{"id":46463,"date":"2026-08-15T10:18:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46463"},"modified":"2026-08-15T10:18:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:18:36","slug":"charles-melton-is-ready-for-that-emmy-moment-and-the-possibilities-of-the-x-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46463","title":{"rendered":"Charles Melton Is Ready For That Emmy Moment And The &#8216;Possibilities&#8217; Of The &#8216;X-Men&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the time you read this, <strong>Charles Melton\u2019s<\/strong> life may have changed forever. Granted, it\u2019s already taken an incredible turn. Three years ago, the somewhat under-the-radar, one-time <strong>\u201cRiverdale\u201d<\/strong> cast member became a cinephile favorite in<strong> Todd Haynes\u2019 \u201cMay December.\u201d<\/strong> This year, he delivered a celebrated performance in the second season of <strong>\u201cBeef.\u201d<\/strong> A portrayal that earned him of two Emmy nominations this year. But tomorrow night, there are rumors that a big reveal will occur at the annual D23 Convention in Anaheim, California. And Melton may be introduced as a member of the new <strong>\u201cX-Men\u201d<\/strong> cast. At least, that\u2019s the word on the street. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/beef-season-2-jake-schreier-on-lies-class-warfare-generational-divide-why-it-all-matters-for-x-men-bingeworthy-podcast-20260414\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/beef-season-2-jake-schreier-on-lies-class-warfare-generational-divide-why-it-all-matters-for-x-men-bingeworthy-podcast-20260414\/\">\u2018Beef\u2019 Season 2: Jake Schreier On Lies, Class Warfare, Generational Divide, &amp; Why It All Matters For \u2018X-Men\u2019 [Bingeworthy Podcast]<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, Melton jumped on a trans-Atlantic Zoom call to catch up on his accolades for his work in <strong>Lee Sung Jin\u2019s<\/strong> Netflix anthology series.  The season earned 16 nominations overall, including Melton in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category as well as Outstanding Limited Series, for which he earned executive producer credit. He learned about his Emmy bounty during a stay in sweaty Paris last month. It was almost another day, if any day in Paris could be just another day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Melton recalls, \u201cI went to the park with my wife and my daughter, and we walked around, went to a museum. I drank five cold brews. This is very mundane and beautiful and simple, but I was like, \u2018Hey, I think the Emmy nominations are going to happen now. They\u2019re going to announce it.\u2019 Because I do this thing where I try to act like I don\u2019t care, but I do care, but then I really don\u2019t care, but then it\u2019s good to care because it represents so much. To be recognized by the Television Academy and my peers means so much. And then I know over 300, 400 people on our production and on our crew worked so hard for the show, and it means so much to them, and it means so much to me, and it means so much to our creator, Sunny [Lee Sung Jin]. I was just like, \u201cBaby, it\u2019s one more minute before they announce Watch it.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/lee-sung-jin-strategically-recruited-charles-melton-for-beef-season-2-wants-you-to-know-he-hates-pickleball-interview-20260610\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/lee-sung-jin-strategically-recruited-charles-melton-for-beef-season-2-wants-you-to-know-he-hates-pickleball-interview-20260610\/\">As Sunny told The Playlist in June,<\/a> Melton was first pitched the project at a Gold House dinner. Sunny specifically asked if he could sit next to Melton to convince him to participate. Melton, meanwhile, was, well\u2026distracted by the other filmmakers at the table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was more worried about hanging out with <strong>Chloe Zhao<\/strong> and <strong>Lulu Wang.<\/strong> So, I was like, if I\u2019m with one of two, I\u2019m doing a movie with Lulu Wang,\u201d Melton jokes. \u201cIf he sees that, he\u2019s going to laugh. No, he sat down next to me, and I was a huge fan of season one of \u2018Beef\u2019 because it was the same year that \u2018May December\u2019 came out. I met him at the Gotham Awards, and we celebrated that night, and I had no clue. It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s not really common where a creator is coming to me with an incredible amount of recognition and success in his arena with what he did with \u2018Beef,\u2019 saying, \u201cI want to write something for you, and I have something in mind for you.\u2019 We had hours of communication, but the way he pitched it to me was \u2018love and capitalism.\u2019 And then also he was like, \u2018Your experience of both being Korean and American and the half-Korean experience and what that\u2019s like and the dichotomy of that.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-1024x597.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-491950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-1024x597.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-768x448.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-150x88.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-696x406.jpg 696w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-1068x623.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2-200x117.