Korea-born Peter Thurnwald, actor in Netflix series XO, Kitty who plays a Korean adoptee, on his own adoption and growing up in Australia

By Dong Sun-hwa Among the cast members of Netflix’s coming romcom series XO, Kitty, the actor playing the character most resembling themself is probably Peter Thurnwald. Thurnwald, who was born in Korea and adopted by his Australian parents when he was a six-month-old, plays Alex Finnerty, an Australia-raised Korean adoptee. Alex is a teacher at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS) – a fictional institution – who searches for his biological roots. For Thurnwald, portraying a character whose circumstances are so similar to his own was both challenging and enjoyable. “I am an adopted Korean, so playing an adopted character brought its challenges in the sense that it was very close to home,” the 25-year-old says . “As an actor, I enjoy delving into characters that are a little bit different from me because there is a distinct barrier between what is me and what is the character. But that is also the most enjoyable part because then I get to explore facets of my personality and get to share those with people on the screen, which is extremely exciting.” BTS’ Suga on going solo, and why his bandmates are ‘real brothers, period’ When he was filming XO, Kitty – a spin-off from popular Netflix film franchise To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Thurnwald could easily empathise with his character. XO, Kitty revolves around Kitty Song Covey – played by Anna Cathcart – who seeks to learn about her late Korean mother’s life and reunite with her long-distance Korean boyfriend, Dae – played by Choi Min-yeong. “I and Alex are both very loyal and care about other people a lot,” Thurnwald says. “But of course, the thing that is most similar for us is that we are both adopted and have experienced the same thing growing up in Australia. The experience of not knowing who you are and what your identity is.” Thurnwald says he grew up “very Australian”. Oh! Youngsim: Song Ha-yoon leads rocky K-drama about a pop-culture figure “I did not have much of a chance to visit Korea when I was younger and I only went back once when I think I was about 10 years old,” he said. “I barely remember what the country was like. I did go back when I was filming XO, Kitty, and that was a completely new experience, but not for a very long time. “I did not have a chance to learn too much Korean when I was growing up, although we did have a group of Korean adoptees on the Gold Coast.” Since he grew up in a predominantly white part of Australia, although there were many Koreans at his school, Thurnwald felt like he did not know much about his identity. He almost left the country to find his birth mother. However, he learned that his orphanage in Korea had burned down, so he could not find records about her. “But I found acting around the same time, which allowed me to vent those feelings of not knowing who I was,” Thurnwald recalls. “At the moment, I would not say I am 100 per cent actively searching for my mother. I think that is a completely different story that I would like to tell in the future. But as of now, I am very comfortable with who I am and what I stand for. “If I was to go and find her, I would want it to improve my life, not take away from it.” Thurnwald was scouted by a casting agent after doing a play in high school in his final year. “I ended up doing a bunch of extra work around South East Queensland,” he says. “So I just fell into it, but I knew that I wanted to be an actor as soon as I stepped onto the set. There was just something magical about being on a film set and creating beautiful stories that can give people a cathartic experience.” She’s just like Teresa Teng, Faye Wong: 42-year-old singer’s star is rising Thurnwald has appeared in a number of series, including Bump (2020) and Players (2022). For those who are not yet familiar with him, he recommends watching Players first. “Playing Foresite on Players was such an amazing experience and I enjoyed the show as a whole,” he says. “Esports is something that I have been passionate about ever since I could go on a computer so of course I loved the show.” The actor is leaning more towards being behind the camera as he gets older. “There is something about passionate storytelling and the creation of a film that is a little different from me when I am acting. I can feel especially on television and film, it can feel a little bit like it’s not your performance any more because there are so many factors that contribute,” says Thurnwald. “Whereas if I’m producing something, I get to decide the story I’m telling as opposed to finding the story that I want to tell.” Read the full story at The Korea Times.