LOS ANGELES — You'll think before you honk after seeing where road rage takes Ali Wong and Steven Yeun in the Netflix series "Beef."
"I will say that the shooting experience was gnarly," Yeun said. "(We) were holding a lot."
The dark comedy's emotional journey of angry obsession left its lead actors exhausted, even breaking out in hives after filming an intense scene in the wild.
"The more and more I think about it, it might have just been, like, something in the woods," Yeun said, laughing as he realized a case of nerves could also have been a simple case of rash.
"That's true," Wong agreed. "No one else's face was touching the earth every day."
Up until now, Wong has been best known as a comedian.
She shot to fame with a now-legendary standup special, "Baby Cobra," filmed at Seattle's Neptune Theater.
"I feel so indebted," she said, crediting an appreciative Seattle audience for the success of that career-defining showcase.
"I'm not positive, but I think no one had ever filmed a standup special there before, and now that's like a big go-to location to film specials, because it's like a Buddha's belly that people want to rub."
She was seven months pregnant at the time, with her own impressive belly.
"Nobody knew who I was. I think we had to 'paper' most of the tickets, which means that we had to give away most of the tickets for free."
"Oh my God, to crush like that?" her visibly impressed co-star, Yeun, said, "To a walk-in audience? That's incredible. Yeah, that's all Ali right there. That's amazing."
Yeun has plenty to brag about, himself. The former "Walking Dead" star earned an Oscar nomination for the Korean American drama "Minari." But his role in "Beef" as a frustrated handyman, Danny, really hits home.
"I think Danny has a really difficult, nagging, negative voice in his head. And I can relate to that," he said. "I grew up with a voice that wasn't as kind to myself as it could have been. Maybe a lot of people can relate to that, actually."
And, judging from the series' perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes on its release date, viewers are connecting with how a single moment of fury could lead down a road to rage and revenge.
"I'm very not into road rage right now," Wong said. "I give up. I secede!"
"Beef" is nominated for 3 Golden Globes and 4 Critics Choice Awards.
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