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/13062403\/CharlesMeltonBeefS2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He adds, \u201cI think like any artist, you want to be a part of something rich where it\u2019s not limited to one thing, and it\u2019s just not limited to identity, and that\u2019s not what this was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It certainly was not. As Austin, Melton plays a young man who is seemingly at peace with his aspirational career as a fitness trainer, even if he pays the bills working part-time at a country club alongside his girlfriend Ashley (<strong>Cailee Spaeny<\/strong>). His opportunities begin to flourish after he and Ashley witness what appears to be a physical altercation between his boss, the club\u2019s general manager (<strong>Oscar Isaac<\/strong>), and his wife, Lindsay (<strong>Carey Mulligan<\/strong>), an interior designer contracted by the resort. The arrival of the Korean owner of the club, Chairwoman Park (<strong>Youn Yuh-jung<\/strong>), eventually leads to all four Americans traveling to Seoul, Korea, where their lives are unexpectedly in danger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Alaskan-born Melton says he\u2019d never seen anyone write about someone being inherently Korean without ever setting foot in Korea itself. He describes the experience of then shooting in Seoul as a \u201cfull circle moment\u201d because he grew up in Korea for five years. Melton explains, \u201cAustin, my character, has never been to Korea. People thought he was Mexican, and he didn\u2019t really have any tethers to his identity, even though it ran through his DNA. And then to be in Korea and then have my whole Korean family man come to set and be with me, Korean farmers and people that would never imagine being on a set come see me, it was profound on so many different levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t get a script until maybe six or eight months later while they were writing it,\u201d Melton reveals. \u201cBut what Sunny does so brilliantly as a creator is he doesn\u2019t write words and then present them to you. He gets to know you, he collaborates with you, he understands your essence, and then he excavates certain stories or things that you may or may not have said, blends it in with his own experience, and then he translates it and transcribes it on paper knowing that there\u2019s only that one person that he wrote it for that can bring it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Melton has a perfect example of that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s that line where Austin in episode three is like, \u2018Yeah, I used to go to a Korean church, and everyone thought I was Mexican. I told him people used to think I was Mexican.\u2019 And so he transcribes those little elements. Austin [says], \u2018If I may say this,\u2019 he got that from me. Because sometimes I preface. It\u2019s almost like asking for permission to say something that might be controversial or maybe lead to conflict, which is a texture of Austin and who he is, where it\u2019s like, \u2018Gregory, if I may say something, if I may. My perspective is I really don\u2019t like your shirt.\u2019 You know what I mean? It\u2019s almost like, do you give me free rein to say? And Sunny knows this, and we talk about it. It was a very vulnerable experience for me. It felt very naked because you\u2019re kind of sharing these vulnerabilities and these truths and having trust in the creator.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBeef\u201d is inherently a dark, dark comedy with Austin in the middle of many of the jokes even if they are not at his expense. He tells The Playlist, \u201cIt was never funny for me to film Austin. I loved Austin. Austin\u2019s kind of a heartbreaking character, but on paper I can kind of judge him. I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s so naive.\u2019 He was never funny to me. The context was funny. When I see the audience watch Austin in episode one, it\u2019s the perfect example of who Austin is. He\u2019s doing pushups. He\u2019s of no use. He feels like he\u2019s disappearing. No one needs him for anything. His wife, his fianc\u00e9e, is starting to work a job. He\u2019s a part-time trainer. All his clients canceled on him. He\u2019s doing pushups by himself. He sees a bee struggling. And then immediately he goes, \u2018Oh no.\u2019 Runs to the kitchen, grabs a glass of water, and tries to save the bee. The bee dies, and he starts crying. That is who Austin is. And when you watch it, people laugh. For me, it\u2019s not funny. When I was filming it, it was not funny.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That dichotomy may tie into the inherent Korean sensibility Sunny has brought to the series. Melton recalls speaking to filmmakers B<strong>ong [Joon Ho] <\/strong>and<strong> Park Chan-wook<\/strong> about the perception that he\u2019s this \u201cgreat comedic actor\u201d even though that was never his intention with the role. Their response was effectively, \u201cLife is already too funny to even try to be funny. Just be you. Just existing is funny within itself. There are so many absurd things in life that happen all around us that are just funny.\u201d Melton says, \u201cI think it was a great kind of thing as an actor just to live in something that really touches on my Korean mannerisms, but also the kind of humor and comedy that I love that is reminiscent of <strong>\u2018Parasite,\u2019 \u2018No Other Choice,\u2019 \u2018Memories of Murder,\u2019 <\/strong>so many different kinds of Korean films. And that\u2019s the way I\u2019d rather do comedy and humor. It\u2019s very like Cohenesque Brothers, PTA-esque.