Want to play Michelle Zauner in the ‘Crying in H Mart’ movie? There’s an open casting to star as the Japanese Breakfast singer
The best-selling memoir is being made into a movie directed by Will Sharpe. The search is on for an actor to star as Zauner, whose band plays the Adjacent Festival in Atlantic City on Sunday.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/2MGAZ23DIJFHNMZA756Z4EEVBI.jpg)
Who wants to be J Brekkie?
Crying in H Mart, the best-selling memoir about food, grief, and Korean identity written by Michelle Zauner, leader of the Philadelphia band Japanese Breakfast, is being made into a movie.
The project has a director in Will Sharpe, the actor familiar to The White Lotus viewers for his role as Ethan, and a screenwriter in Zauner herself, who’s adapting the story about her relationship with her late mother Chongmi.
What it doesn’t have is an actor to play Zauner, the songwriter, musician, and Bryn Mawr College graduate who is known to her fans by the nickname derived from her social media handle, @jbrekkie.
On Monday, Zauner posted a notice on her accounts announcing an open casting call for the Crying in H Mart lead.
“Who will play Ms. Breakfast?” Zauner asked on Instagram. She announced that the production is looking for an 18- to 25-year-old Korean American to play her. ”Please send a creative video introduction that includes where you’re located. Submissions: Hmartopencallcasting@gmail.com,” the graphic read.
Playing Zauner, 34, as an 18 to 25 year old would include portraying her during the years she lived in the Philadelphia area, from her time at Bryn Mawr to founding the indie rock band Little Big League, to working at the Society Hill restaurant Xochitl, to grieving for her mother in the H Mart located in Elkins Park. It could also include scenes at Union Transfer, the music venue where she also worked. The venue named its coat check in her honor when she played five nights there in 2021.
Crying in H Mart spent 67 weeks on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list, and is currently No. 2 on the paperback nonfiction list. In a 2021 interview with The Inquirer, she said she had no interest in portraying herself in the H Mart movie, and would prefer to cast an unknown Korean American actor in the role.
Japanese Breakfast, the band, is playing the Adjacent Festival on the Atlantic City beach this weekend. The band also includes Zauner’s husband and former Xochitl coworker, guitarist, and keyboard player Peter Bradley. It’s their only U.S. appearance before heading to Europe for a festival tour.
The group plays at the festival at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, preceding Blink 182, Turnstile, and Coheed & Cambria on the main Top Hat stage. The fest gets underway on Saturday, when Paramore, Bleachers, Beach Bunny, Linda Lindas, Jeff Rosenstock, and Philly bands Mannequin Pussy and Slaughter Beach, Dog all perform. There’s more info about the festival at adjacentfestival.com.