Who is Kahyun Kim; the Cocaine Bear actress who upstaged Elizabeth Banks at the LA film premiere?

Cocaine Bear is set to be one of 2023’s most anarchic offerings in cinemas, and at the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of the film, one star of the film decided to ramp up the anarchy in the choice of outfit they wore.

The film, directed by Elizabeth Banks and featuring Ray Liotta in one of his last roles before his death in 2022, is semi-based on the true story of a failed attempt to smuggle cocaine, only for an American black bear to consume one of the errant packages. Cue one of mother nature’s most savage beasts under the influence of “marching powder” going on a rampage - despite the real-life bear having the complete opposite reaction to ingesting the drugs.

Already memed on the internet when the film was first announced, the red carpet premiere looks to be mined for viral material shortly with the interesting choice of attire from actress Khayun Kim - who looked to make a splash at the premier with a red carpet gown leaving very little to the imagination.

Kim was dressed in a sheer dress that barely covered the lower half of her body, while her top half was covered merely with two sparkling cartoon bear heads covering her chest area - just. Though the movie was meant to be the talking point at the Los Angeles premiere, instead there has been just as much talk about the attire Kim was adorned in.

This led many other social media users to ask; who is Khayun Kim and is Cocaine Bear the first movie she has been cast in?

Surely someone who has attended film premieres before knows there is a certain “unwritten law” regarding outshining the main stars of a film - right? Or maybe that’s the point - as Peopleworld takes a look at who Khayun Kim is.

From Tracey Letts to American Gods

Born October 19 1989 in South Korea, Khayun Kim grew up in Seoul to a family she considered “very academic,” leading to Kim being a model student until reaching the age of 17 - when she was selected to be part of the hallowed Drama programme a New York’s prestigious The Juilliard School. This, despite the fact that Kim had never acted before in her life.

Speaking to Chicago Asia Network in 2017, Kim recalled “I spent four years in New York being culture shocked and inspired left and right, studying with one of the most talented group of actors. After graduating from school, I decided to move to LA, so that’s where I’m based right now. My parents and all my family live in Korea, so I’m homesick a lot of the time.”

Her first roles were bit-parts in smaller, independent features including The Mysteries of Laura, Austin and Ally and the US remake of Shameless. However, it was treading the boards with roles in the theatre that helped Kim carve a name out for herself.

Indeed, Kim was selected to perform in Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright Tracey Letts latest work, Linda Vista, which premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2018. Kim played Minnie, a Vietnamese Rockabilly with pink hair and a lot of tattoos. She’s in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Derek and is pregnant with his baby when she meets a ‘young’ 50-year-old guy named Wheeler, at a bar, where she’s waiting for her job interview.

The success of her stage appearance and continued portfolio of television roles led to one of her biggest roles in 2019 - playing New Media in the Amazon Video adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, starring alongside Ian McShane and Crispin Glover. Following that with a voice role in three episodes of We Bare Bears and Kim’s name was starting to pick up traction with a sect of devout television fans leading into 2020.

With higher profile appearances on Grey’s Anatomy and 9-1-1, Khayun Kim’s role as a guest star on television shows might increase now with many box office analysts claiming Cocaine Bear to be one of the sleeper hits of 2023. But despite how big of a role Kim has in the film, she’s left an impression with many who asked “who’s that girl” after her big appearance on the red carpet