Jerome Yoo stars in the new reboot version of CW’s Charmed. Yoo speaks with ATM about his role and the different angles of the show that best intrigues him.
ATM: How does this show exhibit sisterhood in a unique way that is not usually seen on television?
JY: The original Charmed was such a trailblazer. A lot of people are saying the original show was ahead of its time. It was tough seeing three strong powered women in lead roles back then. This paved a way for the reboot. It is a completely different time now. Have you seen the first episode?
ATM: Yes.
JY: It touches on a lot of modern-day issues and we tackled this head on. The #metoo movement is a big thing that we touch on. In this sense, I think sisterhood is portrayed in a different way because we are not afraid to really call out the issues. Prior shows touch on these things and maybe it is not entirely tied to real life topics. This Charmed is sending strong messages to current generation viewers and future generation viewers.
ATM: Do you think this has to do with the movement of today’s society?
JY: 100%. This is a time where women are coming, banning, and rising up together to stand up for themselves. Not just women, men are on the right side also. This is very important in my opinion. Women are literally changing the world. We see this with the #metoo movement. I am Canadian, but I do keep up with News worldwide. The #metoo movement started in the States.
More specifically, there were things like the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Being able to bring down a huge figure in the entertainment industry like this had a huge effect. . . It tickled down one after the other. There are actors, director, powerful and well-known figures that are being brought down. Even in the political field when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford stood up and came out against Kavanaugh. Before directors, producers, and these high figures in positions might have been afraid to be so direct in these topic issues. At least for Charmed, we are not afraid to take on these issues head-on. Hopefully, it will be inspiring for the new viewers.
ATM: What did you have to understand or grasp in the OG Charmed to understand this version?
JY: For the OG Charmed I thought it was natural to do my diligence as an actor coming on board to look at the OG Charmed. The OG Charmed and the new Charmed might be different in slight ways. We are building on top of the foundation that is played out for us. The two older sisters have similar powers except for the younger sister, who powers are sort of different. They went from premonitions to mind readings. The power of 3 is huge in a way that it should take away the monsters. It is very much a story about sisterhood. The relationship and the bond of three sisters and how when they come together they can overcome any obstacles. This speaks to the power of 3, which was derived from the original show. The power of 3 is when they are together and united they are at their strongest.
ATM: Do you believe in mysticism? Do you believe in the supernatural?
JY: It is funny that I do. I have personally had some weird run-ins with the supernatural. I have always tried to convince myself that I did not want to get to know the supernatural because whenever I watch horror movies, I get scared quite often. Sometimes I would have nightmares and won’t be able to sleep. I try to stay away from this. I am Korean and come from Korea. My family is not religious per se. They go to see this spiritual guide. This monk/spiritual guide. She was talking with the ghost of our ancestors. Some bizarre things would come up where she would talk to me about my future and what our ancestors would say. Some crazy stuff would happen because there would be glasses and bells attached to the ceiling. As she was talking they would jingle and slightly move. This gave me the jitters. Like, “Oh my god, maybe stuff like this is real.”
I always particularly believed in science. This is a huge part of the storyline of the oldest sister Macy, who is played by Madeleine Mantock. She is split between her work as a geneticist and the work of recently finding out she was a witch. She discovers the supernatural part of her existence. My character name is Viktor who is a part of her storyline. I am a fellow geneticist worker at Hilltowne University. It is interesting the apart of the story of Charmed that I am in with scenes with Macy, we sort of explore science vs. mysticism/supernatural. In the first episode instead of Macy using her powers to destroy or exorcize the monsters, she uses baking powder. This is interesting at least for the first episode people have seen she is not just solving things with supernatural powers or witch powers but also there is a science part to this.
ATM: Are premonitions real?
JY: When I was growing up I watched a lot of That’s so Raven. Are you familiar with this show?
ATM: Yes.
JY: This show is all about premonitions. I naturally grew up thinking there were people who can see it. They basically are like a fortune teller, but they do not have to do all the voodoo stuff. At any moment they will have a momentary vision of them in the future. Not only this, but the world we live in is so mysterious in the sense that maybe science can resolve some things. Lucid dreaming has always been interesting to me. In lucid dreaming, people say they are in their own little world. They go to the future and they go to the past. They can talk to the dead and even like aliens and figures that are not of this world.
ATM: Who have you been talking to?
JY: Sorry?
ATM: Who told you this? I am not saying what you are saying is wrong. You’ve been talking to people who have talked to aliens?
JY: I have a friend who has done research as to how she can lucid dream farther after she had these experiences. Have you heard of sleep paralysis?
ATM: Yes, I have.
JY: Sleep paralysis is the feeling of when you are sleeping your conscience is still awake. A lot of people speak that there is this shadowy black figure that sits on their chest or will be at the corner of their room looking at them. Basically, you cannot move although you are awake and confused by the surroundings. Lucid dreaming is another step on top of this. It is a state sleep of where you are not keeping up with your sleep to not be conscious. I hear from my friend that she has done a lot of research into this and started to train herself and practicing hitting this state all the time.
She said it takes some practice and takes a while. She has figured it out. She said every time she would go into this world she would be visited by these gnome-like people who are not of this world. These gnomes would talk to her regularly and speak in this gibberish unknown language. Her as herself would not typically understand. I just hear these things and I am like, “Okay this is cool.” She says things like they are apparently going to visit us soon and mankind should not be afraid.
