Reina Hardesty and Daniel Dae Kim in 'Butterfly.' Prime Video Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text In the first 15 minutes of Butterfly, viewers would be within their rights to think the new South Korea-based spy thriller is a James Bond-esque high-octane show. But Daniel Dae Kim, star and executive producer of the Prime Video series, says there are many more layers to peel away as viewers invest themselves in all six episodes (all of which released on Wednesday). From the pages of a graphic novel by Arash Amel, Kim plays former CIA operative David Jung, who several years ago broke away from the agency and started a rogue company with fellow former American spy Juno (played by Piper Perabo). But something went terribly wrong when, about nine years ago, David was out on a mission ordered by Juno: and he and his team were ambushed. The whole team was killed, leaving David as the lone survivor. He played dead to make it out, and then went off the spy grid. That is, until now. Related Stories Study As Korean Content Explodes, Series Orders From the Country Plummet TV 'Butterfly' Review: Daniel Dae Kim Is a Superspy Superdad in Amazon's Blandly Sweet Thriller With a new family, David discovers that Juno's most deadly assassin is his oldest daughter, Rebecca, who he left behind at the age of 14 believing that his disappearance would keep her safe. But Rebecca (played by Reina Hardesty) grows up to become a seemingly heartless killer as a residual effect of David's disappearance. David decides to come out of hiding in hopes of saving his daughter from the merciless espionage game that Juno has plunged her into, and when Juno discovers David is alive, she sends his daughter and a team of professional killers out to kill him. The over-arching question of hte series becomes one about redemption. The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with Kim to discuss what drew him to Butterfly, as well as the wave of Korean content that is currently sweeping the entertainment industry how this action-packed, emotional series is his love letter to Korea. *** You recently attended San Diego Comic Con, but for those who are not familiar with the Butterfly graphic novel (created by Arash Amel), what would you tell them about this series? If you are a fan of the spy action-adventure genre, you're going to feel right at home. But if you're a fan of relationship dramas, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the depth of character and relationships. Because to us, the action can only have stakes and meaning if they come from an emotional place; that you care about these characters. We work really hard to try to infuse our show with both of those things. And if you have any interest in Korea, our show is a love letter to Korea. We shot in dozens of locations all throughout South Korea. We put in a healthy dose of culture as I know it as a Korean American. After being nominated for a Tony Award as the first Asian nominee in the leading male category (for the Broadway production of Yellow Face, where Kim portrays the show's playwright David Henry Hwang), why was now the right time to release this series? Butterfly means a lot to me because I am one of the executive producers and also the lead. I was involved with the show since its creation. And when you're involved from the beginning, you're able to develop the story and go through every bit of the process, including casting, and it takes a little bit of your heart with it. My heart is in this project, so I'm very hopeful that people like it. How do you mix your love for acting on film and television with that of your love for the stage? I ask that with the acknowledgment of your recent Tony nomination. Do those three realms mix? I think they do. Obviously they're very different in terms of acting technique, but the one thing they have in common is that, as an actor, you can traverse media from film to TV to stage, and then go where the best stories are. Every actor says they want to go to where the best scripts and the best characters are. Well, there's no shortage of them in any medium, and so I'm lucky that I get to go back and forth. I started my career on stage. So to be able to go back and work on projects in New York is always something special. Were you born in New York? No, I was born in Korea. I was raised in New York and outside of Philadelphia. I did my graduate school in New York for acting, and stayed there working as an actor for many years. All of my training is on classical stage; I was doing a lot of Shakespeare, [Anton Pavlovich] Chekhov and some experimental theater. When I think about great acting, I always think about the stage first. America is having a love affair with the television and film content coming out of South Korea right now. There's Squid Game, My Name, Bloodhounds and coun