In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Claudia Kim plays a character doomed with a blood curse. Outside of the wizarding world, she likes to indulge in breakfast tea, K-Dramas, and quality time with her tiny Maltese.
Age: 33
Lives in: Seoul, South Korea
You know her from: Marco Polo (2014–16), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Dark Tower (2017)
Big break? “Growing up, Karuna Shinsho on CNN was one of my idols, so I wanted to become either an anchorwoman or an international lawyer. Then I heard about the Korea-China supermodel contest and thought maybe an opportunity could come of it. It was never about winning, but I feel very lucky that I did.”
On the Job: “The first time I saw J.K. Rowling, I was sitting across from her at the Fantastic Beasts table read, and I was just amazed by how wonderful she is in person. When I was washing my hands in the bathroom, I looked in the mirror and saw her come in behind me. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I want to give you a handshake, but my hands are wet! What do I do?!’ She said she loved my audition tape, and it meant the world to me.”
At leisure: “I try to catch up on all of the Korean shows. Mr. Sunshine is one I’m watching right now, and My Mister is another one that I loved. We have something called Olleh TV that’s kind of like Netflix.”
Will travel: “Lucca in Italy is my favorite vacation spot. I bike to the beach every day, but I’m still not very good at it, so the whole time I’m just yelling, ‘Sorry! Sorry!’”
Hot tips? “I love breakfast tea. Lately, I like Steven Smith tea and this French brand Theodor Paris that makes really good milky oolong.”
Good sport: “I’m a fan of judo, so I always try to watch competitions like the European championship. And I really want to get back into jujitsu.”
Girl’s best friend? “I have a Maltese named Winter because she was born on Christmas Day. She’s 11 now. Every time I put my yoga mat on the floor, she joins me and we fight over space. She likes to do a downward dog.”
This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Marie Claire.
