Lusiana Hamidun
It’s not every day that an unsolicited voice message from a global superstar like Taylor Swift arrives, suggesting a starring role in their latest music video. Yet, this was precisely the reality for acclaimed actress Greta Lee late last year. The serendipitous connection between Lee and Swift began on the set of The Graham Norton Show in October, where an immediate rapport formed between the two creatives.
"We had such a good time, and we ended up hanging out after the show with her parents and her brother," Lee recalled during a recent interview. "We kept texting, and then she sent this voice memo asking if I’d be interested in being in her video. I just thought, ‘What? Yes, yes, yes!’ And it all kind of happened organically."
The music video in question was for Swift’s 2024 single, "Opalite." The visual narrative saw Swift enlist not only Lee but also fellow Graham Norton Show guests Domhnall Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lewis Capaldi. The idea reportedly stemmed from a playful exchange on the show’s sofa, with Gleeson joking about a fantastical scenario. In the video, Gleeson portrays a lonely man who uses a magical spray to transform his beloved cactus into a woman, played by Swift. Lee, meanwhile, embodies an "Indie Rock Goddess," strumming a guitar on a television screen within a cocktail bar frequented by Swift’s character. Lee’s playful observation about Swift’s directorial prowess hints at a burgeoning talent: "I feel like this is just the warm-up," she remarked, even posing the question to Swift, "When is your first feature film coming out?"
This unexpected detour into the music video realm certainly scored major points with Lee’s two sons, nine-year-old Apollo and seven-year-old Raphael, whom she shares with her husband, writer and producer Russ Armstrong. "They think it’s so cool," she said with a laugh, adding, "They even took selfies and sent them to Taylor."
Lee’s involvement with Toy Story 5, slated for release this summer, will undoubtedly captivate a younger audience. She lends her voice to Lilypad, the antagonist in the latest installment of the three-decade-old franchise. In the film, Lilypad, a frog-shaped tablet, infiltrates the room of an eight-year-old Bonnie, posing a threat to the beloved world of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The aging toys are thrown into a panic, declaring, "The toy era is over!"
Speaking from Los Angeles, Lee exuded a relaxed demeanor, dressed in a deep V-neck navy sweater with her long black hair cascading down. She has a characteristic habit of pulling her sleeves over her hands as she speaks, though there was no hint of nervousness. The 43-year-old actress, known for her roles in Girls, The Morning Show, and the Oscar-nominated film Past Lives, admitted to watching Toy Story 5 for the first time just days prior. The experience proved to be an emotional one, leaving her in tears throughout a viewing session with co-stars Joan Cusack and Tim Allen. "I cried about 600 times," she winced.
“It was so embarrassing because it was the first time I’d met Tim and Joan,” she confessed. “Thank goodness Tom Hanks wasn’t there.” For Lee, Toy Story represents a significant departure from her typical projects. However, the offer was instantly appealing, having grown up with the original Toy Story, released in 1995. When director Andrew Stanton reached out to gauge her interest, Lee accepted without knowing the specifics of her role. "I thought I was just going to do a day of voice work for a minor character, maybe Forky’s daughter or something," she chuckled. "Then I got an email with an illustration of Lilypad and one big word: ‘Villain.’" Did she relish the opportunity to play such a character? "Absolutely," she affirmed. "I love playing characters, or even technological devices, that are so convinced of what they want, even when they’re wrong. I love the idea that Lilypad thinks she’s an expert at everything. We all know people like that.”
The film delves into the pervasive influence of technology on children’s lives and its impact on their imaginations. In a poignant scene, Bonnie attends a playdate with her friends. Instead of engaging in traditional play, the children sit silently in the same room, engrossed in their individual tablets. Elsewhere, Bonnie’s parents are shown interacting with their daughter while simultaneously glued to their phones. "The fact that kids are no longer playing with toys feels incredibly relevant and urgent," Lee stated. "It’s funny to say this about a Toy Story movie, but I think it’s one of the most important pieces of work I’ve ever made. I’m so thrilled that my children will be able to watch it."
In her personal life, Lee and her husband strive to maintain a healthy balance regarding screen time for their two sons. They practice what Lee describes as an "evaluation on a day-to-day basis, because technology is constantly changing." They’ve even installed a landline telephone in their home, enabling their children to connect with friends. "They’re only allowed devices on weekends," Lee explained. "It’s a struggle, and not a simple one. Every time we ask them to stop, there’s a long process. The chaos that technology and screens introduce isn’t just impacting them, but us as well."
Toy Story is not Lee’s first foray into exploring the darker side of technology in her work. In the fourth season of The Morning Show, her character, Stella Bak, the CEO of media conglomerate UBN, grapples with the fallout when her affair with her boss’s husband is exposed during a company AI strategy presentation that experiences a technical glitch. Simultaneously, in Tron: Ares (2025), Lee portrays scientist Eve Kim, pursued by two humanoid AI programs who covet the code that would allow them to exist in the real world.
