Yulee Choi on Acting in Comedy ‘Food Truck: Stolen Love…and Moo Deng’

Singer Yulee Choi wasn’t the only one making her acting debut in the comedy “Food Truck: Stolen Love…and Moo Deng.” The viral baby hippo who charmed the world after she was born in 2024 also appears in a feature film for the first time in the Thai family movie.

Choi, a Korean singer-songwriter and founder of SRP Entertainment, told the audience at a recent Variety Screening Series event that she wanted to make the jump into acting because “I love to learn.” When the producers learned she could speak Thai (she majored in Thai at university), they encouraged her to join the film. It co-stars popular Thai star Mario Maurer along with comedian Jack Fanchan and rapper-actor Padung Songsang.

Her song “After the Rain” is also heard in the film, and she explained in the Q&A how the song, which was released last year, ties in with “Food Truck.”

“The ‘After the Rain’ song connects to this film and this story, and it’s very emotional,” Choi said. “The song talks about overcoming certain obstacles, like when the rain starts falling, the sky becomes clean and beautiful, so life is the same way.”

Choi revealed that unfortunately she didn’t get to share any scenes with the pygmy hippo. In the action comedy, she plays an actress making a movie on location who brings her son along on the shoot. When he suspects his biological father might be part of the production team, her son stows away in the film’s catering truck and as the crew attempts to return him to his mother, they end up taking a detour to Moo Deng’s zoo — only for the petite hippo to also become a stowaway.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the real Moo Deng in person. But seeing the film, I can feel how cute and charming Moo Deng is,” she said.

When she first met up with the producers in Korea, she found the story funny and emotional, she said, “It connects a lot with my real life experiences as well.” Like the actress in the film, Choi is raising her children on her own.

“That experience made me understand the character’s emotions and feel it more deeply,” she said.

Choi said working with the children in the cast was a wonderful experience, “since they were so professional.” Thailand’s unpredictable weather, however, was another story, as the crew was dealing with both sudden downpours and heat.

“So I just prayed before the shoot for, no heavy rain please today,” she laughed.

Will Choi be returning to the screen amidst her busy music career? “I hope so!” she said. “Whenever I have an opportunity, I would love to.”