Steven Yeun Is Bo, A Small Donkey With Big Dreams In “The Star”

He’s best known for his starring role in the AMC smash hit The Walking Dead as Glenn Rhee, a role which he originated and developed into a pivotal character, becoming a favorite for both fans and critics alike for seven seasons.

Now, Korean actor Steven Yeun lends his voice to Bo, a pint-sized donkey who wholeheartedly believes he is destined for a bigger purpose, in Sony Pictures Animation‘s “The Star” (in Philippine cinemas December 6.)

In the film, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a loveable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become unlikely heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas.

Steven Yeun brings to life this little donkey with a big heart.  “Even though Bo is in a pretty dire situation, he’s pretty hopeful,” he says. “He has really large dreams.  But as his plans start to go awry, he starts to doubt himself and take back all of that ambition he started with… but the universe will tell him in other ways that he’s just as important as he ever thought he was.  He finds something within himself bigger than anything he ever imagined.”

It’s a role that Yeun could recognize. “Bo is an underdog,” he says. “He sometimes puts limitations on himself.  I saw that in myself I was an immigrant to America, and there were limitations that I would place on myself based on what I saw. Bo comes to a full realization that he has much more potential than he thinks he has, and that’s something I very much relate to.”

“I think Bo is a lot like us,” says director Timothy Reckart. “He’s a character that dreams of doing something remarkable, and he knows in his heart that he’s meant to do something great. I feel everyone has a conviction that they are here to do something, that they’re here for a reason. Bo’s just trying to figure out what. He starts out with a mistaken idea of what that is, but through his journey, he finds his purpose. On top of everything else that this story does, I feel that drive and that individual search for purpose will resonate with everyone.”

The film also stars the voices of Keegan-Michael Key, Kelly Clarkson, Anthony Anderson, Aidy Bryant, Ving Rhames, Gabriel Iglesias, Patricia Heaton, Kristin Chenoweth, Christopher Plummer, and Tracy Morgan and Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey.

“The Star” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.