For both these projects, Lee immersed herself in the complexities of artificial intelligence by meeting and studying the work of several pioneering women in the tech field. Among them was Dr. Fei-Fei Li, the founder of the ImageNet database and a recognized figure on lists of the "100 Most Influential People in AI." Dr. Li even made a cameo appearance in Tron: Ares. "She shifted my perspective from a very negative one about AI to something more dynamic, with an emphasis on its humanity. That we shouldn’t be too relaxed, but we also don’t need to think the apocalypse is coming."
"AI needs to be regulated," Lee continued. "We need to be incredibly vigilant. There’s a part of me that wants to move to an island with just a rope and a bucket and just end it all there."
Fortunately for audiences, that possibility appears remote. Greta Lee has spent her life advocating for her dreams, and she has no intention of going anywhere.
A Journey Rooted in Creativity and Resilience
Lee’s formative years were spent in La Cañada Flintridge, a suburb of Los Angeles, alongside her parents, older brother, and sister. Her family emigrated from South Korea to the United States shortly before her birth. "I grew up in a really interesting family," she said with a laugh. "My mother was a painter, a singer, and a musician. She never stopped creating. We even joked that she worked for the CIA. Meanwhile, my father played the cello every night, very badly. It was his bedtime ritual. He’d always play ‘Ave Maria’ or ‘Happy Birthday.’”
The world of performing arts was an integral part of her upbringing. "I sang at the mall, I entered talent competitions…" This early exposure ignited a passion that led her to major in musical theater at Northwestern University, where she met her husband. After graduating, Lee relocated to New York City. "I wanted to be an important artist. In my mind at the time, that meant being a stage actor like Vanessa Redgrave," she explained. "I had no idea how difficult that journey would be."
Despite securing a number of theater roles, including a stint on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Lee found herself working as a waitress at David Chang’s restaurant Momofuku Ssam to make ends meet. "Sometimes I thought I’d make more money just collecting unemployment," she recalled. "I still remember the panic of being a young adult in New York trying to fulfill a dream that was slowly starting to feel ridiculous."
There were numerous moments when she considered giving up. "It was incredibly painful for years," she admitted. "Over and over again, I’d hear, ‘It’s down to you and one other person…’ and over and over again, the other person would get it. You have to have a bit of madness to keep going. It felt so clear that the industry wasn’t looking for people like me."
The Breakthrough and the Evolution of a Career
Lee’s first major career turning point arrived in 2012 when Lena Dunham saw her performance in the stage production of 4000 Miles. "She invited me to a table read for the second season of Girls, and then wrote a specific character for me," she remembered. In the acclaimed series, Lee portrayed Soojin, the eccentric assistant to a pretentious conceptual artist named Booth Jonathan, who briefly romanced Marnie, a character played by Allison Williams. Soojin later became a gallery owner and hired Marnie as her assistant. "It was so much fun. I knew that show was going to live in people’s memories for a long time. The experience was so joyful. Even though we were young, we worked on it so seriously. We were aware of how lucky we were to have the freedom and the resources to make something exactly how we wanted it." Lee’s creative partnership with Dunham has continued to flourish, with the two currently collaborating on a secret project. "Lena has been in my life over the years, coming and going, but always present."
Her role in Girls paved the way for more comedic projects, including appearances on the sketch comedy show Inside Amy Schumer and the 2015 film Sisters, which reunited her with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. "The reason I did a lot of comedy is because I wanted to play characters with depth," Lee stated. She also expressed admiration for British comedians like Steve Coogan and Hugh Laurie, having previously shared the stage with Joanna Lumley on Broadway. "I was absolutely a huge fan. I was like a puppy, following her everywhere and doing anything to stay near her."
In 2021, Lee embarked on a new chapter with her role as Stella Bak in The Morning Show. This opportunity prompted a move back to Los Angeles with her family, as the chance to work alongside Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston was deemed too valuable to pass up. "They are like incredible older sisters," she said with a smile. "I’ve learned so much from both of them. What surprised me the most was how much they still cared after all these years in the industry. They wanted the scenes to work, they wanted the dialogue to land well.”
The experience was significantly faster-paced and more intense than anything Lee had undertaken previously. "It was a completely different world from my work in New York. Everything felt so glamorous. It’s a very technically demanding show, and now I have an almost photographic memory for memorizing dialogue."
The fourth season of The Morning Show placed Lee’s character at the center of the narrative, featuring her first intimate scenes with Aaron Pierre, who played Stella’s lover, Miles. "Television crews are usually like your family. So, all those sex scenes were genuinely a nightmare," she said, covering her face. "Imagine you’ve spent years talking about their children, and then suddenly you have to be naked and pretend to have intense sex. I felt like I wanted to put a bag over my head and disappear."
She then laughed, recalling the specific details of the filming process. "They gave us stickers to cover certain body parts. But that just made everything feel more embarrassing. Imagine having a heart-shaped sticker on your butt. It felt like making a porn film in front of your family." Despite the awkwardness, Lee had nothing but praise for Pierre. "Aaron is a truly, truly respectful man," she stated. "His skin is even so soft. I remember him earnestly asking, ‘Is it okay if I touch your elbow?’ when the script said: ‘They make passionate love.’ I thought, ‘I really hope you touch my elbow, Aaron!’”
