Charles Melton didn't need to look far to find someone to voice his mother during a key phone call scene on "Beef" Season 2. The "Riverdale" actor recruited his mother, Sukyong Melton, for the role.
When Melton, 35, speaks Korean on his iPhone as Austin Davis in the critically acclaimed Netflix drama (all eight episodes streaming), it's Sukyong on the other line in her Hollywood debut.
"That's my mother," Melton tells USA TODAY proudly, adding a playful warning to casting agents that the Hollywood newbie won't audition for future parts. "She's 'offer-only' just in case, for anyone that sees this."
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"Beef" creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin aims to incorporate real portions of his actors' lives in his TV stories. So when the scene arose with Austin on the phone with his mom, Melton thought speaking to the real thing would lend some authenticity. Lee concurred.
