THERE ARE MOMENTS lately when Hoyeon can see that things are changing, that life is hurtling off on a thrilling new vector that it may never be the same. This was the feeling that crept in, for instance, when she checked on her steadily exploding Instagram account to realize she had gained nearly 15 million followers in the preceding three weeks. At that precise moment, in the fall of 2021, Netflix's Squid Game was well on its way to becoming the streamer's most-watched series ever. And Hoyeon, the Korean show's breakout star-who then went by Jung Ho-Yeon-was undergoing the kind of transformative rush of instant fame that could only happen at this strange point in history. Before she landed Squid Game, the young model had never acted. Suddenly, she was a global megastar.
That sensation of change underfoot came again last summer, when she arrived at the North London set where the director Alfonso Cuarón was shooting Disclaimer, his forthcoming Apple TV+ series starring Cate Blanchett. Hoyeon had been cast in a crucial supporting role and would be shooting her first-ever scenes in English, a language she was still mastering. There was a lot to take in. They were shooting on a gargantuan soundstage with a hive of crew members bustling in every direction. All around her was intimidating evidence that she was now swimming in different waters, career-wise. But the thing that stood out to Hoyeon-that made her feel she'd taken a serious leap forward-was parked outside. "The trailers," she tells me. "In Korea, we don't have trailers. But in England and America, you guys have this kind of amazing system that gives actors more personal space to prepare."
Denne historien er fra April - May 2023-utgaven av GQ US.
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Denne historien er fra April - May 2023-utgaven av GQ US.
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SHABOOZEY THE BIG SHA BANG
Shaboozey spent months at the tippy-top of the charts with a hit song about dealing with hard times the easy way: by hitting the bar. He sang on a couple songs with Beyoncé too. So we asked the one and only SHANIA TWAIN to help country's biggest new star make sense of his explosive year.
HANNAH EINBINDER BORN STANDING UP
With her star turn on Hacks, the comic turned actor has established herself as one of Hollywood's most exciting young talents-much to her own surprise.
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In January, the comic delivered an instantly iconic podcast interview that threw pop culture into crisis-and seemed to predict all manner of messy celebrity gossip to come. At home on his farm, Williams explains why he said what he said— and why he'd do it again, and again, and again....
JOHN DAVID & MALCOLM WASHINGTON A NEW HOLLYWOOD DYNASTY
The Washington brothers built their careers apart—until an irresistible project drew them together. In The Piano Lesson, they tackle a father's thorny legacy.
FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN'S HISTORIC Hit STREAK
What happens when the best rapper alive reunites with the hottest producer of the moment? You get a back-to-back-to-back run unlike any since the Beatles.
PHARRELL WILLIAMS Designer of the Year
Riding along from Paris to Hollywood to New York with the Louis Vuitton *men's creative director, whose prolific and often prophetic contributions to fashion, film, and music have once again thrust him to the center of the pop culture Venn diagram.
JOHN MULANEY. KID GORGEOUS GROWS UP
After immortalizing the whirlwind of the past four yearsrelapse, intervention, recovery-in his awardwinning standup special, John Mulaney has emerged as one of the most popular comedians on earth. For his next trick, he's embracing his surprising new role as a suburban dad.
DWAYNE JOHNSON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST Actor
It's hard for Dwayne Johnson to hide. Wherever he goes, there he is― as conspicuous out in the world as he is on the silver screen. But after two decades of playing a version of himself in huge movies, suddenly Dwayne Johnson is ready to do something entirely new: vanish.
How the WNBA Became the Most Fun, Complicated, and Exciting League in Sports
Caitlin Clark! A'ja Wilson! Angel Reese! This year, women's hoops emerged as a dominant popcultural force. But the road to sports-league supremacy has been long and winding. This is the inside story of how the W finally broke through.
A Companion for Your Wrist
Audemars Piguet's new release with artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, brings high-art hype to the world of pop-watch collabs.