The Morning Show significantly amplified Lee’s visibility. Shortly thereafter, she auditioned for the leading role of Nora Moon in Celine Song’s film Past Lives. Nora is a Korean-Canadian woman whose family emigrated from South Korea when she was young and who reconnects with her childhood sweetheart two decades later. Lee didn’t initially land the part. However, a year later, Song reconnected with her due to a casting shift. Her performance in the 2023 film garnered widespread acclaim and contributed to Past Lives receiving an Academy Award nomination.
It’s difficult not to draw parallels between Nora’s story and the journey of Lee’s own family, who migrated to Los Angeles. Both narratives explore creative individuals who leave their home countries to forge new lives. "I really loved the moment Nora arrives in New York because that’s exactly how I feel every time I return to that city," Lee said.
She also admitted to being surprised by the emotions that surfaced during the filming of Past Lives. In one scene, the camera lingered on her face in extreme close-up for several minutes while she was in a taxi. "I felt so uncomfortable with the camera staying on my face for that long," she recalled. "It was physically remarkable because usually at that point, someone would be yelling, ‘Cut!’ The reality is, underrepresented characters are often relegated to the periphery of the story." Lee felt a profound responsibility to prove herself after years of striving in the industry. "There’s a certain pressure to walk into a room, show your worth, and then get out. I have this internal clock that’s constantly saying, ‘Okay, your time is almost up.’”
Does she feel frustrated by the long wait for her first leading roles? "I would be lying if I said I never wished these opportunities had come two decades earlier," she admitted. "I often wonder, where would I be now if that had happened?" She also spoke candidly about the persistent inequities within the entertainment industry. "There are still so many injustices in terms of pay, especially as a woman and as a person of color. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult this landscape is and how the existing systems often disproportionately benefit white men."
Advocating for Representation and Crafting Her Own Narrative
According to Lee, the representation of Korean women in leading roles is still far from ideal. Despite the animated film KPop Demon Hunters becoming Netflix’s most-watched film of all time and winning two Oscars in March, she remains cautious about whether such success will translate into long-term change. "I hope a nation and a culture aren’t just considered a fleeting trend. Imagine how horrific that would be," she said. "I want to see more projects that reflect this new inclusion and diversity. It takes intentional energy and effort to keep change moving in the right direction. You can’t just sit back and assume things will get better. They usually don’t."
Beyond her continued pursuit of compelling on-screen roles, Lee is now actively building deeper connections with behind-the-scenes work as a producer, writer, and aspiring director. "If one day I’m fortunate enough to direct my own film, I want to do it for one reason: to provide an opportunity to someone who might need the kind of opening I was hoping for when I was 20. That would mean the world to me."
Meanwhile, Lee is anything but lacking in engagements. Last year, she was appointed a global ambassador for Dior, following Jonathan Anderson’s tenure as the house’s creative director. "Jonathan is someone who operates on the same frequency as me," she said. "His vision and his approach to design make a lot of sense to me." This August, Lee is set to star in the Netflix sci-fi horror film The Last House, before transforming into a musical actress named Gloria in Late Fame. The film centers on a New York poet, played by Willem Dafoe, whose work is rediscovered by a new generation of young students. Lee recently returned from South Korea after promoting the film at the Jeonju International Film Festival. "The film is very New York. Watching it with Korean subtitles felt refreshing and gave it a new energy."
For the role of Gloria, Lee even underwent a process of bleaching her eyebrows. She drew inspiration from classic glamour icons such as Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn to build the character. "The biggest joy in creating this character was imagining an original diva," she said. She also recalled her experience working with Willem Dafoe with enthusiasm. "Willem and I have a running joke that if we passed each other on the street, he probably wouldn’t recognize me because during filming, he only saw me without eyebrows. I had about four different wigs, all very theatrical." According to Lee, Dafoe is an artistically confident individual. "He’s one of those people who is truly comfortable with himself as an artist. Working with someone like that feels so alive and enjoyable."
Despite her burgeoning career, Lee’s personal life is far removed from the Hollywood diva image. She and her family now reside in a former goat farm in Los Angeles and enjoy gardening. "Moving from New York was a big decision. But now we’ve fully become Los Angeles people. We love nature. I’m absolutely obsessed with the native plants here." She laughed, imagining how others might perceive her current life. "If you came to our house, you’d probably be bored to death because we’d just talk about plants. We used to seem cool, but now we’re not." They respectfully disagree with that assessment.
This article originally appeared in the July/August issue of Harper’s Bazaar, on newsstands June 18.
Toy Story 5 is in theaters starting June 19, with previews on June 18.
Photography by Olivia Malone
Styling by Heathermary Jackson
Hair by Jenny Cho for A-Frame
Makeup by Yukari Bush for Kapana
Nails by Emi Kudo for A-Frame
Assistant Stylists: Hadya Tuofiq and Savannah Tyson-Yarbrough
Set Design by Romain Goudinoux for Bryant Artists
Production by Viewfinders
