‘Beef’ Creator Lee Sung Jin Pitched Charles Melton on the Show Over Dinner: ‘By the Third Appetizer He Said Yes’

Gold House celebrated its third annual One House Toast to the Emmys, honoring the achievements of Asian Pacific and multicultural creatives in entertainment.

The man of the hour was “Beef” showrunner Lee Sung Jin, whose genre-bending Netflix anthology earned 16 nominations for its second season — the most of any limited or anthology series this year.

So far, the show has won three that were handed out during the Creative Arts Emmys. The major recognition also made Lee the first Asian television creator to receive multiple nominations in writing, directing and producing for the same series — twice.

Before Lee took to the stage, Gold House co-founder Bing Chen praised the creator. He said, “In a world where a lot of the whistleblowers from our AI overlords are now saying we only have three more years to exist, I’m now reminded that it takes multi-hyphenate, undefinable art like ‘Beef’ Season 1 and 2 to remind us of not only our humanity but our only actual defendable asset, which is actually our flaws — and therefore our right to exist,” said Chen

He continued, “I’m also reminded of platforms where so many people that we don’t even know, try to flatten us into one thing and how the only way back is to be a polymathical, multiskilled creator who is not just a writer, who is not just a producer, who is not just a director, but does it all. Lee Sung Jin is the personification of taking life’s broken hearts and turning them into art. That is the reason why you get to be here, and it is the reason why you get to stay.”

When Lee took the stage, he praised Chen and reflected on Gold House’s impact on him and the journey of “Beef.” Sharing a personal anecdote, Lee revealed he had first seen the show’s star Charles Melton in “May December,” and was blown away by his performance.

“I wanted to attach him to Season 2. And Bing was, of course, throwing his usual celebratory dinners for ‘May December.'” Lee shared how he had sent a text to Chen asking if he could sit next to the actor to pitch him for Season 2. “He was like, ‘I got Chloe Zhao next to him.’ So I sat next to Chloe Zhao, and then I pitched Charles. By the third appetizer he had said yes.”

Lee also praised Seoyeon Jang, who plays Eunice in the series. The actress was in attendance. Speaking directly to her, Lee told the crowd that she was cast off a self-tape and the scene he had worked on with her was an interaction between her character and Melton. In the scene, Melton is pretending to be a physical therapist and stretches Eunice. Lee said, “I got busy with prep and writing and I didn’t really think about just keeping in touch with her. It was not until I was shot listing, a month before we were supposed to shoot where I was thought, ‘ I wonder how flexible she is. Is this going to really affect her coverage?”

Lee revealed he eventually called Jang to ask about her flexibility. She responded, “I hired a stretching coach and I’ve been stretching for three months straight.” Lee joked, “That’s why we were able to do that scene in one shot without any cuts.”

Also in attendance were “The Pitt” writer and producer Simran Baldwan, “The Pitt” star and Emmy nominee Sepideh Moafi, “Forgotten Island” star Dolly de Leon, Brandon Perea (“Insidious: Out of the Further”) and more.

The One House Toast is a continuation of Gold House’s mission to reshape Asian Pacific and multicultural representation in front of and behind the camera. In the past year, Gold House has provided industry-defining research, cultural consultation, investments and marketing films and TV.

Among the partners for the evening were Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, Genesis Motor America, Asian entertainment streamer Viki and WME.