Who are Young Mazino’s family members?

Christopher Young Kim, professionally known as Young Mazino, is a South Korean-American actor, who is best known for his role as Paul Cho in the Netflix hit show Beef. He was born on August 27, 1991, in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Mazino attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, but in 2014, he dropped out of college and moved to New York to study at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where he trained for a year.

Before pursuing acting, he was a senior business analyst at LVMH's Fresh for 6 years. In 2018, he chose the stage name Young Mazino, inspired by a character in the manhwa Tower of God. He made his acting debut with the short film Digging in 2013. He registered with the Screen Actors Guild in 2018. He has worked in many TV shows like Blindspot (2016), Blue Bloods (2019), Prodigal Son (2020), etc. He gained popularity for his work in Beef and received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his role.

Who are Young Mazino’s parents and siblings?

Young Mazino's parents are South Korean immigrants, and his father moved to the United States from South Korea at the age of 16. His father is a computer engineer with 5 master's degrees in cybersecurity and computer systems. He also has a PhD in theology. His mother was the one who encouraged him to participate in extracurricular and artistic activities, such as reading and violin lessons. Mazino also has 2 elder sisters. In an interview with Timid magazine, he talked about his sisters and said, “I grew up with two older sisters, so that dynamic was different. In my house, if I raised my voice or showed any emotional outbursts, it was game over for me.”

In an interview with Greatest Magazine, Mazino talked about his parents and said, “My parents were quite conservative. They were very religious and went to church multiple days a week. Being the only son, I was raised with this militant idea that men don’t cry or show emotion. Every morning, if I was awake, he’d say bye before going to work and be like, “Yo, if anything happens to me, you’re the man of the house. You have to protect the family with your life.”

In an interview with Timid Magazine, he talked about his parents being his biggest inspiration and said, “I think of what they went through and where they came from, and just the history of all that—it gives me the perspective to power through whatever it is I’m going through now, which is not much in comparison. My dad came to the United States from Korea when he was 16, and ever since then, he's been working his ass off. [He put in a lot of] work just to provide and support us. My mom sacrificed her time for what I thought was just me exploring hobbies, but she was helping me develop my capabilities as an artist with my extracurricular activities. As I got older, I started to realize just what exactly they went through, and what my grandparents went through—[those were] definitely tumultuous times; it was a struggle for a lot of people back then. So I keep that in mind and know how much has been put into getting me here.”

Young Mazino’s upcoming projects

Young Mazino was recently seen in the A24 psychological thriller film Opus, directed by Mark Anthony Green, which was released in theaters on March 14, 2025. He played the small role of Kent in the film, alongside Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich. In an interview with Variety, he shared the directors he would like to collaborate with, alongside discussing the film. Mazino wants to work with directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Derek Cianfrance, and Terrence Malick to challenge himself and grow as an actor.

In January 2024, Mazino joined the cast of The Last of Us Season 2. He will play the role of Jesse in the hit HBO show, set to be released on April 13, 2025. Jesse’s character is described as “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.” The co-creators of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, said, “Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him. We’re so lucky to have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our show.”

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