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"627\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-1024x627.jpg\" alt=\"Beef Season 2\" class=\"wp-image-483842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-1024x627.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-768x470.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-150x92.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-696x426.jpg 696w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-1068x654.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04-200x123.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21114709\/beef-season-2-first-look-04.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for those never-ending \u201cX-Men\u201d rumors, Melton\u2019s face lights up over the prospect of reuniting with both Schreier and Sunny on the project. He\u2019s seen the rumors. He might even be checking out the reaction to his potential casting online. Maybe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt depends on what day or moment you catch me on, but right now I\u2019d say I think I believe in Jake and Sunny so much, and I would love to work with them again, and many more times. They know that,\u201d Melton says. \u201cI try to stay away from the fodder as much as I can. So I\u2019ve limited myself to Googling myself maybe 20 times a day instead of 50. It was really bad before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hey, baby steps, right?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBaby steps,\u201d Melton laughs. \u201cI\u2019ll just get down to Googling myself maybe 10 times a day. That\u2019s normal, right? I\u2019m kidding. I don\u2019t do that. I don\u2019t do that. Am I lying? I don\u2019t know. Zoom in on the camera, look at my eyes, see what I\u2019m hiding, see what I\u2019m telling. But no, man, it\u2019d be amazing to work with them again. And I think whenever people are talking about you in a very maybe positive, hopeful way, I think it\u2019s exciting. But I think it\u2019s amazing to be talked about and even considered for any of those possibilities about something amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cBeef\u201d Season 2 is available on Netflix<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow Gregory Ellwood on <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/gregoryellwood.bsky.social\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/gregoryellwood.bsky.social\">Bluesky<\/a><br \/>Follow Gregory Ellwood on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@gregoryellwood\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@gregoryellwood\">Threads<\/a><br \/>Follow Gregory Ellwood on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gregoryellwood\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gregoryellwood\/\">Instagram<\/a><br \/>Follow Gregory Ellwood on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@gregoryellwood\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@gregoryellwood\">TikTok<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/newsletter\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/newsletter\/\">Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BEEF: Season 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZtQoofDhJOM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><!-- MOLONGUI AUTHORSHIP PLUGIN 5.2.9 --><br \/>\n<!-- https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/wordpress-plugin-post-authors --><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-a-box \" data-box-layout=\"slim\" data-box-position=\"below\" data-multiauthor=\"false\" data-author-id=\"51\" data-author-type=\"user\" data-author-archived=\"\">\n<div class=\"m-a-box-container\">\n<div class=\"m-a-box-tab m-a-box-content m-a-box-profile\" data-profile-layout=\"layout-1\" data-author-ref=\"user-51\" itemscope=\"\" itemid=\"https:\/\/theplaylist.net\/author\/gregory\/\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<div class=\"m-a-box-content-middle\">\n<div class=\"m-a-box-item m-a-box-avatar\" data-source=\"local\"><a class=\"m-a-box-avatar-url\" href=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0fcdd077e1353b25cbc49f06d203baaeab3673823369b00f2e869d7f326360?s=150&amp;d=mp&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0fcdd077e1353b25cbc49f06d203baaeab3673823369b00f2e869d7f326360?s=300&amp;d=mp&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-150 photo\" height=\"150\" width=\"150\" itemprop=\"image\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"m-a-box-item m-a-box-data\">\n<div class=\"m-a-box-bio\" itemprop=\"description\">\n<p>Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry&#8217;s most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he&#8217;s the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the time you read this, Charles Melton\u2019s life may have changed forever. Granted, it\u2019s already taken an incredible turn. Three years ago, the somewhat under-the-radar, one-time \u201cRiverdale\u201d cast member became a cinephile favorite in Todd Haynes\u2019 \u201cMay December.\u201d This year, he delivered a celebrated performance in the second season of \u201cBeef.\u201d A portrayal that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.theplaylist.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/12120305\/CharlesMeltonBeefSeason2Premiere.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}