“Hello Dear members of AHN! Hope you’re all doing well today. My name is Oleg and I’m an actor/director. The fact of the matter is that I (have) always been a cultural misfit.”
Oleg’s opening words in his very first post on the AHN community group.
Born in a small village in Uzbekistan and raised in Sweden, Oleg Kim is the youngest son of third-generation Russian-Korean immigrants. With such a mix of race and being born in a foreign country, he has always had this feeling of not being able to relate to “his kind”.
“I never really knew where I belonged and always had this feeling that I didn’t really click with ‘my people’ ” Oleg shares with the AHN community.
Despite trying to be like everybody else, according to Oleg, he knew deep inside that he wasn’t, people knew it too and he could always tell. For a long time, he thought being multiracial was a disadvantage, a sign of weakness, and he ended up questioning his purpose in life.
Oleg’s way to escape was filmmaking and acting, as he loved the feeling of “disappearing” when stories about misfits often are being told in films.
“I never really knew where I belonged and always had this feeling that I didn’t really click with ‘my people’ ”
-Oleg Kim, Actor and filmmaker
In 2012, he received a scholarship at Prague Film School in the Czech Republic and earned an honorary student diploma and two awards for Best Directing and Editing.
“As I decided to put myself together and stop blaming everything and everyone for my miseries, I realized that my biggest disadvantage is in fact my superpower,” he adds.
With the fruit of his hard work, Oleg had an opportunity to work with the American casting director Nancy Bishop. He also filmed a music video for “The Silverspoons,” a Czech indie rock band, as well as a behind-the-scenes project for Indian director Keshhav Panneriy.
“For me, it all started with a thought that maybe there’s something out there, on the other side of the horizon. So I followed that thought and started my journey. It is not over yet but so far it’s been more than I could hope for.” he said.
Oleg has had the privilege to work with some incredible actors, like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in a L’Oreal commercial, and Zack Snyder’s Netflix film “Army of Thieves,” as well as in the film starring Ryan Reynolds “The Gray Man” directed by the Russo brothers.
“For me, it all started with a thought that maybe there’s something out there, on the other side of the horizon. So I followed that thought and started my journey. It is not over yet but so far it’s been more than I could hope for.”
-Oleg Kim, Actor and filmmaker
The Prague-based actor later realized that being different from Koreans, Swedes, Russians, and Uzbeks is not a bad thing and in fact, it makes him stand out. Aside from having the advantage of being fluent in 4 languages, he also does tricking, boxing, and swing dancing.
Although as an actor, he found it frustrating not to be able to play the characters he desired. He wanted to avoid playing Asian stereotypes, so for his latest project, Oleg and his friends develop their own shorts.
They have the freedom to write, direct and film what comes up to their minds. “It’s not always good but it’s ours and other artists get inspired by what we do,” he adds.
“It’s easy to be cynical and blame the world but in the end, the responsibility as an artist lies within you and you only. We’re here to create so we create. That’s it.” Oleg ends.
Instagram: @thequietactor
Facebook: Oleg Kim
Youtube: Oleg Kim
