that suggests a preoccupation with longevity over noise.

In conversation, BM isn’t trying to out-perform his own image. Rather, he’s working to expand it. And in a world that often flattens visibility into shorthand, that distinction matters more than it first appears.

That tension between image and interiority becomes more visible in his latest chapter: Acting. In Beef Season 2, BM steps into the role of Woosh—a character positioned within the series’ familiar terrain of ambition and the uneasy economics of modern life. For him, the appeal was not just the project itself, but the way it echoed something already familiar.

Acting, he explains, is something he has always wanted to try. He describes it simply as another form of performing art, and notes how fortunate he feels to have Beef as the entry point into a new part of his career, which he intends to pursue alongside music.

The world of Beef itself is defined by contrast: Generational tension, social mobility, and the psychological strain of existing within systems that reward and restrict at the same time. That duality was part of what drew him to Woosh.

He describes the character as someone “so far yet so close to financial stability,” and says the climb of the career ladder was something he related to personally. For him, the role sits within a broader reflection on ambition and the risks involved in trying to move upward within structured systems. That sense of proximity—to stability, opportunity, and consequence—runs through much of how he speaks about the role. The process of getting there, however, felt anything but certain.

He recalls first sending in an audition tape for three Woosh scenes, hoping simply to be remembered. A callback followed: A Zoom audition with creator Lee Sung Jin himself. During that session, he was asked to perform scenes multiple times with different directions, receiving what he describes as fairly positive feedback. Even so, he did not feel confident that he would ultimately be cast.

The uncertainty continued even after the process progressed to scheduling discussions. It wasn’t until much later, when he found himself on set, that the reality fully registered.

His first day on set was marked by nerves, which he admitted to his first scene partner, Charles Melton. The Korean-American actor reassured him that nerves were a good sign, and meant he cared.

That moment reframed the experience. What initially felt intimidating gradually gave way to something more grounded. He describes the set—including the wider team across Netflix and A24—as warm, welcoming, and supportive. The experience also dismantled some of his assumptions about Hollywood. What he had imagined as intimidating turned out to be collaborative, even unexpectedly familiar.

For someone who has spent nearly a decade performing in front of cameras as part of KARD, the transition into acting was less about learning how to be on camera and more about adjusting how intention is shaped.

He notes that being in front of cameras was not the difficult part as that familiarity already existed through years of performance and music videos. What was new was the shift in how emotion and intent are structured within scripted work.

Within that framework, Woosh became less a departure from his own experience and more a reflection of broader conditions. He describes the character as someone navigating the risks of climbing the economic ladder, and points to the scene with “the great YJ” as an example of taking dangerous risks in pursuit of progression, and the consequences that follow.

When asked whether he would get along with Woosh in real life, he responds that they likely would. Or atleast, until Woosh asks for advice. He suggests Woosh may not take advice well.

Working with Sung Jin left a strong impression on him. He describes him as “literally the coolest and funniest guy” he has ever met, noting his strong comic sense and the way script changes were sometimes made on the fly. These moments often led to laughter on set and occasional NGs (unusable takes). He describes the experience as inspiring, and says being directed by him was an honour.

The impact of the project, however, became clearer only after filming ended and he was able to watch the finished work. He describes the series as thought-provoking, heartwarming, inspiring, comical, and ultimately a detailed portrayal of human behaviour and perspectives. One moment in particular stayed with him: Oscar Isaac’s ending, which led him to reflect on how peace is shaped less by outcome and more by where one’s heart and mind are at.

Looking forward, acting is only one part of what he is building. Music remains central. He notes that he has returned to his role as both producer and performer, with KARD preparing a summer album that revisits the group’s earlier sonic identity.

Alongside that, he continues to audition and remain open to new opportunities in acting. “I’m waiting on callbacks from auditions, taking auditions, and staying ready so I don’t need to get ready for the next opportunity that comes my way.”