The Hallyu or the Korean wave has certainly taken the world by storm and reached new highs including in the West when it had penetrated the Hollywood industry as well. Western celebrities are no exception when it comes to expressing their interest in K-pop, one of Hallyu’s most popular elements.
Here are six Hollywood stars who are ultimate K-pop enthusiasts.
1. John Cena
- The former WWE superstar is a huge fan of BTS and has been gushing about the band in many interviews. He revealed that J-Hope is his favourite band member. In one interview, John Cena told Ellen DeGeneres about how his love for the K-pop genre has grown.
- He said, “The very popular group, BTS, had just released an album called ‘Love Yourself’. So I put out all these messages about self-love and I’m thinking, `This is not going to be a good idea because this big, larger-than-life, 16-time WWE champion is now talking about vulnerability and the fact that you are enough and you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are, but it caught fire because of the BTS Army.”
- John Cena and BTS have been responding to each other in a series of encouraging tweets that went viral. He even jokingly asked BTS if they want a new bodyguard in a funny tweet.
I’ve had a little trouble keeping up lately but does @BTS_twt @bts_bighit need a bodyguard? Crazy because I’ve been touring with them for years, they just can’t see me. #GotYourSix
— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 11, 2018
Pardon my language but HOLY SH*T!!! @jimmyfallon as if I couldn’t love you any more!! @bts_bighit @BTS_twt are huge @WWE fans!! 🤯🤯🤯 Hope one day we can meet!! You’re amazing Jimmy Fallon! @FallonTonight #BTSArmy https://t.co/jTC6u4uWYw
— John Cena (@JohnCena) February 25, 2020
2. Tom Hiddleston
- British actor Tom Hiddleston has proved himself to be a K-pop fan in the past years. In 2013, the Marvel actor was in South Korea to promote “Thor: The Dark World”, and during his time there, Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Young served as a host to interview him. She introduced him to parts of South Korea with a tour around Namsangol Hanok Village and Namsan Tower.
- From that interview, fans were gushing about the wholesome interactions between the two as it seemed like a moment straight out of a K-drama! He posted a tweet after his meeting with Tiffany and it was clear that he had become a fan.
- Not only that, SMTOWN also shared their excitement with a series of tweets to commemorate the moment. The actor shocked fans when he followed SMTOWN on Twitter.
.@GirlsGeneration Tiffany with Tom Hiddleston! Meet their story on "Mnet Wide Entertainment News" on Oct 18th. pic.twitter.com/EultaYfLw8
— SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) October 16, 2013
- The “Loki” actor is well-known for his talent in dancing. He once proved his dance skills by dancing to Psy’s “Gangnam Style”. He credited fellow Hollywood star Tilda Swinton as the person who introduced him to the K-pop scene.
- “She’s so fun, just a hoot. I’d be in the make-up chair every morning while she showed me stupid YouTube videos. She introduced me to “Gangnam Style”. Seriously, she was into K-pop long before anyone else. Tilda Swinton on the dance floor is a force of nature,” Tom Hiddleston remarked.
- You can watch the actor’s interview with Tiffany Young here:
3. Emma Stone
- The “Cruella” star admitted on Conan O’Brien’s show in 2015 that she is obsessed with K-pop. She said, “It’s a global phenomenon. It’s beyond excellent. It’s the best thing you’ve ever seen.”
- She is a big fan of South Korean girl band 2NE1 when she discovered the band during her “Spiderman” movie premiere in 2015 in Seoul and her favourite song from the band is “I Am the Best.”
- While BTS was a guest star in “Saturday Night Live”, a show she was hosting, the Oscar winner once told Jimmy Fallon in 2019 that she “involuntarily screamed” as she watched the K-pop superstars do a sound check. “I’m actually not kidding. It came out of my body, like ‘Aaah!’ Like a chemical reaction happened,” she told Jimmy Fallon.
4. Lorde
- Lorde has been a huge K-pop fan since high school after a friend introduced her to popular K-pop girl-group 2NE1 and Girls’ Generation. Since the discovery, the New Zealand singer-songwriter sat down for an interview once where she praised K-pop and even offered to write songs for the genre.
- She once gave a shout out to CL, tweeting, “You are the best. I hope we get to hug one day.”
- She named a few K-pop artists that she favoured and expressed her interest to collaborate with Lee Hi. When asked about why she liked the genre, she said, “it is because their melodies and songs are very interesting. Their melodies are a lot more charming than the Western pop which I grew up listening to.”
5. Maisie Williams
- The British actress has made no secret of her love of K-pop, especially for BTS. In 2018, the “Game of Thrones” actress admitted that Jungkook was her bias and even proclaimed to one follower that, “Yes, I stan BTS for life.”
- Williams has participated in the BTS’s #IDOLCHALLENGE and shared a video of her dancing with killer moves, acing the viral trend.
#IDOLCHALLENGE pic.twitter.com/fz8p6EmFgT
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) September 6, 2018
- Like many other super fans, her Twitter header also featured a photoshopped picture of her sitting next to BTS in the group picture of the boy group from the Grammys 2019.
6. Ryan Reynolds
- The Hollywood actor is one of the biggest K-pop fans around. The “Deadpool” star even has formed great friendships with a few K-pop idols.
- He is a major EXO fan and he even joked about being a member of the group when he posted a picture with EXO members on his Instagram. The actor met the K-pop stars during the premiere of his Netflix film “6 Underground” in Seoul.
The way Chanyeol ran to make sure he gets to stan next to Ryan Reynolds might be the cutest thing I seen on this bird app #6UndergroundxEXO pic.twitter.com/jbxUUjxRGg
— SeChan (@sechan_1b) December 2, 2019
- He did a photoshoot dressed as Deadpool, with HyunA (김현아) for the 166th volume of HIGHCUT magazine. He later posted on Instagram a picture of him affectionately posed with a copy of one of the photos and claimed to have slept with the photo, which made his wife, Blake Lively jealous.
- He is a proud Stray Kids fan as he also shows support for Stray Kids by streaming and leaving comments on their new releases. Ryan Reynolds and the group are practically besties now as they have even exchanged gifts. The two stars’ interaction started when Stray Kids did a Deadpool-inspired performance on “Kingdom.”
Two things.
First, I have your autograph right here, Bang Chan. Will send to you this week.
Second, as a new @Stray_Kids fan, can I get an autograph? #NewFavouriteAustralian pic.twitter.com/uoiwTthoHp
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) May 23, 2021
- The actor also briefly appeared in one of the popular South Korean shows, “The King of Masked Singer” while on a press tour for “Deadpool 2”. He sang “Tomorrow” from “Annie”.
- Watch his performance here:
Sources: Koreaboo (1) (2), SCMP, LifestyleAsia, Soompi
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